American Plans Irish Surf Trip

NJsurfer

Hello I’m planning a 2-3 week trip to Ireland in between transitioning jobs during the end of May and beginning of June. I will be renting a car and trying to keep this as inexpensive as possible. Maybe some air bnbs and hostels.

I am a 25 year old American male looking to enjoy the Irish culture, some live music, friendly pubs, and pints of Guiness.

I want to see some of the natural beauty and history; cliffs of Mohr and Co. Kerry.

I am interested in history and architecture, but can’t imagine going too far out of the way for it. I think I enjoy natural landscapes more.

And maybe most importantly some emerald surf; I’ve been surfing since I was a young kid and know how to hold my own and not get in the way or piss off locals.


I have a plan that I would like to run by you guys and hopefully get some more recommendations and feedback on things I should alter.

I fly into Dublin and want to spend a night to relax and during the day I would like to see the Guiness brewery. -- I was thinking 1 maybe two nights max.

Bundoran I hear is the surfing capital of Ireland. Figured that would be a good place to kick off the travels. I hear it is pretty consistent surf wise, not sure what else to expect --- maybe around 5 days.

Galway I hear is full of young people. So I’m figuring I could get the full effect of the Irish night life there. Not sure what else it has to offer, I’m guessing some nice architecture spend --- I was thinking 1 or 2 nights during a weekend.

Cliffs of Mohr has always been a place I wanted to visit. Looking at a map and from what I gathered on the internet Co. Clare, Lahinch could be a good place to stay to get some surf and meet some people, since I will be traveling solo. --- I was thinking aroung 5 days.

Co. Kerry also seems like a beautiful place and it where a few of my ancestors emigrated from. Again for a balance of surfing and night life, as far as I gathered maybe Dingle could be a nice place to visit and stay. --- Again I was thinking around 5 days.


This plan is still all unbooked so it’s flexible. Thanks to anyone that takes the time to read this and offers some feedback, I'll owe you a pint!



Matthew

tradtshirt

Hi there.

Sounds like a reasonable plan.

I'd make one suggestion. Rather than go straight to Bundoran from Dublin (a 3 hr trip), I'd maybe consider a night or 2 in Belfast. Its 2 hours from Dublin, then another 2 hrs from Belfast to Bundoran. Belfast is a great city to visit - and very safe - probably more so than Dublin even these days.

Bundoran is one of the irish surfing kingpins for sure. Gets busy in Summer as its also a old seaside resort. But well worth a visit.
En route to Galway I'd stop off in Sligo, maybe Strandhill or Easkey for some wild rural charm.

Galway is a busy city - lots of Pubs and worth a couple of nights. You could then move on to Clare, maybe Lahinch or Kilkee for a night or two.

Then onwards to kerry, via Limerick. There is a car ferry over the shannon estuary near Kilrush that saves a trip inland to Limerick.

I'd go on to Tralee then and maybe stay in Dingle a night or two, with surf at Inch Beach or Brandon. Drive the slea head drive - do not miss this its spectacular.

You could hang around Kerry for a few days - or move on to Cork. West Cork is fantastic and the city is well worth a visit. Then 3 hours up the motorway back to Dublin.

For accommodation there are plenty of hostels along this route. Google the Wild Atlantic Way - most of this trip is close to this route.

You might have a look online for what traditional music festivals are on in these areas around the time. Even if you are not into the music they are great way to immerse yourself in the culture.
https://comhaltas.ie/events/festivals/


Enjoy.

NJsurfer

Thanks tradtshirt! That gives me a lot to look into. Its nice getting some insight from the ones who know the island the best.

Hopefully I can make it to one of those traditional music festivals. My grandparents always listen to the traditional music so I'm sure it'd be nostalgic.

rodento

Best thing you can do is not make any plans, as surf Is class but fickle as **** so I'd book everything last minute to make the most out on conditions when u arrive

NJsurfer

Good idea rodento on booking everything last minute. I think I'd like that flexibility especially if it helps me to score some waves.

I know the atlantic very well and how fickle it can be. But from what I gathered, Ireland has more of an issue of too much wind rather than not enough swell?

Any tips or online resources to help me along? Or is it mostly knowing the wind and swell direction, look at a map and drive around to find a place offshore and not too sheltered? If you don't feel comfortable posting on an open forum maybe pm me. I'll surely help anyone that's contemplating coming to NJ and wants to surf.

What about finding a used board there? Are there any surf shops that carry or anyone on here looking to get rid of a performance board in the 6' range (maybe bigger if it's pumping)? I don't want to spend the airline baggage fees to ship any of my boards if I don't have to.

rodento

Always like Flickr shots

https://www.flickr.com/search/?text=Sligo%20surf&sort=date-taken-desc

happy to suggest places closer to the date - should try to sort a board via donedeal or adverts.ie or try some surf shops for seconds

NJsurfer

Cool thanks I'll keep in touch with you. The photos got me amping for this trip! I love that desolate rocky green coastline and pumping surf. Such a contrast from the sandy beaches here in the mid atlantic. Also gave me some inspiration on different surf breaks. Looks like the island has so much potential on any given swell.

rodento

Worth checking Doolin as a base on the west coast, you've got the cliffs of moher walks when its flat, great craic and music in the pubs and boats the the Aran islands etc

Place is also close to some of the best surf in ireland (easterly southeasterly winds), some stunning sea cliff climbing & caving

https://www.flickr.com/search/?sort=interestingness-desc&text=doolin%20surf&advanced=1

ted1

There's always some boards for sale here : https://m.facebook.com/groups/129134130435804

NJsurfer

Thanks for the facebook link, I think I should be able to find something to suit me.

I'm excited about all these small towns, maybe even more than the larger cities.

rodento

Have you sorted yourself a decent wetsuit, boots and hood??
Boots are handy for getting in and out of reef breaks

Also keep an eye on this site, especially on the week before u fly

https://www.fnmoc.navy.mil/wxmap_cgi/cgi-bin/wxmap_DOD_area.cgi?dtg=2016050206&area=fnmoc_atlantic&set=SeaState

Gives you an idea of the swell and will help u choose the best location to start the trip

Simple rule of thumb for me

South westerly swells / easterly winds Clare
Westerly swell and southerly winds Sligo

bd2012

Not surf related but if you come down to Kerry I cannot recommend a trip to skellig michael enough. A truly magical place. Again you're at the mercy of the ocean as the boats don't travel if it's rough. Well worth a look
http://www.skelligexperience.com/skellig-michael/

NJsurfer

Thanks again for the tips and link.

Not sure if you're ever planning on coming to NJ/NY area, but if you do..
East swell, north winds NY
South swell, south westerly winds North Jersey
Any other swell, north westerly winds South Jersey
The main thing here with our beach breaks is finding the offshores

I've got a few suits, what are most the guys wearing now? I've only got room for one suit so I was thinking I'd bring my detachable hood 4/3, 5 mil boots and gloves. Or would I be better off bringing the 5 mil suit?

NJsurfer

BD Those islands look awesome with the puffins and the ruins. Seems like something I'd be interested in seeing, weather and ocean permitting. Part of the whole draw to Ireland is seeing the culture, ancient and new.

Do you have any boats or captains that you recommend?

bd2012

NJsurfer wrote: »

BD Those islands look awesome with the puffins and the ruins. Seems like something I'd be interested in seeing, weather and ocean permitting. Part of the whole draw to Ireland is seeing the culture, ancient and new.

Do you have any boats or captains that you recommend?

Not particularly. The time I went I based myself in portmagee and it's best to ask locally regarding the boats. As it's a heritage site numbers are limited per boat and the number of trips each boat can make. Kinda works on a first cone first served basis. That was a few years back though might have changed since. What time if the year are you travelling? Think July is the best time for puffins. They also filmed some of the last Star Wars movie there so numbers may be up. Well worth it though if you're in that neck of the woods.

myate

NJsurfer wrote: »

Thanks again for the tips and link.

Not sure if you're ever planning on coming to NJ/NY area, but if you do..
East swell, north winds NY
South swell, south westerly winds North Jersey
Any other swell, north westerly winds South Jersey
The main thing here with our beach breaks is finding the offshores

I've got a few suits, what are most the guys wearing now? I've only got room for one suit so I was thinking I'd bring my detachable hood 4/3, 5 mil boots and gloves. Or would I be better off bringing the 5 mil suit?

I'm in my 3/2 with a long sleeve rashie under already but I tend to always put it on in April...whatever to make the paddling lighter!! But it's fine. Don't need gloves. If your trip is end of May/start of June, go with 3/2 & booties. I'm in Strandhill & we've had a non-existent spell of surf in the last few weeks...hopefully it's saving itself for your trip!!!

Low Pockets

Joe Roddy is the man for the boat, he was Irelands first surfer....

NJsurfer

Cool thanks for the wetsuit advice. I'm still in a 4/3 and boots here. Glad to hear I won't need a hood.

Also hasnt been much for waves here either. Hopefully you're right and it's waiting for my arrival!

I'll try and look Joe Roddy up when I get there. It'd be cool to meet a surfing legend

rodento

Bring the 4:3 just in case as it can still be cold surfing near river mouths like easky (wont be retiring my 5:3 just yet)

Worth considering basing yourself in one location to get the most out of the surf in that area

NJsurfer

rodento wrote: »

Bring the 4:3 just in case as it can still be cold surfing near river mouths like easky (wont be retiring my 5:3 just yet)

Worth considering basing yourself in one location to get the most out of the surf in that area

I was leaning towards my 4/3 detachable hood, much rather sweat than cold.

I've considered that, and usually when I travel, I end up staying in one place and get to know the area well. There's just too many places and things I want to see on the island. But who knows, maybe I'll like one of these places enough that I won't want to leave to the next.

Stealthfins

The beach off Donald Trump's golf course can be surfable during the summer when everywhere else isn't working.
The turf bank is a good spot.

NJsurfer

I'll be there this upcoming Tuesday for two and a half weeks. Hopefully we will see some swell!

longshanks

Any update on this?

NJsurfer

longshanks wrote: »

Any update on this?

Hey all

My Ireland trip has come to an end. And out of all my travels I've never been to a place that I enjoyed so much. I didn't want to leave and an already planning to come back again.

I started out in Sligo and surfed a fun reef break. I was too jet lagged and it was very wet the first few days so didn't get to do much exploring.

Took a day trip to Achile Island and learned that google maps greatly underestimates the time to travel in Ireland. But it was a sunny day and well worth it. I enjoyed hiking around and the smell of turf burning. And all of the sheep that I later found out weren't sheep at all but rambs. Also found some fun surf at the beach break and a "secret" break further up the peninsula.

Then headed down to Dingle. I fell in love with this peninsula. I liked everything about it from the hiking, the food, nightlife, music, the locals, and the surf. I could imagine living there for some time.

Never made it to skellig Michael but gives me just another reason to come back.

Then went up to Doolin. I also really enjoyed this small town. Great food music and friendly locals as well. Hiked the cliffs and even around town had some cool natural hidden gems.

I went to the the first Arran island and explored it by bike.

I also liked how everywhere in Ireland seemed to have "secret" surf spots. I love how undeveloped and naturally beautiful this coastline has remained.

Went up to Galway for a couple of nights. Drank some beers on the archway and listened to music.

But after a couple nights I was missing the natural beauty. I was split between heading further north to Canamara or back south to Dingle. But I liked Dingle so much the first time I had to go back one more time. And glad I did because the waves ended up being fun again.

I hear I got lucky with the sunny weather. But a sunny Ireland could possibly the best place on earth.

Thanks again for all the input on here and to rodento. My advice to anyone else traveling to Ireland is to just go out and explore, there's so much to find off the beaten track and to immerse yourself in the culture and meet the locals