West Coast of Ireland

[geordielad]

Hi All.

I'm touring the west coast of Ireland this year at the end of May - "The Wild Atlantic Way" and am looking for any suggestions of places to visit along the way - Donegal to Cork around the coast and more importantly recommendations for accomodation (2 bikes and 2 riders)

All help gratefully received.

Cheers

 

[Aidan1150]

B&B's are everywhere and are pretty much all of a very high standard. Booking.com can get you some great hotel deals if you have a smartphone. A bonus is that if you are on the 3 network there are no roaming or data charges in Ireland.

Don't worry about places being "bike friendly" we don't do that shite over here and being on a bike won't matter at all.

If you are using a GPS I'm sure that I, or some of the lads can make a few routes for you to follow.

 

[Jockser]

Damn

I can't find fault with any of Aidans points


You can't really go wrong with any of the west coast. There's great places & roads all the way from top to bottom
Give us an idea of what sort of things you're interested in & how long you've got

 

[ZZedd66]

Just a couple of Suggestions . . .

Include Keem strand, on Achill in your trip. Also, include the spin down Blacksod to the Lighthouse. Take a spin out to Furnace and Lough Feeagh from Newport, Mayo. Take in the road from Westport down to Leenane along the Erriff river. Don't miss the Atlantic drive from Ballyvaughan in Clare. I could go on and on . . . !!

 

[Mandylicious]

FYI Fri 30th May is the start of a Bank Holiday weekend in Ireland

 

[richie]

allihiesseaview.com for BandB in Allihies

 

[mrsroynie]

If you're stopping in County Clare, there's always us?! www.johnnypaddys.com

From what I hear, we're pretty reasonable price-wise - though I've just agreed with Roynie that we might do a small reduction for GSers.

P.S. Am I allowed such a blatant advert?

 

[oblertone]

Don't get ...

... to hung up on booking in advance; Jaq and I did in at Cork, all around the coast and out at Dublin without booking any accommodation in advance. Ride until you feel like stopping, then look for somewhere, you won't have to look far







ps - It will rain at some point.

 

[Ban_6]

You gotta head to Kerry, Caherdaniel area. West Cork is stunning too and overpriced eateries in some places.


With the amount of rainfall for Jan ( highest in 20 yrs ) just be mindful of some smaller roads. Potholes and poor surfaces wont have been repaired.

 

[de crowe]

tarbet-kilmor-lahinch-blackhead-ballyvaughan-kinvara-galway

for Clare and South Galway there are plenty of great places. The Kinvara Guesthouse is an excellent place to stay, see the tripavdisor reviews, bang in the centre of the village and close to two restaurants and many bars. very scenic village. I would recommend you make some bookings along the route in advance as the june bank holiday can be very busy in the west, particularly if the sun is shining, last summer was good, we tend to get two together and then the weather gets "soft".
i have no connection with the business.
further west beyond Clifden in the Claddaduff and Cleggan area hit for Omey Island and play in the sand!!
Lennane to Louisbourgh stunning ride.
pm me if hit any problems

forgive my spelling of some place names

 

[marcopol]

Kilmor ?

for Clare and South Galway there are plenty of great places. The Kinvara Guesthouse is an excellent place to stay, see the tripavdisor reviews, bang in the centre of the village and close to two restaurants and many bars. very scenic village. I would recommend you make some bookings along the route in advance as the june bank holiday can be very busy in the west, particularly if the sun is shining, last summer was good, we tend to get two together and then the weather gets "soft".
i have no connection with the business.
further west beyond Clifden in the Claddaduff and Cleggan area hit for Omey Island and play in the sand!!
Lennane to Louisbourgh stunning ride.
pm me if hit any problems

forgive my spelling of some place names

I think that should have read as "Killimer" in Clare

 

[beatmeier]

You gotta head to Kerry, Caherdaniel area. West Cork is stunning too and overpriced eateries in some places.


With the amount of rainfall for Jan ( highest in 20 yrs ) just be mindful of some smaller roads. Potholes and poor surfaces wont have been repaired.

isn't this bonus ? it gives the trip a touch of adventure and a Gs takes it with ease



if your in Westcork after Allihies come down to Clonakilty good Music and nice Potholes * probably the best in Western Europe *

 

[de crowe]

I think that should have read as "Killimer" in Clare

Absolutely and for some reason it wouldn't allow me to correct my spelling mistake in the title, hence the apology.

 

[geordielad]

Thanks to all for your suggestions - I used to travel to Limerick quite a bit, so know of a few places over there, but all ideas and comments gratefully received.

Good advice about lack of bike shops - thanks DrAlf. (UK site)

One more question:
I am going soft in my old age and no longer wish to camp - I like to get a hot shower and dry my gear off without trekking 1/2 a mile, so generally I use B&B's - now comes the hard part ......

I have always liked to be organised and booked accommodation well in advance, but I thought that this time it may be a bit too restricting - we all know what the weather can be like in Ireland (and Scotland!), so instead of having to press on in awful conditions, I was thinking of just turning up and finding somewhere to stay when we had had enough - daring of me isn't it? .

Tell me - am I taking too much of a chance or are there plenty of B&B's available / is it usual to do this over there?

Most of the above has already been covered - thanks, but just wanted to copy over from the UK thread.

Thanks again guys - looks like we may be "winging it" on the accommodation - don't have a smart phone, but will have to work around that.

Really looking forward to the trip - hope the weather is kind.

 

[Jockser]

Tell me - am I taking too much of a chance or are there plenty of B&B's available / is it usual to do this over there?

Not at all. May isn't 'high season' & the west coast is littered with B&Bs & small hotels
Booking.com is great but even if you don't have a smartphone you'll be grand

 

[geordielad]

Got some great GPS routes from Pablo1 (thanks), but would also like some for a bit further south as well - along the coast as far as Cork if poss.

Got to say how impressed I am at how friendly this forum is - some of them are really stuck up!

You've convinced me - I'm going to look for B&B's along the way and not book up in advance.

Cheers

 

[richie]

I am no longer a subscriber, send me an email richie at cluin dot com and I will send you routes for the South West