Useful Information

IMPORTANT ADVICE FOR VISITORS

Check sailing times and book your trip:

It is always advisable to check sailing times with the ferry or boat operator before travelling and to book your journey in both directions in advance, or as advised by the boat operator. The boats may be large or small vessels, as indicated on this website. All sailings are weather dependent and often subject to demand.

Prepare for the visit:

Travel prepared for every weather eventuality (layered clothing and sensible shoes) and for the particular island journey you are planning. For instance, while some of the islands are populated, easy to reach (some even accessible by road and air) and have a full range of services from accommodation to catering facilities, others are uninhabited and remote with no services. This website should give you a general sense of what to expect, but your licensed boat operator is your best source of information and advice. Generally, if travelling to an island with little or no services you should bring your own food and necessary supplies.

Best time to visit:

Some of the islands are very busy in high season (July and August in particular), so the fringes of the season are often the best time to visit. See each island profile for guidance.

Care for the islands’ environment:

Please leave the islands as you have found them, taking nothing but photographs and leaving nothing but footprints. Please respect monuments, habitats, dwellings, stone walls, plant and wild life. Please dispose of any litter in bins or bring it with you from the islands.

BE SAFE - TAKE CARE

The islands represent a very special visitor experience but, because of their very nature, are fully exposed to all of nature’s elements. Consequently, their terrains are mostly rugged and the seas surrounding them can sometimes be wild. Always take the greatest possible care when exploring the islands and their waters.

Useful Reading and Reference

‘Oileáin’ by David Walsh and published by Pesda Press

David Walsh, a Dublin solicitor, holds the record for the most Irish islands visited. He has visited over 300 islands off the Irish coast, mostly by kayak, over the past 15 years! His book ‘Oileáin’ is published by Pesda Press (www.PesdaPress.com) and offers a detailed guide to these islands. His visits are also chronicled on his website www.oileain.org and the site is updated following each new island visited. Many of the ‘Did you Knows’ on this website are from his book

‘The Islands of Ireland’ by Nutan and published by Thames & Hudson

Nutan is a renowned photojournalist based in the West of Ireland. His coffee-table size book “The Islands of Ireland”, published by Thames & Hudson, presents perspective on over 20 Irish Islands, perspectives based on his visits to the islands where he met the inhabitants. The book features over 190 beautiful photographs taken by Nutan during these visits and capture the magical dimensions of these wonderful places. Many of Nutan’s photographs feature throughout this website.

‘Ireland's Islands, Landscape, Life and Legends’ by Peter Somerville-Large and published by Gill & Macmillan, 2000.

This book celebrates the Island's of Ireland in all their rough-hewn beauty and diversity. The photography is by David Lyons and gives a wonderful sense of the islands.

Rugged, Wild and Beautiful
Ireland's islands are as diverse as they are abundant, their craggy shores, dramatic beaches and ancient history protecting some of Ireland's strongest cultural traditions today...  Read more...
Explore Achill Island, Co. Mayo

Achill Island, Ireland's largest island is wild, windy & stunningly beautiful...

Read more...           

Did You Know?

A seabird sanctuary, An Sceilg Bheag, off the South Kerry coast, is one of the world’s greatest gannetries – it is home to more that 20,000 pairs of gannets!