Travel to Western Ireland – Episode 769

Hear about travel to Western Ireland as the Amateur Traveler talks to Adam Ryan about his beautiful country.

Adam says, “You can definitely travel Ireland on a budget and Ireland just has so much to offer and we’ve great people, green fields, beautiful landscapes, some great cities, and our rural areas are some of the best in Europe. I’ve traveled through Europe and I’ve been to the States and Canada and I just have never been to a place like Ireland”.

We focus on the west coast of Ireland. There is a route that traverses the whole west coast called the Wild Atlantic Way. The whole route is over 1500 miles or 2500 km so we focus on what you should do if you don’t have time for the whole route. 

Adam recommends flying into Dublin Airport and then renting a car and heading down to Cork. Even if you are doing solo travel in Ireland, a car can come in handy in western Ireland. The area around Cork has some great seaside villages like Cobh and Kinsale. There are old forts like Spike Island and Charles Fort. You can tour the Titanic Experience in the city where the Titanic left Ireland for its doomed voyage.

We head from Cork to County Kerry which is one of the most popular places in Ireland for tourism. Here you can find Ireland’s first national park at Killarney National Park and the famous Ring of Kerry. Killarney has a great “trad” music scene. You can drive or walk the winding Gap of Dunloe or visit Muckross House. You can visit the westernmost point of the main island of Ireland on the Dingle Peninsula where you can find iron age ring forts, famine cottages, and sweeping landscapes.

Adam recommends skipping Limerick and heading to the spectacular Cliffs of Moher. He says that many people (like Chris) love The Burren although he would instead visit nearby Aillwee Cave.

Galway is a lively city (even in 2021 with the pandemic) with a great pub scene and some great summer festivals such as the Galway Races. You can also take a boat from here out to the Aran Islands which is a Gaeltacht region. We head out to Connemara National Park and Kylemore Abbey in County Galway.

In County Mayo, you can do a pilgrimage up Croagh Patrick on Reek Sunday (the last Sunday in July) or see the Downpatrick Head sea stack.

Finally, in County Donegal, you can learn to surf at Bundoran or hike the Slieve League Cliffs.

The west coast of Ireland feels remote but is easy to reach. It has spectacular scenery, colorful history, and engaging people. Ireland is an easy place to love and the west coast has some of its best locations.

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Sponsors

This episode is sponsored by DraftKings.com, the Official Daily Fantasy Partner of the NFL. Enter code AMATEUR to get a FREE shot at the ONE MILLION DOLLAR top prize with your first deposit.

This episode is sponsored by GoAskALocal.com. Their local experts are veteran guides and travel professionals with decades of experience helping travelers discover their regions. Consulting with them is like spending an hour with a guidebook that can talk; no matter what question you have or the type of trip you’re planning, they’ve got the answers.

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Show Notes

AsAdamGoes.com
Ireland
Haypenny Bridge
Cork
Titanic Experience
Cobh
Spike Island, County Cork
Kinsale
Charles Fort
Old Head of Kinsale
County Kerry
Killarney
Carrauntoohil
Killarney National Park
Muckross House
Gap of Dunloe
Kate Kearney’s Cottage
Travel to The Ring of Kerry in Ireland – Episode 304
Explore the Magical Wild Atlantic Way with Discover Ireland
Dunquin Pier
Limerick
Doolin
Cliffs of Moher
The Burren
Aillwee Cave
Birds Of Prey
Galway
Aran Islands
Worm Hole (Poll na bPeist)
Connemara National Park
Kylemore Abbey
County Mayo
Croagh Patrick
Downpatrick Head
County Donegal
Bundoran
Slieve League Cliffs
Galway Races
Driving in Ireland – A Road Trip to the Western Edge of Europe
The Ultimate Guide For An Irish Road Trip

Booking.com

Community

on Travel to New Hampshire – Episode 768 Simon writes:

Hi Chris

I hope you don’t mind me commenting on so many episodes of your wonderful podcast, but as I’ve said before you’re constantly triggering great memories of past trips, as well as giving ideas for future adventures.

My wife and I visited Portsmouth NH some years ago, and being history buffs, we found it a fascinating place. On a boat tour of the harbor, we learnt for example how Humphrey Bogart got his lisp during World War 1 when escorting prisoners to the naval prison in Portsmouth: one tried to escape by hitting Bogart with his handcuffs.

We also learnt about John Paul Jones, whose home in Portsmouth still exists and is now a National Historic Landmark. We’d never heard of him before, but once back in the UK we kept reading about him as he took the wars of independence over to Britain and made raids on the east and west coasts of England.

There’s so much colourful history in Portsmouth, we could easily have spent a happy week there. Thanks for reminding us of it.

Best wishes

Simon.

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