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Aran Islands Scenic Flight and Galway Rail Tour from Dublin
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From €204 per person
This is a full-day journey from Dublin out to one of the most distinctive corners of Ireland - Inis Mór, the largest of the Aran Islands. You travel by train and coach from Dublin Heuston Station to the west, then fly by scenic flight to the island itself.
Inis Mór has kept Irish as its spoken everyday language - though the locals are happy to chat in English too. The island holds one of Ireland’s most impressive ancient monuments: Dún Aonghusa (pronounced Doon Aengussa), a pre-Christian cliff fort with sheer sea-cliffs on its western edge and uninterrupted views of the Atlantic. You also visit the Seven Churches site and have time in Kilronan for lunch.
Your reserved train seats, a qualified driver-guide on the coaches, and a host on the trains are all arranged. All travel from Dublin Heuston Station is included.
Inis Mór Island Tour (75 min at Dún Aonghusa) Your island tour begins and ends at the airport. The highlight for many is Dún Aonghusa, the formidable pre-Christian cliff fort on the island’s western edge, with spectacular sea-cliffs dropping into the Atlantic below. You’ll spend 75 minutes here.
Seven Churches (15 min) A stop at this historic monastic site on the island.
Kilronan (45 min) Lunch stop in Kilronan, the island’s main village. Please be back at the bus at the time and place your driver specifies.
Meeting point: Our representatives meet you in the main concourse at Dublin Heuston Station - look for the bright yellow jackets near the Customer Service Desk. Check in is 20 minutes before departure. The train departs at 7:35am and does not wait; check-in opens from 7:10am.
Make the most of your 45 minutes in Kilronan. The village is small and you can cover the pier, the main street and a sit-down lunch in the time you have. Café Ósta does soup and the island’s own brown bread and opens early - good for a quick refuel before the coach leaves. If you want a pint and a bite, An Poitín Beag does chowder and sandwiches at the pub, which is a quicker turnaround than the sit-down restaurants.
Dún Aonghusa: don’t stand too close to the edge. The cliff drops a hundred metres straight into the Atlantic, and the OPW has fenced the perimeter - but the wind can be serious. The stone path up from the visitor hut is about 500 metres each way on uneven flagstone. Flat shoes will do; wellies will not help you. The 75 minutes is enough to walk up, take it in, and walk back without rushing.
The Seven Churches are quieter than they sound. Na Seacht dTeampaill - the seven churches - is a small early medieval monastic site. With 15 minutes, you’ll see the main structures and the surrounding walls. The name counts domestic buildings as well as churches, so there are never quite seven recognisable chapels. Worth it for the view of the island from the path.
If your flight is cancelled, Galway is the fallback. The tour routes through Galway - it’s the rail and coach hub for the whole trip, and where you transfer for the flight. If Atlantic fog grounds the planes, the Connemara alternative goes through Galway’s western hinterland. Either way, the city is the pivot point for the day. If you ever want to extend the trip independently, Galway has trad sessions most nights at Tigh Coili and Crane Bar, and the medieval laneways off Shop Street are worth an hour before or after.
If the Connemara fallback runs, you’ll pass through Oughterard and likely end up in Clifden. Oughterard is the village on Lough Corrib where the road west starts to open up - Aughnanure Castle is three kilometres east of the main street and worth the detour if time allows. Clifden is the Connemara capital, a planned town from 1812 with the Sky Road loop west and Derrygimlagh bog to the south, where Marconi sent the first commercial transatlantic wireless signal in 1907 and Alcock and Brown crash-landed after the first non-stop Atlantic flight in 1919. E.J. King’s on the Square does trad sessions most nights in season.
Weather rules everything. If Atlantic fog or wind grounds the flights, you go to Connemara instead and get a partial refund. It’s a fair fallback, but pack a layer and mentally allow for it. Spring and autumn tend to give steadier flying days than mid-summer, when Atlantic weather can be unpredictable.