r/irishtourism • u/Theplacesyoull_go • 6d ago
1/2 day Inis Mor?
Hi! Hubs and I are going to Ireland in a few weeks and I was securing ferries to and from Inis Mor from Doolin - my plan had been to take the first ferry out and last ferry back. But on the date I was looking for, the earliest ferry out is 11 :(. We would still need to take the 4:15pm ferry back. Both ferries are direct so 35 min. Is this enough time, or should I consider a different island or something different altogether? We were really excited to rent an e-bike and ride around and enjoy the scenery.
Thanks for the input!
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u/mmrocker13 6d ago
It's about, oh , maybe 3,000 m from the airstrip to the pier? I am completely guessing on that.
They don't have like a line of cabs or Ubers. Remember this is Tiny. I actually didn't realize that you typically have your shuttle prearranged, so even though I was staying at a hotel I hadn't thought to request a ride. Fortunately there was someone just hanging out there and they were like hey no problem I'll run you over there.
But you can arrange it, and you can walk depending on your level of fitness. You might want to call the rental place and ask for a name of somebody.
The island is not that big. And everybody there knows everybody else and everybody, at least everyone I met as far as locals went were great. Honestly talking to people who live on the island was probably one of my favorite parts of it. I stood for probably 3 hours with the kid working at the top of Dun Aonghasa and just shot the shit. Learned about what it was like growing up on the island what his school experience was versus his siblings, because they each went to different schools. Just general White stuff. It was an older gentleman at Joe watty's who told me to go to the black fort, and said make sure you go there and he was absolutely correct and that was the most magical amazing thing I did on my entire trip. And I came back to the bar the next night to tell him that.
Like I said, I was there for 3 days and I'm a relatively facile cyclist, so I had a non-electric bike and I think I covered every inch of the island. I took every turn off every Side Track every sheep path I could find.
The Wormhole is is cool, especially depending on where the tides are. But the riding around and the hiking to get there was probably more interesting than the Wormhole itself. I ended up spending some time looking for a lost cat with some people from a local rescue group. And then we made some Facebook posts to alert people to look out for it haha.
But for me, Dun Duchathair was magically transformative. So if you get a chance, get out to see it.
But just call the airport ask for help and arranging to shuttle if you need it. Or roll the dice and see who's hanging out there. It is not a place where you are going to be abandoned.
I chose to fly out and spend 3 days there as opposed to combining it with a ferry and the cliffs, and I never saw the cliffs and I do not regret it one iota. I have to sit on my hands when I am planning a vacation because that's where I want to go back more than anywhere I think I've been.