If you're wanting to visit the Aran Islands but not sure what to expect, here’s a brief day in my life visiting Inis Mór to give you some inspiration and get you excited for your upcoming visit!
With the day starting bright and early, we sipped our coffee on the scenic bus ride from Eyre Square to Rossaveel to catch the ferry. Our day trip to Inis Mór was off to a lovely start.
After quite the tumultuous ferry ride over to Inis Mór, our journey began with the lively brothers of Aran Off Road Experience welcoming us to the island and packing into their jeeps that would show us the more unexplored parts of the scenic island.
above: photo courtesy of Aran Off Road Experience
Following along the stone walls that distinctly mark the island, our first stop was a highlight for me. We were taken to the filming location of the cottage from the 2022 film “The Banshees of Inisherin” starring national treasures Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson.
above: photo courtesy of Searchlight Pictures
After a brief fangirl moment, we were off to the moonscape that was a long stretch of flat rock, a continuation of The Burren. The slick and shiny landscape of flat rock felt almost otherworldly.
A quick walk across the rock leads you to the most iconic landmark on the island: The Wormhole.
The wormhole is an incredible and formidable experience. Looking down into this massive rectangle naturally carved out by the waves where water continues to hit against the walls ferociously, you might begin to feel a little dizzy and out of your body a bit. Our wonderful tour guide gave us the scoop into the Red Bull diving competition that was held at the wormhole years ago and I began to think about the amount of money it would take me to jump into the wormhole. I concluded that there isn’t any.
And then it was lunchtime! I grabbed a delicious meal of the classic fish and chips from Aran Islands Seafood and enjoyed a nice hot meal with friends on a pretty cold and rainy day.
After a delicious scoop of coffee ice cream, my group and I were off to make the trek up to Dún Aonghasa, where the best views on the island were waiting for us.
The walk up wasn’t strenuous but wasn’t completely devoid of physical exertion either; luckily, there were groups of cute cows to accompany us and entertain us on our 20 minute walk up the hill.
At the top of Dún Aonghasa , I was completely taken aback by the vast green grass that led up to a precarious cliff ledge. When you peer over the cliff, you see tumultuous turquoise water beating and battering against the rocks and limestone cliffside. It’s truly an unreal and gorgeous view.
Back in the United States where I'm from, there would be about 3 layers of fences and obstacles that kept you a safe distance away from the view. However, Inis Mór allows you to get up close and personal with the 100 metre drop, which I really appreciated. It was a stunning view that I am grateful to have experienced with my own eyes.
After a much easier walk down this hill, we concluded the day with some shopping at the cute shops that included handmade knick knacks, art, and of course, knitted Aran Sweaters. A very sleepy 5pm ferry ride took us back to the mainland, and our day trip to Inis Mór was officially over.
The Aran Islands are an impressive piece of history and natural beauty preserved like a jewel on the Atlantic, where traditional Irish culture and language are thriving and flourishing. It was an incredible experience and absolutely a must-see for anyone visiting Ireland.
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