I'm planning on visiting the Aran Islands while in Ireland this March, probably Inishmore and probably just for a day trip. I've learned the ferries from Doolin don't start running until April. I'd appreciate any recommendations in terms of whether it's worth it to fly as opposed to taking a ferry. From looking at the schedules it looks like we can get about 5 hours on Inishmore if we go by ferry and about 6 hours if we go by plane. Is 5 enough to see everything there? We'll be basing ourselves out of Galway if that makes any difference, though it looks to me like the airport is not much closer to Galway than Rossevael where we'd catch the ferry. Also, if there are any opinions on why one island is better than another to visit, I'd love to hear them too. Thanks!

I'm sure you'll get lots of good responses. But if you'd like some information in the meantime, you might want to do a search. I'm planning to visit Inis Mor in March too. I posted about it a month or so ago and got lots of great responses. And I found several other very good threads here on the subject. Type Aran Islands into the search box and click on Ireland and I think you'll find lots of very helpful posts.

My reply to an earlier post:

Ferry vs flying?:

Ferry to Inis Mor departs Rossaveal Quay at 10:30 AM and returns from Inis Mor at 5:00 PM. There is a shuttle bus from Galway City that departs fromKinlay House Hostel on Merchant's Road, just off Eyre Square at 9:30 AM. Round trip cost for one adult is 31 Euro according to the Aran Island Ferries web site.

Aer Arann flies out of Connemara Regional Airport, 17 miles out from Galway City on the R336 Coast Road. They too, have a shuttle from Kinlay House. The plane departs for Inis Mor at 10:00 AM and the return flight is at 15:45. Cost, including the shuttle bus is 45 Euro for one adult, round trip, according to THEIR web site.

These dates/times info was valid for Jan. the Aer Arann website should have date appropriate updates.

Bob

There two competing boat operators:
www.aranislandsdirect.com and www.aranislandferries.com. Their web sites show identical fares, but, in the nature of competition, they may well offer discounts to attract people.
Inishmore is well worth visiting. Five hours isn't enough to see everything, but, if you're unlucky to have a rainy day, you may find five hours sheltering in one of the island's pubs is enough.

we took the plain -it was great.
Several hours on Inish More is plenty!

Thanks to you all. I checked out the earlier thread on visiting the Aran Islands in March which was very helpful as well.

Here is the Aran Island specific site for Aer Arann flights:

http://www.aerarannislands.ie/

Lots of info here.

Bob

We are planning on taking the ferry to the Aran Islands from Doolin April 25 or 26 th. Anyone know if the ferries are running..weather permitting of course.

Hi,
I just googled Doolin Ferry and it showed they are running in April.

http://www.doolinferries.com/
http://www.doolinferry.com/

FLY! I much prefer to fly and then get straight into what i want to do on inishmor. The flight is fun and quick. If the sea is choppy it could be a long and sickly ferry. Go for it!

It's already been mentioned that the prices are the same. Is there any advantage to one company over the other? Are the ferries themselves pretty much identical?

And, other than the 10% discount, is there any advantage to pre-booking? I'm guessing that we're not likely to have a problem with the ferries being full on March 23rd?

Thanks.

The boats are not identical, but both firms at Rossaveal have modern vessels: those of Aran Islands Direct were built in France in 2005 and 2006, and Island Ferries' were built in Australia in 1999 and 2001. All these do the trip to Inishmor in about 40 minutes. Some boats have more open deck space so would be better on a sunny day.
There is no reason to book in advance unless you're travelling at a busy time. By the nature of competition, the firms may be offering discounts to attract passengers, so it may be cheaper to buy tickets on the quayside or at their offices in Galway.

Thanks, GeoffHamer! I really appreciate your very informative response. Looks like we'll definitely wait until we get there to purchase our tickets.

We took the Aran Magic ferry to Inis Mor in Oct '05. You can purchase your tix at the TI in Galway. We found all of the TI's in Ireland to be helpful BUT the one in Galway was the BEST! Everyone was so helpful that I actually spent part of my evening before bed filling out a letter of complimentary service and was sure to drop it off before we departed Galway!

We paid 31E per person, were picked up right in front of Kinlay House on Merchants road in Galway city centre, Picked up by bus and driven to Rossaveal and we were on our way.

I considered the boat ride as part of the experience. It was choppy and best described as Mr. Toad's wild ride in Disneyland....really fun!

For October there were quite a few people going and I had been warned that there wouldn't be many horse buggies available but upon arrival, as if ordained, the little weathered irishman walked past everyone and right up to us and asked if we wanted a tour of the island to Dun Aengus-YES! (40E for us both)and we LOVED every windy, rainy second! Being in the off season is great and we ended up having to share Dun Aengus with only about 3 others. We did not feel cheated with only 5 hours there, but I certainly wouldn't mind going back in the future for an overnight visit.

We had contemplated flying over but there were a couple of factors...particularly high winds were expected for that day and DH was a tad concerned when it was explained to him at the TI that it was no worry, they would just be careful to distribute everyones weight carefully for maximum stability. I, on the otherhand was NOT going to be weighed at all, thankyouverymuch!

It is certainly your choice either way, fly or boat, BUT Inis Mor and Dun Aengus were a highlight of our trip! Have a great time
Dawn

Thanks for sharing that, Dawn.

Don't you just love that TI in Galway? We did a lot of our souvenir shopping there. They had a lot of very nice but inexpensive things, like Christimas ornaments, that make great gifts for the people for whom you need to bring just a little something.

aliJ-
Meant to give you the website to Aran Magic:
http://www.aranislandferries.com/

CAPH-
Yes, best TI gift shop too! Helpful hint: Do not decide that you will wait and pick it up at the next TI giftshop! We left for Dublin and I decided I wanted a few more Connemara Marble trinkets and there weren't any! Be sure to get West Ireland trinkets in west Ireland!

Sounds like good advice, Dawn!

Fly,fly,fly.
I flew over in September and the panoramic views as your approach Inishmore are breathtaking. Yes, the planes are small and they distribute the weight to insure it is evenly balanced. I suspect this is the closest I will ever feel to being a bird.
The island itself is like stepping into a spot frozen in time.
Well worth the visit.