Driving the West Coast of County Clare, the Cliffs of Moher, and Bunratty Meadows B&B
A Mediterranean Cruise and Four Days in Ireland
Introduction
Planning
US Airways Business Class (Envoy) Philadelphia to Venice
Two Magical Days in Venice
Boscolo Venezia Hotel in Venice
Holland America Line’s Nieuw Amsterdam: Introduction, Itinerary, and the Pinnacle Suite
Holland America Line’s Nieuw Amsterdam: Katakolon and Athens
Holland America Line’s Nieuw Amsterdam: Istanbul, Mitilini, and Kusadasi
Holland America Line’s Nieuw Amsterdam: Santorini and Argostoli
Holland America Line’s Nieuw Amsterdam: Sailing into Venice
Holland America Line’s Nieuw Amsterdam: Cruise Review
Ryanair Economy Class Venice-Treviso to Dublin
Two Days in Dublin
The Aran Islands and Galway, Ireland
Driving the West Coast of County Clare, the Cliffs of Moher, and Bunratty Meadows B&B
Aer Lingus 757 Business Class Shannon to Boston
May 17
We awoke after a great night sleep at the Radisson Blu Hotel & Spa in Galway, and headed down to breakfast in the hotel’s restaurant. Breakfast was included in the room rate, and the spread was downright impressive. They really had a little of anything you could think of, and it proved to be a wonderful start to the day. After we checked out, the only plan for the day was to make it down to see the Cliffs of Moher — about a 90 minute drive from Galway. The drive followed along a scenic, windy road as we followed the west coast of Country Clare throughout he Burren National Park. When we hit the fork in the road in the town of Ballyvaughan, we decided to take the scenic route to the Cliffs of Moher — via the Ocean Road. This proved to be a wonderful idea, as the scenery was simply stunning on this wonderfully clear day. We thoroughly enjoyed driving and then just pulling over to take in the sights of a scenic coastline vista and the occasional castle.
After a couple of hours, we found ourselves in the small, port town of Doolin around noon. Located about 6km from the Cliffs of Moher, Doolin is host to a ferry fleet where one can take a ferry for a scenic cruise of the Cliffs, or to one of the Aran Islands. We went down to the pier to inquire with the O’Brien Line about their ferry tour to the Cliffs of Moher, and we were met by a friendly, older Irish man named Bill O’Brien, who happened to be the owner of the tour company. He informed us that the next ferry was to leave at 3:15pm, and then gave us the “lay of the land” and ensured us that we’d have time to visit the Cliffs of Moher from above before coming back to Doolin for our ferry ride. The ferry cost €25 for the estimated hour-long trip to the Cliffs and back – a fee that we gladly paid.
We heeded Bill’s advice and made the short, 15-minute drive from Doolin to the Cliffs of Moher. There is a €6 entrance fee per car at the Cliffs, and it is well worth the price of admission. The Cliffs of Moher are one of the most famous geographical features of Ireland, as they feature a set of jagged cliffs that drop straight off, about 1,000 feet to the Atlantic Ocean below. The views are simply stunning. We were lucky to have perfect weather that day, so we were not impeded by fog, rain, or mist!
After about an hour of taking in the vistas and snapping dozens of pictures, we headed back to our ridiculous mini car and drove back to Doolin for lunch. We settled on lunch at Gus O’Connors Pub. Gus O’Connors was quite crowded, as a tour bus group had just been dropped off, but even still, we were able to receive our food and pints pretty quickly. I enjoyed a beef and Guinness Stew, which was great. However, my girlfriend struck out with her chicken and cheese sandwich order, as it wasn’t the most appetizing thing she’d ever seen… or tasted. After lunch, we returned to the pier for our ferry ride. As we were waiting for our ferry to return, the weather started to turn as a storm started to pick up. As the wind increased and the sea appeared to get a little more rough, we decided to go ahead and take our last two Dramamine tablets, just in case.
Good decision.
By the time we got on-board the vessel, the supposed ten minute ride took closer to 30 minutes, as we took ten foot seas over the bow on our short trek to the base of the Cliffs of Moher. The Cliffs themselves were overwhelming from the bottom. We looked up to where we stood a few hours before, and the sheer height of the Cliffs sank in as we could barely see the outline of people looking over the towering cliffs, 1,000 feet above. The ride back to the dock was equally as choppy, and we were two of the only non-seasick passengers on the ferry. Folks were getting sick left and right, but we had a blast!
By the time we got back to the dock, we were running about an hour behind schedule, so we hit the road en route for Bunratty. Bunratty is a small village about five kilometers from the Shannon Airport. We had reservations at the Bunratty Meadows Bed and Breakfast, where we planned to stay the night before our flight home to the States. We arrived at Bunratty Meadows at around 6:30pm, and were greeted by the hostess, Dariena. We were shown our room in her beautiful house located on a large meadow overlooking the River Shannon. The room was extremely comfortable, and had all the creature comforts that we could want. Dariena recommended that we go into Bunratty to check out the famous Bunratty Castle, and then eat at a nearby restaurant for dinner. The Castle is one of the larger ones you’ll find in Ireland, and it is open to the public along with a folk park that showcases Medieval Irish life. We got to the castle too late to take a tour, so we just zapped some pictures, took a stroll throughout the famous Durty Nelly’s Pub, and walked across the street to the Creamery Bar for dinner.
I had a delicious dinner of fish and chips with a couple pints of Guinness — a perfect last supper for a wonderful four days in Ireland. By the end of dinner, we were pretty exhausted from the long day of touring, so we made our way back to the Bed and Breakfast for our last night’s sleep on the trip.
May 18
We’d arranged for breakfast to be had at 8:30am, which would leave us plenty of time to get to the Shannon Airport for our 11:40am flight back across the pond. We woke up, cleaned up, packed, and headed downstairs to the cute breakfast room where Dariena had four tables set for the four sets of guests that she was hosting the previous night. There was a selection of cereals and coffee to choose from as Dariena brought out freshly baked scones with an assortment of jams. I ordered the pancakes, and my girlfriend had the traditional Irish Breakfast. Both were absolutely delicious, and we completely loved everything about the breakfast that was prepared for us. Sadly, we had to say our goodbyes and head to the airport.
We really, really enjoyed Bunratty Meadows. Though it was the only bed and breakfast on our trip, it was one of my favorite accommodations. Based off this experience, I’d certainly be open to staying at bed and breakfasts more often since they really provide a fantastic value and have much more personality than do most hotels. I also highly recommend Bunratty Meadows to anyone in the area — it’s especially great if you need to fly out to Shannon the next morning, as it’s only about five kilometers away from the airport.
