Overview

The delightful little town of Westport in County Mayo occupies one of the most beautiful situations in Ireland, nestling beneath Cro Patrick, Ireland’s holy mountain, and at the mouth of Clew Bay ‘The Bay of 1000 Islands’. It is an ideal base for exploring the glorious coastline of Mayo and the delights of lovely Connemara.

Your Accommodation:

The 3 star Wyatt is an excellent boutique situated in the very heart of glorious Westport. All the tastefully decorated bedrooms are en-suite, with Tea/Coffee making facilities, Direct Dial Telephone, TV, trouser Press, hairdryer & Wi-Fi. The Wyatt has an upmarket Brasserie, a lively traditional Irish Bar, as well as an award winning Restaurant. A lift serves the upper floors.

Your Itinerary:

An early departure from our home areas and drive to Holyhead for the afternoon ferry to Dublin. On disembarking we continue to our overnight hotel, the welcoming Aspect Hotel Park West in Dublin, where we enjoy dinner this evening.

Today’s journey takes us across the heart of Ireland, travelling by way of Mullingar and Longford before making a lunch stop at Carrick on Shannon. Feeling refreshed we continue by way of Castlebar and on to Westport arriving at our hotel late afternoon. Tea/coffee is served on our arrival.

A morning at leisure in the town of Westport, one of Ireland’s most photogenic towns and popular with the Irish as a holiday destination. This lovely resort is known for its cafes and huge number of traditional pubs, including Matt Molloy’s, which is named after and owned by the flutist from the well-known group, The Chieftans. This afternoon we visit Westport House & Gardens where we enjoy a guided tour of the house and entry to the gardens. We return to our hotel with time to relax before dinner.

A full day tour taking in magical Connemara. First a scenic drive to Leenane on Killary Harbour and on to Kylemore Abbey, home of an order of Benedictine Nuns set at the foot of the Twelve Pins Mountains. We spend time here, then further into the Connemara National Park to Clifden, a charming town overlooking the Atlantic with time for lunch. On to our next visit – The Glen Keen Farm where we enjoy a live Sheep Herding demonstration followed by tea/coffee with delicious homemade scones whilst enjoying a traditional Irish Music session. We return to our hotel late afternoon.

This morning we enjoy a beautiful coastal drive to Louisburgh where we join a ferry for the short cruise across to Clare Island, located 3.5 miles off the west coast of County Mayo. It takes just 25 minutes to reach Clare and there is every chance that the ferry will be accompanied by a school of dolphins as it makes its way across. Clare is the largest of the 365 islands in Clew Bay and the famous ancestral home of the legendary Pirate Queen Grace O’Malley. We enjoy an interesting talk at the island’s heritage centre, before enjoying a soup and sandwich lunch. Later we take the ferry back to the mainland and return to the Wyatt Hotel for our final evening.

Leaving the west coast we head for Dublin via Athlone reaching the capital early afternoon. We enjoy free time before checking in to our overnight hotel, the Aspect Hotel Park West.

We enjoy a full Irish breakfast before driving to the port for the ferry back to Wales. Using the motorways we return to our home area early evening.

*Insurance Premiums are renewed from 1st January 2024.