Ireland West Coast Adventure in 7 days

Your journey starts in Galway City, where you’ll be staying tonight.

The colourful and friendly city centre is the setting for your first tour with your local guide, who will be accompanying you this week. You’ll walk the city streets and explore the Spanish Arches, St. Patrick’s Cathedral, the Claddagh Village and of course there’s a chance for free time in the cafes and shops of Galway.

Your accommodation is just outside the centre of town so it’ll be a short walk into the centre later for dinner (included).

Breakfasts are a feature this week, all home-cooked by your hosts.

This morning’s a road journey through the hills of Connemara to the west coast and Clifden, with plenty of options to stop off for walks or to take pictures.

There’s time to explore the vibrant country town of Clifden before moving on to the historic Kylemore Abbey with its Victorian Walled Garden. Here, there’s an option to take a hike in the hills of Connemara with views towards the lakes and Maumturk mountain range.

Lastly today you’ll visit the iconic Aasleagh Falls before arriving at your  accommodation, overlooking Ireland’s only fjord.

If you like the sound of a sauna followed by a seaweed bath, there’s time to treat yourself before dinner (included).

Today you’ll hop across the waters to beautiful Clare Island on the inter-island ferry.

Clare Island has a population of just 160 people and is an outdoor lovers paradise. You’ll stay on the island tonight, in a small guest house overlooking the beach and harbour, and you’ll spend your day walking the coast and exploring the beaches of Clare Island. Clare is the largest of the 365 islands – yes, 365! – of Clew Bay and has some of Ireland’s most spectacular coastal trails.

Dinner tonight (included) will be served in the bar next to your accommodation – if you like seafood you’re in for a treat as their speciality is the fresh catch of the day.

After enjoying another Irish breakfast, you’ll depart from Clare Island for the mainland.

Your first stop today is the mountain clearly seen from last night’s guesthouse – the holy mountain of Croagh Patrick. There’s a chapel right on top of the 764m peak, visited by many thousands of pilgrims every year. From the top there are spectacular views over the 365 islands of Clew bay.

Next stop is colourful Westport where there’s a chance to refresh and refuel after your walk. The towns of the west of Ireland are as yet untouched by the commercialism that has taken over much of the UK in the past three decades and the majority of the shops are still owned and run by local families.

From here you’ll travel to Ballina where you will be for the next 3 nights. Dinner (included) is home cooked in your accommodation and later on there’s the chance to pull your own pint of Guinness in the local pub.

Today’s a two-parter. You’ll have a long morning exploring the north coast of County Mayo, and after lunch you’ll be back in Ballina for a visit to Beleek Castle, a cooking lesson and then a whiskey tasting to finish off.

Your morning will take you along Mayo’s Wild Atlantic Way -the Monasteries of the Moy, the historic town of Kilalla, Downpatrick head, the spectacular sea stack Dun Briste and the oldest Neolithic field site in the world-the Ceide Fields. There’s a chance for lunch at Mary’s cottage before heading back to Ballina.

The tour of Beleek Castle is fascinating and lively. Beleek Castle was built between 1825 and 1831 on the site of a medieval abbey bought. Owned by the same family until the 1940s, it was left to decay until its purchase in the 1960s by Marshall Doran. The restoration is quirky but tasteful – many rooms have been restored with a nautical theme, with entire sections of a recovered Spanish Armada ship being used as both structure and decoration. Marshall Doran was an avid collector of medieval armoury and the basement holds a very impressive private collection.

Next you’ll return to your accommodation for a fun and interactive baking experience, the fruits of which you’ll get to eat with tea and local jams, before finally there’s an Irish Whiskey tasting session.

Dinner (included) will be served in the local pub just 2 minutes walk from your accommodation.

After enjoying your home cooked breakfast, it’s off to neighbouring County Sligo for a hillwalk up proud little Knocknarea (327m). The summit cairn hides one of Europe’s largest unexcavated passage tombs. From here you’ll take in the spectacular views overlooking the Atlantic ocean and onto Donegal.

After a cafe lunch you’ll then return via the stunning rugged coastal route
back. There’s an opportunity to stop off at beaches and viewpoints along the way, including the unmissable Beach Bar for perhaps an Irish coffee.

Ireland’s local spa tradition is to immerse oneself in a bath filled with treated seaweed and hot water. You’ve a chance to enjoy this experience at Kilcullins seaweed bath house before returning to Ballina.

Dinner (included) is at a restaurant in town favoured by locals and visitors alike.

If it fits your dietary requirements then a particular breakfast recommendation is the scrambled egg and smoked salmon – try to have this at least once in your stay!

It’s departure day and depending on the timing of your onward journey you may be able to explore the town of Ballina before it’s time to say farewell.

The Stop is a wonderful bed and breakfast created from a 1930’s town house, situated 500m from the River Corrib and the centre of the city of Galway. It’s a modern take on a B&B, with the minimal and tasteful decor creating light and space in the otherwise rather compact rooms. Downstairs the walls are filled with original contemporary artworks.

Breakfast is a highlight, cooked by owners Russel and Emer, but save some space for the homemade cookies which are always available in the sitting room.

The Leenane Hotel is on the waterfront of Ireland’s only fjord, in Connemara. It’s a destination in itself, with a well-regarded onsite restaurant specialising in freshly-caught seafood. Next door there’s a spa where you can relax back in the Seaweed Baths.

Every room has a view, either of beautiful Killary Harbour or out towards the lovely mountains of Connemara.

A warm welcome is assured at Brigown Bed & Breakfast. Your host Marjorie is a household name in Ireland when it comes to cooking and will ensure you feel at home here in her charming guesthouse on the banks of the river Moy in Ballina. Breakfast is particularly good here – a great chance to sample Marjorie’s culinary skills!

The Quay is a short walk away for food and drink, and you’re not far from the centre of town. The garden is a great place to sit and relax to watch the river and the world go by.

O’Grady’s offers luxury en-suite bed and breakfast style accommodation on Clare Island, guarding Clew Bay on the west coast of Mayo. The house was constructed in 2006 on the site where generations of the family of the owners Helen and Alan O’Grady have lived. In fact the stone of the original dwelling has been built into the face of the house, preserving this deep connection with the place.

The house is next to the harbour where the mainland ferry arrives, and is a stone’s throw from the sandy beach.