Weekend in Mayo. Any recommendations?

bassy

hi not sure if this is the correct place to post,but seen as its the mayo forum well then I surely cannot go wrong

was thinking of a weekend away to mayo would be travelling on public transport train or bus and travelling alone,i know not ideal with not having a car with regards to being able to travel all over the lovely county.

but im on foot and was thinking of Westport,castlebar,ballina for a weekend away.whats the pubs and nite life like in the mentioned places?,i am in my 40,s so not in to nite clubs etc.thinking of pubs that are friendly with banter etc

also anyone recommend places to go during the day or things to do to pass a few hours,would only be going for a few drinks in the evening,so would like to be able to pass a few hours during the day,so I await any advice or recommendations etc cheers

Blackjack

bassy wrote: »

hi not sure if this is the correct place to post,but seen as its the mayo forum well then I surely cannot go wrong

was thinking of a weekend away to mayo would be travelling on public transport train or bus and travelling alone,i know not ideal with not having a car with regards to being able to travel all over the lovely county.

but im on foot and was thinking of Westport,castlebar,ballina for a weekend away.whats the pubs and nite life like in the mentioned places?,i am in my 40,s so not in to nite clubs etc.thinking of pubs that are friendly with banter etc

also anyone recommend places to go during the day or things to do to pass a few hours,would only be going for a few drinks in the evening,so would like to be able to pass a few hours during the day,so I await any advice or recommendations etc cheers

Westport probably your best bet if you are looking for the above stuff and if you are using public transport.

bassy

Blackjack wrote: »

Westport probably your best bet if you are looking for the above stuff and if you are using public transport.

been told this before alrite,and to exspect higher prices in accommodation.as im travelling alone im not fussed on top notch accommodation lol.

anyone recommend some reasonable price wise places to stay in Westport for a weekend?.

B-D-P--

Mayo is the third largest county in ireland.
We have a lot to offer, but its very separated.

Its worth checking if there are public tour buses.

If your not into it, I agree with above, Westport is best bang for buck.
Taxi's can get you out and about to some good scenic places.

yop

Greenways also, so you could get a train. Rent a bike and cycle to other other towns also pretty handy.
Buses from Westport to all the towns around.
Could also spend time in B&B/Hostel in Westport and get a bus to Ballina and do the same and then get train back from Ballina to your home.

MacDanger

If it's your first time to Mayo, I'd recommend Westport, it's easily accessible by train, always lively and has very good restaurants and pubs. You don't say when you're planning to travel but accommodation availability & price may be an issue if it's short notice. Best place to look is probably airbnb, booking.com, etc. This website is also good: http://www.mayo-ireland.ie/en/accommodation/accommodation-overview.html

If you've been to Westport, then I'd recommend Ballina, it won't be as lively as Westport but there's some great pubs and decent restaurants. Accommodation shouldn't be as expensive either.

If you wanted to go somewhere different, maybe head for Belmullet

bassy

MacDanger wrote: »

If it's your first time to Mayo, I'd recommend Westport, it's easily accessible by train, always lively and has very good restaurants and pubs. You don't say when you're planning to travel but accommodation availability & price may be an issue if it's short notice. Best place to look is probably airbnb, booking.com, etc. This website is also good: http://www.mayo-ireland.ie/en/accommodation/accommodation-overview.html

If you've been to Westport, then I'd recommend Ballina, it won't be as lively as Westport but there's some great pubs and decent restaurants. Accommodation shouldn't be as expensive either.

If you wanted to go somewhere different, maybe head for Belmullet

Yes ive been to mayo on a number of occasions before,but ive never been out in westport or ballina as in any of the pubs etc

And no thanks on bellmullet have worked there and its in the arse hole of no where,nearest town is ballina 60km away.belmullet is in the out back lol.

Would probaly be heading to mayo either aug or sept.

I think mayo is a beautiful county,but belmullet is not for me cause its to gar from the next town and bus and train.think the only have a morning bus to ballina and it don,t come back from ballina till evening.

navigator

Probably the best choice would be Wesport. Maybe, you could have a day trip to Achill.

spacecoyote

Digging this one back up.

Looking at options next year, and Ballina is one option I have on my list. It'll be a group of maybe 20-30, mostly lads. Westport isn't really an option

Would there be enough there in terms of nightlife to cover a weekend away? Most would be looking for a few decent "old man" pubs for a chat & catch up, but plenty would be looking for a bit of a dance later in the night. Are there any clubs/disco-bars that would have a decent bit of life in them around September time?

farmchoice

Ballina has plenty of pubs and a few really nice ones, there are a number of late night bars/discos (whatever they are called these days!!).
Ballina is a pretty good town to go drinking in these days. Ballina in general is a nice town and has improved enormously in the last few years in overall appearence and just generally.



if i wanted to go somewhere different for a weekend in mayo it would have to be belmullet though, its wild, wild craic.

PARlance

Wouldn't know too much about Ballina pubs and clubs. Castlebar has gone downhill in terms of nightlife so I'd nearly warn you off that anyway.

Belmullet is a great shout, bring the clubs and play Carne, Space.

DuckSlice

PARlance wrote: »

Wouldn't know too much about Ballina pubs and clubs. Castlebar has gone downhill in terms of nightlife so I'd nearly warn you off that anyway.

Belmullet is a great shout, bring the clubs and play Carne, Space.

Great Shout on playing Carne when you are beside it, also eniscrone

We had a golf outing staying the night in Ballina before. in Mid October, we had great craic. We were in some club but cant remember the name of it. Not really much help really here.

Mr.Maroon

Would Ballina be any good for a night away for group of lads (early 30s)? Probably be around 12/14 in the group.
Looking for somewhere to eat in the evening followed by a feed of pints in some bars with good live music and then top the night off in a late bar/club.

RMDrive

Mr.Maroon wrote: »

Would Ballina be any good for a night away for group of lads (early 30s)? Probably be around 12/14 in the group.
Looking for somewhere to eat in the evening followed by a feed of pints in some bars with good live music and then top the night off in a late bar/club.

First 2 will be well looked after in Ballina. The last one, I'm not sure. There's no club there but I'm not sure if anywhere has a late licence?

farmchoice

RMDrive wrote: »

First 2 will be well looked after in Ballina. The last one, I'm not sure. There's no club there but I'm not sure if anywhere has a late licence?

ya Balina would cater for your needs. plenty of decent restaurants, Dillons, the cot and cobble or bar square in town or crockets down the key for your usual European fare. Jalan, Jalan for really nice Thai food or Everest for an Indian.
plenty of pubs for pints, and there are two/three late bars or clubs or what ever you call them these days. Barsquare/times square Trabh47 ( used to be brennans) and the cot and cobble.


on the live music a good few of the pubs will have your one man band type of thing and rouses has a great trad session on a Saturday night.

Barsquare has good bands most weeks i think and perhaps Trabh47 as well.
there is usually a good lively ban in the old shibin on a Saturday and its usually a fairly wild crowd with plenty of craic to be had.

Mr.Maroon

farmchoice wrote: »

ya Balina would cater for your needs. plenty of decent restaurants, Dillons, the cot and cobble or bar square in town or crockets down the key for your usual European fare. Jalan, Jalan for really nice Thai food or Everest for an Indian.
plenty of pubs for pints, and there are two/three late bars or clubs or what ever you call them these days. Barsquare/times square Trabh47 ( used to be brennans) and the cot and cobble.


on the live music a good few of the pubs will have your one man band type of thing and rouses has a great trad session on a Saturday night.

Barsquare has good bands most weeks i think and perhaps Trabh47 as well.
there is usually a good lively ban in the old shibin on a Saturday and its usually a fairly wild crowd with plenty of craic to be had.

Excellent - thanks for the info 'farmchoice'. Pretty much everything we're looking for in there.
I like the sound of the Old Shibin.

ShamNNspace

Is this one still going in Balina dos anyone know?? Real old stylee

farmchoice

ShamNNspace wrote: »

Is this one still going in Balina dos anyone know?? Real old stylee

its still there, i wouldn't recommend it.

ShamNNspace

farmchoice wrote: »

its still there, i wouldn't recommend it.

Stuck in a 70s time warp.. Formica tables.. Adds for Honda 50s on the wall.. It has the cut of an earlyhouse

farmchoice

ShamNNspace wrote: »

Stuck in a 70s time warp.. Formica tables.. Adds for Honda 50s on the wall.. It has the cut of an earlyhouse

it is an early house as it happens. the problem with that pub is not so much the dated decor as the patrons.

MacDanger

farmchoice wrote: »

its still there, i wouldn't recommend it.

I'm fairly certain that's closed now

farmchoice

MacDanger wrote: »

I'm fairly certain that's closed now

no despite appearances to the contrary its still open, maybe they only open limited hours but i definitely saw a few auld bowizes staggering out some day last week.

MacDanger

farmchoice wrote: »

no despite appearances to the contrary its still open, maybe they only open limited hours but i definitely saw a few auld bowizes staggering out some day last week.

Hours must be reduced so, I passed it one Friday evening in late Sept at around 8pm and it was closed

Mr.Maroon

Would Ballina likely be quieter in the middle of November than the likes of Sligo or Carrick on Shannon?
Don't want to rock up with a group and the place is empty.

Thou

Mr.Maroon wrote: »

Would Ballina likely be quieter in the middle of November than the likes of Sligo or Carrick on Shannon?
Don't want to rock up with a group and the place is empty.

Yes it would most likely be quieter than either of those towns in November.

Thou

Westport is a quiet town during winter months as well except for weekends.

farmchoice

Mr.Maroon wrote: »

Would Ballina likely be quieter in the middle of November than the likes of Sligo or Carrick on Shannon?
Don't want to rock up with a group and the place is empty.

well ballina is smaller than sligo but id say it would not be all that different regarding how busy it is, sligo has a big student postulation but they wold not be known for going out on a Saturday night.
carrick is stag/hen central so is busier than most towns all year round, on the down side its full of stags and hens.


Ballina tends to be busy enough on a Saturday night most weekends although the middle of November is a quite time generally speaking.


you certainly wont be in any pubs on your own but it wont he heaving either.

MacDanger

Mr.Maroon wrote: »

Would Ballina likely be quieter in the middle of November than the likes of Sligo or Carrick on Shannon?
Don't want to rock up with a group and the place is empty.

I was out in Ballina a few weeks ago (so early/mid-Oct) and it was reasonably busy (absolutely jammed in Rouses for the trad session) in the three pubs I was in. November would probably be quieter but not empty I'd say