Name: 7 Day Fully Guided Walking Tour in South West of Ireland Start from Dublin
Brand: Hill Top Treks
Price: 1199 EUR
Availability: InStock

Wild Atlantic Way Walking Tour in Ireland

This tour is designed to bring you from Dublin to enjoy some of the best walks in the southwest of Ireland and explore the Wild Atlantic Way. The tour is fully guided and you will also visit many places of historical interest along the way.

Meet the instructors

Gillian & Terry
Read more

Highlights

7 days of activities
Daily hikes
Full-day visit to Aran Islands
Listening and enjoying the best of Irish traditional music
Variety of terrains along the route
Great guides who are ready to inform and assist you
6 nights accommodation
Tasty meals

Skill level

Beginner
Intermediate

7 days with instruction

Group size: 4-16 participants

Accommodation

The accommodations are chosen very carefully with a mix of quality guest houses and hotels. There is free Wi-Fi in all the accommodations. All the rooms are en-suite. The accommodations are well used to Hill Top Treks' bringing them guests after a day’s walk and knowing that they are somewhere comfortable to relax and freshen up.

Program

Daily itinerary

Day 1: Drive from Dublin to Kerry - Visit the South Pole Inn Pub - Coastal Walk - Stay in Dingle

Grade: Easy
Distance: 8 kilometers / 5 miles
Duration: 2 hours
Ascent: 120 meters
Terrain: Grass tracks

Your tour begins at 9:00 a.m. with a pick-up at the Molly Malone Statue on Suffolk St. (Dublin City Center). After your pickup in Dublin, you travel south to Dingle in County Kerry. On the way, you will make a stop to visit the picturesque town of Adare in Limerick. This town has to be seen to be believed with its small thatched cottages and brightly colored buildings. It is home to Adare manor which was once home to the Earl of Dunraven. You will stop here to explore this town and stretch your legs.

Continuing on your way to Dingle, you will stop again to visit the town of Annascaul which is famed for being the hometown of Tom Crean. The great Irish explorer who shared voyages with Scott and Shackleton to the great Antarctic. On his retirement from the British Navy, he returned home to Ireland and founded a Pub called “The South Pole Inn.” You will visit the pub for a drink or a coffee. When you are close to Dingle, the guide will bring you to Beenbane Beach. From there, you can enjoy a short cliff walk in towards the village of Dingle, which is a fantastic way to arrive.

Evening: Dingle or “An Daingean” which is its Gaelic and original name is a fantastic small village known for its small quaint pubs, live Irish music, and relaxed atmosphere. There is plenty to see and do in his small town with great restaurants, pubs, coffee shops, craft stores, etc. You may also be surprised when you enter some pubs in Dingle that you can also buy a pair of shoes or get yourself a new measuring tape.

Day 2: Walk the sacred Mount Brandon - Stay in Dingle

Grade: Moderate - strenuous
Distance: 8 kilometers / 5 miles
Duration: Approximately 4 hours
Ascent: 750 meters
Terrain: Open mountain tracks

After a hearty breakfast, you will get yourself ready for one of your guide's favorite walks in this area, Mt Brandon. Which is named after Saint Brendan the voyager; some think he even got as far as North America. Mount Brandon is a sacred mountain and there is a pilgrim to its summit each year, which many of the locals do. It is less than 1,000 meters but even though it is a pilgrim walk, it is quite a challenge. The walk will take about 4 hours and the views from its summit are breathtaking.

From the summit, you can see the Wild Atlantic all around you. You can also see the Blasket Islands, the Skellig Islands (Star Wars fame), and Ireland’s highest mountain range on the Iveragh Peninsula. After your walk on Mt Brandon, you will make your way back to Dingle, you could visit some of the craft shops, enjoy some of the local seafood, or just relax.

Day 3: Killarney - Gap of Dunloe Walk - Boat across the lakes of Killarney - Stay in Killarney

Grade: Moderate
Distances: 13 kilometers / 8 miles
Duration: approximately 4 hours
Ascent: 250 meters
Terrain: Small roads and hill trails

This morning, you leave Dingle early and make your way to Killarney and its beautiful lakes at the National Park. You will take a boat from the 15th-century Ross Castle across the lakes to Lord Brandon’s Cottage. From there, you will start your walk through the Gap of Dunloe. This is a wonderful walk and one of the finest in Kerry with Purple Mountain sitting above you to the left as you make your way through this wonderful valley.

Finally, at the top of the valley and on completion of your walk, there is Kate Kearney’s cottage. There, you can enjoy a well-earned break before you make your way back to Killarney by bus. You will arrive back at your accommodation for an early night to recharge the batteries for tomorrow’s big adventure.

Day 4: Ireland’s Highest Point - Killarney National Park - Stay in Killarney

Grade: Strenuous
Distance: 12 kilometers / 7.5 miles
Duration: Approximately 6 hours
Ascent: 850 meters
Terrain: Old mountain roads, rocks, and loose stone

Today is the big walk of the tour so it is an early start to get over to Killarney. The walk on Carrauntoohil is weather permitting as your safety is paramount to the guide and the team. An alternative suitable walk will be chosen by your guide in the Killarney National Park depending on the weather and the group's abilities. Now, that all going well and the weather is good, then you will do the walk as planned. Carrauntoohil is 1,039 meters in height so all due care must be taken. Thousands of locals and visitors climb this every year and you feel a great sense of achievement on getting to the top.

Evening: After you get back down and catch your breath, you will make your back towards Killarney. The town of Killarney is the most visited town in Ireland. There are many places to visit here such as Muckross House, the lakes of Killarney, Ross Castle, Torc Waterfall, and more. As well as all its scenic beauty, there are numerous restaurants, cafes, shops, and pubs with live Irish music.

Day 5: Lahinch - Cliffs of Moher Walk - Stay in Doolin

Grade: Easy / moderate
Distance: 8 kilometers / 5 miles
Duration: 2.5 hours
Ascent: 100 meters
Terrain: Grass tracks

This morning you travel up along the west coast of Ireland known as the “Wild Atlantic Way,” crossing the River Shannon at Terbert. The River Shannon is named after an ancient Celtic Goddess and is Ireland’s longest and most impressive river. As you cross the mouth of the Shannon on the ferry, keep an eye out for the schools of dolphins to be seen everywhere. When you dock on the far side, you will be in County Clare. Once you are in County Clare, you will follow the coast road up towards the town of Lahinch.

This coastal town is a surfer’s paradise and has become more popular due to the great waves here. It is also a great holiday destination for Irish families with many other activities on offer as well. Making your way northwards, you will visit Brigid’s well before you start your cliff walk towards the Cliffs of Moher. The walk is fantastic and the cliffs themselves are a true treat for all the senses.

You will be staying in Doolin tonight, the capital of Irish traditional music in the west. This is a tiny little fishing port made popular due to its importance in Irish music and dance. Doolin is also in another “Gaeltacht area” (Irish-speaking region) so you can try your newly learned language skills on the locals, they will surely be impressed. There, you can relax and enjoy a bite to eat, while listening to some of the best Irish musicians in the world.

Day 6: Visit the Aran Islands and stay in Doolin

Today, you will take a break from walking and visit one of the most spectacular places in all of Ireland the Aran Islands. You will take a ferry from Doolin to Inis Mor, the largest of the three Aran Islands. This is a Gaeltacht area where Irish is still the main language. The island is full of wonder and absolutely beautiful, you will definitely not want to leave. You can hire some bicycles at the port as this is the best way to explore the island.

You can visit the world heritage site of Dun Aonghasa Fort which stands over a dramatic 300 feet cliff. There are also some wonderful beaches on the Island if you fancy a dip in the Atlantic. After you visit the Aran Islands, you will make your back to your accommodation, get freshened, and enjoy a meal in one of the fine pubs or restaurants close by.

Day 7: Walk in the Burren - Return to Dublin

Grade: Easy / moderate
Distance: 7.5 kilometers / 4.7 miles
Duration: 3 hours
Ascent:140 meters
Terrain: Limestone karst, smooth rocky surface

This morning, you will make your way to one of the strangest landscapes in Ireland, The Burren. This is a limestone karst and was sitting at the bottom of the sea many years ago, but you can still see that clearly today. The term “Burren” is derived from the Gaelic for “stony place.” The Burren is also famous for its many different and varied types of flora which are unique to this area. You will take a walk here in this unique landscape with its stone walls and stone floors. If there is some time in the afternoon, you could visit Galway City “city of the tribes.”

This is a great little city known for its relaxed and bohemian feel. You can spend hours just walking about the small streets while listening to and watching street performers of all types. Today, unfortunately, you will be saying goodbye to the west of Ireland for a while as you make your way back to Dublin. You should arrive back in Dublin at 6:00 p.m., depending on traffic. Hill Top Treks hopes that you loved this South West of Ireland Walking Holiday. Slan agus beannacht (Goodbye and blessings).

About the tour

You will be visiting places such as Dingle, Mt Brandon, Killarney, The Gap of Dunloe, and the Lakes of Killarney. You will walk Ireland’s highest peak, Carrauntoohil. Explore the Aran Islands, the Cliffs of Moher, and some of Ireland’s ancient monuments. This tour follows along the South West section of the Wild Atlantic Way of Ireland’s coastline, bringing you to some of Ireland’s most wild and beautiful locations.

Walks and fitness levels

The walks on this tour are of a mixed level with the option on some days to shorten
All the walks are taken at a pace to suit the group
The groups can range from 6 to 16 people in size with a mixed level of fitness and age usually
If the weather is too bad on a certain day to do the suggested walk, then the guide will suggest an alternative one
The guide will have the final say on the day about the walk for the safety of the group

Instructors

Gillian Duggan

Gillian is a fully qualified Irish tour Guide and Lowland Leader. She loves the outdoors, walking has a mind of knowledge about Ireland's Fauna. She is also very friendly and helpful when on tours and gets great reviews from anyone she brings on tours. Gillian has been working as a guide for many years and really like to make sure that her guests are well looked after. Walking in Ireland is a wonderful way to really get a feel for Ireland's landscape and people. Walking through some timeless valleys and along Ireland's coast can be breathtaking.

Terry Lambert

Terry is from Dublin, the capital city of Ireland. He's from the very south of city and very close to the Dublin and Wicklow mountains, he spent a lot of time walking and hiking. He enjoys the outdoors so much that he set up his own walking and hiking company that today, brings people to some of my favorite parts of this Island to explore. Ireland is a small country but full of incredible scenery, wonderful glacial valleys and coastline. Although he has been walking throughout Ireland for numerous years and discovering new trails and walks.

Food

The evening meal on your first night and daily breakfasts are included. For breakfasts, there is a wide selection to choose from including full Irish, fruit, cereals, etc. For lunches during the walks, you will visit some local shops to get supplies and later in the day, a known restaurant or pub will be suggested for evening meals in the places and towns you visit. Many places in Ireland accommodate both vegan and vegetarian diets.

The following meals are included:

Breakfast

The following dietary requirement(s) are served and/or catered for:

Vegetarian
Vegan
Regular (typically includes meat and fish)

If you have special dietary requirements it's a good idea to communicate it to the organiser when making a reservation

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