Exactly three years ago today I was visiting Inishmore, the largest of the Aran Islands. It was certainly an experience to remember.

If you don’t know, the Aran Islands are a small group of three islands off the western coast of Ireland in Galway Bay. You can easily access them by ferry from a few different towns, including Doolin and Rossaveal (tours from Galway provide busses to Rossaveal for Aran Islands excursions).

Each island has a lot to offer, but if you can only choose one, Inishmore—fittingly named ‘big island’—certainly has the most to see/do. During summer there are various festivals and events happening throughout the season, but it can be very empty and quiet during the winter.

Therefore, summer is the best time of year to visit, but I went in the middle of winter and I had a blast. I dealt with frigid rains and strong winds, and I honestly don’t regret going during that weather—it made the experience feel even more adventurous. Here’s my story:

Getting to Inishmore

I booked a trip in Galway through Aran Island Ferries, and from there the company bussed us to the Rossaveal Harbor to catch a ferry over. Again, it was incredibly windy so the water was not very welcoming. We left shore at 10:30 a.m. and the trip started off fine, but once we passed the bay into more open water, the waves became very choppy. I’m not good with motion sickness, but surprisingly I felt pretty okay.

Experiencing Inishmore

Arrival

45 minutes later, we arrived in Kilronan, the main settlement on Inishmore. When we disembarked the ferry, we were greeted by a small array of buildings and shops. With around only 750 people on 12 square miles (31 square km) of land, the island felt empty—which I suppose was good and bad. Good because there were no crowds, but bad because if anything happened, it would be a long hike to find someone.

Right away I made one big mistake: I didn’t rent a bike. I was a college student trying to save some money, but I should have rented the dang bike. Everything turned out fine, but I walked everywhere for hours without a break. Inishmore has a LOT of ground to cover, especially if you want to see everything. So, my number one tip for visiting Inishmore: rent a bike!!

Exploring

I was with a partner when I visited Inishmore and we had a few destinations in mind, but they were all the way at the other end of the island. So, we picked one of three roads that headed inland and started walking.

Along the way we saw miles of rocky pasture outlined with stone-piled fencing. The fencing blended in with the landscape from a distance, but up close it was a marvel to see how people stacked rocks so carefully over the centuries to create thousands of miles of un-cemented walls.

Walking along the northernmost road, we kept the misty ocean in sight. I met a very adorable dog who wouldn’t stop following us and we saw a couple passing cars, but other than that we didn’t see many other people. Apparently sometimes you could view seals from the shore, but we sadly didn’t see any. We also happened upon Kilmurvey Beach, which definitely did not look ideal to swim in.

There wasn’t a whole lot to see besides rocks, grass, and the occasional home as we walked, however I made a few new large furry friends!

Dún Aonghasa

After about an hour and a half of walking, we arrived at the visitor center for Inishmore’s most popular site, Dún Aonghasa. (I didn’t realize it took 1.5 hours to walk that until just now when I looked at the distance on Google Maps. Oof.)

Dún Aonghasa is a prehistoric stone fort consisting of half-circle walls that end at the edge of a 300-foot cliff. You have to pay a small entry fee in the visitor center before climbing to the top of the cliff. The trip from the bottom can take up to 20 minutes and is a little arduous, especially in the rain, but the spectacular views are so worth it. I’ll let the photos speak for themselves:

Poll na bPeist

Another famous site on Inishmore is Poll na bPeist, otherwise known as the wormhole. This is a natural rectangular pool of water at the bottom of the cliffs south of Dún Aonghasa. Some people swim in it (in fact, it hosted a major diving event in 2017), however it is recommended not to because it’s difficult to get out of and unpredictable waves and underwater currents make it dangerous to be in.

The pool can be difficult to find, especially because you have to climb down and over rocky terrain. We searched for a good hour for the trailhead using Google Maps but ended up wandering on dead end roads in a maze of stone walls.

I ended up asking a local shop owner how to get there, but because of the stormy weather and rough sea conditions she wouldn’t tell me, as the pool is right by the ocean. So, I greatly appreciate her being mindful of people’s safety, however I was unfortunately not able to see this area for myself. It’s on the list for next time, though!

While walking back to Kilronan we actually happened upon the sign pointing in the direction of Poll na bPeist, but we decided to heed the shopkeeper’s warning. It also would have been another hour round trip, and we were exhausted from walking for 3+ hours at that point.

Other Sites

The island has various other ruins, including more forts and Christian and Celtic Sites. You can find a lot of old buildings and ruins walking along the main inland roads, but there are some that are a little more out of the way.

Dun Duchathair, or the Black Fort, is a similar fort to Dun Aonghasa, but it’s smaller and not as well known, set on a cliff a little southwest of Kilronan.

Na Seacht dTeampaill, or the seven churches, is another lesser-known site. For hundreds of years in the medieval period, this was one of the biggest monastic foundations and pilgrimage centers on Ireland’s west coast. Despite being called the “seven churches,” there are actually only two along with a few other buildings. This area is located on the far northwest side of the island.

The trip back

The walk back from our unsuccessful wormhole excursion was pretty uneventful. We passed a few other small ruins, but we didn’t know the names or significance of them. We made it back to Kilronan early and spent some much-needed time sitting and watching the sunset before the ferry back to Rossaveal, which left around 5 p.m. After a full 7+ hour day traversing Inishmore by foot, I was exhausted. But it was so worth it.

In Conclusion

I fell in love with the raw beauty of Inishmore’s natural sites and craggy, stone-lined ground. It felt like true, authentic Ireland.

If you love history or stunning views, you’ll love the Aran Islands. Again, there’s lots more to do in summer when there are festivals and events happening. I guess I’ll just have to go back in summer and report on my experience again, what a shame… (I’m having trouble with sarcasm without emojis).

There are still many things to do when visiting Inishmore that I didn’t list, so be sure to get all the “things to do” from a local guide/brochure. And, try to take a tour of all three Aran Islands if you can!