Welcome to Ireland! Today you will arrive at Dublin Airport and take the bus into the city center from where you can take the train to Westport (not included in the price!). This evening, explore this lively little town on the West Atlantic, which is particularly well known for its life music sessions in the pubs.  

After breakfast you will be transferred to the start of today's hike at Murrisk, on the shores of Clew Bay in Co. Mayo. A place of ancient history, Croagh Patrick is Ireland’s sacred mountain, and a rich vein of archaeological heritage. This dazzling quartzite pyramid (764m) even has a small chapel at its peak. Ireland’s fifth-century patron saint, St Patrick, is said to have fasted on its summit for forty days. It is a challenging climb but the 360-degree views with which you will be rewarded make it worth the effort. No walking trip in Ireland would be complete without reaching its impressive peak. On returning to sea level you will be transferred to beautiful Leenane Village.

7 kms / elevation 764m / 4 to 5 hours walking

Distance:

7 km / 764 m ascent

So-called because it was built as a famine-relief project during the Great Famine of the 1840s, the greenway along the shores of Killary Fjord brought outlying communities closer together in the nineteenth century. When you hike along the path you cannot help but sense the history and lives of all those who have walked this way before you. With mountains rising out of the water on either side and few signs of civilisation along the way, this is a true escape and a rare find in the modern world. You will be transferred to the starting point and your walk will finish again in Leenane. A cold pint of Guinness in an authentic west of Ireland pub is just the thing to end the day!

15 kms/80 m elevation/3-4 hours walking

Distance:

15 km

You will be transferred to the starting point of today’s walk which follows an ancient pilgrim’s path to Maumean (translated from Gaelic as the ‘pass of the birds’). The summit of Maumean at a height of 320m is marked by a small chapel and other religious features associated with Ireland’s patron saint, Patrick. There is much ritual and myth attached to this site and it will give you a fascinating insight into religious practice in Ireland over the past few centuries and before. You will then follow the Western Way, a marked walking trail, to the tranquillity of the Inagh Valley where you will stay tonight. The valley is surrounded by the majestic Maam Turks and Twelve Bens mountain ranges and is a perfect haven for complete rest and relaxation after a day on the hills.

16 kms / 250 m elevation / 4-5 hours walking

Distance:

16 km

Your taxi will pick you up this morning and bring you to the start of your walk on the Renvyle Peninsula in the National Park of Connemara. This is a relatively easy walk but a very rewarding one with stunningly beautiful views over Kylemore Abbey and lake. The summit also offers views onto the whole peninsula, the islands of Inishbofin and Inishturk to the west and north west, the Maamturk mountains and the Ben Choona mountain range to the south. In the afternoon you will take the ferry boat to Inish Bofin.

7 kms / elevation 400 m / 2 to 3 hours walking

Distance:

7 km / 400 m ascent

Bofin or 'Inis Bo Finne' (Island of the White Cow) lies seven miles off Connemara’s coast in the Atlantic Ocean. It is estimated that it was inhabited as far back as 8000 – 4000 B.C. There are several looped walks around the island which you are free to explore, after which you might find yourself drawn into a cosy pub by the traditional music you can hear inside!

Choice of walks between 6 and 15 kms, elevation from 60 to 180m, from 1 to 5 hours walking

Distance:

6 to 15 km

After breakfast you will take the ferry back to the mainland from where you can take the bus to Galway and further onto Dublin.