Inishmore Heritage and Culture Tour: Private Exploration of Aran Islands' Traditions and Cuisine
4.4
10 Ratings
County Galway
Discover Inishmore's rich heritage and cuisine with a local guide. Explore ancient sites, meet artisans, and taste award-winning goat cheese.
Duration: 5 hours
Cancellation: 1 day learn more
Highlights
  • Dun Eochla - Dún Eochla is a superb stone ring fort located at the highest point on Inishmore in the Aran Islands. The inner walls measure approximately 5 metres in height, and over 3 metres in depth. This fort deserves far more attention than it gets with it’s fantastic location and remarkable condition, but is overlooked because of the popularity of the nearby Dún Aengus/Dún Aonghasa. Rarely do you find four stone forts so close together on one small island, each of which are in great condition.

  • Viewpoint Eeragh Lighthouse - Eeragh Lighthouse is an active lighthouse located on Rock Island, one of the Brannock Islands, part of the Aran Islands archipelago in County Galway, Ireland. It marks the north-western entrance to Galway Bay and the port of Galway known as the North Sound.
    Originally a light was established on Inishmore near Dun Oghil at a height of 400 feet alongside the Signal Tower. The light was first lit on 1st May 1818 with a revolving optic giving it a flashing character so as not to be confused with either Loophead to the south or Clare Island to the north, both of which were fixed or non-flashing lights.

  • Na Seacht Teampaill (The Seven Churches) - Situated in the west of Inis Mór at the village of Eoghanacht the seven churches was for centuries one of the biggest monastic foundations and centres of pilgrimage along the west coast of Ireland. Breacan is believed to have come here in the earliest period from Kilbrecan near Quin in County Clare. Tradition on the island has it that his foundation rivalled St Enda’s foundation in the east of the island. Indeed the two saints are held to have eventually agreed to divide the island between them. Although termed ‘ the seven churches’ there are in fact only two churches with a number of domestic buildings. The title seven is possibly an allusion to the pilgrimage circuit of Rome which incorporated seven churches.
    Teampall Bhreacáin( St Brecan’s Church) is a large multi period church c. 8th-13th century. Teampall an Phoill ‘ (the Church of the Hollow) is a 15th century church smaller and simpler in style. There used be two Holy Wells -now enclosed on site.

  • Dun Aonghasa - Perched on a cliff overlooking the Atlantic ocean, Dún Aonghasa is the largest of the prehistoric stone forts of the Aran Islands. The fort consists of three massive dry-stone walls and a chevaux-de-frise, a dense band of jagged, upright stones, surrounding the fort from cliff to cliff, designed to impede attackers. Originally constructed c.1100BC, it was re-fortified around 700-800 AD. Excavations revealed significant evidence of prehistoric metalworking, as well as several houses and burials.

  • Kilmurvey - Kilmurvery craft village is located at the foot of Dun Aonghasa and contains a handful of eclectic Irish arts and crafts shops. Many visitors to the island browse or refresh at the cosy cafe before entering Dun Aonghasa.

  • Seal Colony Viewpoint - The seal colony is situated on the northern side of the island close to Kilmurvey Beach, on the road to Dún Aonghasa and is clearly signposted with a small cabin selling snacks at the viewing point. At low tide, a dozen seals congregate on the beach and rocks, creating a beautiful sight with the mountains of Connemara as its backdrop.

  • Aran Islands Goats Cheese - Aran Island Goat’s Cheese is a family run goat farm on Inish Mór – the largest of the Aran Islands - producing a range of soft cheeses and a barrel aged goats feta.
    The Island tour that also includes a stop at the cheese factory with people given the chance to meet the goats, watch cheese being made, have an educational commentary and taste the cheese.
    Aran Goats Cheese produces a soft cheese with or without Dillisk (a seaweed harvested on the island), a Gouda which also comes infused with sea lettuce, or Dillisk, a medium hard cheese that looks like Brie and a Summer Cheese not unlike Feta. Their Dillisk is harvested on the shores of Inis Mór. The pigs on the farm are also fed whey, a by product of cheese making, so nothing goes to waste.

What's Included
  • Collection by private bus from the ferry terminal/airport
  • Guided tour of the island by Inis Mór local guide
  • Cultural and historic tour of the island with stops at historical sites
  • Stop off at the popular Seal Colony viewing point
  • Entrance into Dún Aonghus
  • Taste the island with a tour of Aran Island’s goat cheeses
  • Tea & coffee at the goat’s cheese farm
  • Drop off by private bus to the ferry terminal/airport
What's Not Included
  • Gratuities
  • Lunch.
Additional Information

Step off the ferry onto Inis Mór island and meet your native Irish speaking guide, who is a gifted storyteller and a national food champion. In his entertaining company, gain insights into the culture and history of this remote island on a tour that includes spectacular coastal scenery with stop offs at the World Heritage Site of Dún Aonghus, the monastic site of The Seven Churches, a seal colony viewing point and a visit to local craft village to meet the locals and see Celtic inspired crafts.

He will share his remarkable insights into the customs and traditions of an island that has been home to his ancestors for as long as time can remember.

As a special foodie highlight, your guide takes you to his goat to see his roaming Nubian and Saanen goats, and then gives a demonstration of how he makes his award-winning cheese that includes tasting this delicious island goat cheese.

  • Please note max people per booking is 6 people. Max 3 bookings / up to 18 people
  • Do you or any of your party suffer from food allergies? If yes, please inform your guide prior to departing on this tour.
Location
Dun Eochla
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
4.4
(10 Ratings)
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Cshahan
May 31, 2024
Wow! Wow! and Wow! - We had the best time! Gabriel was amazing, the tour was amazing, the goats were amazing. My family 12 year old triplets, 16 year old and Mom and Dad had the best time with Gabriel. He was kind and knowledgeable. The tour was perfect, the goats were the best!!!!!! The cheese is to die for. If we ever come back we would do this in a heart beat. Thank you Gabriel for being so amazing to my family, you gave them a core memory and I will forever be in your debt.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
V2285nqwilliamm
May 6, 2024
Engaging tour you don’t want to miss - Great tour. Varied itinerary that covered a lot on the Aran Islands. Food was wonderful, entertainment engaging, and history was superb. Highly recommended!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jkwilmingtonde
Aug 28, 2023
Aran Islands tour - Gabriel was cordial, knowledgeable and delightful. It was a pleasure to meet him and allow us to learn about his fascinating corner of the world.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Walkclose
Apr 19, 2023
Definitely Recommend - I booked a private tour with Gabriel for myself, my 2 year old, my spouse and my parents. It was such a wonderful tour. My wife and I were able to go up to Dún Aonghasa with our toddler while Gabriel took my parents around to shops. We stopped at a great little restaurant that had meat and vegan options and we saw the sights of the island. Gabriel took us to meet his goats as well and our toddler loved that. It was such a great day and I only wish we had longer to spend with Gabriel and on the island.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Leslie
Jun 18, 2022
A lovely Time - We had a great time on Inishmohr. The island is lovely, the people friendly and this tour was a highlight of our time in Irelanld
Review provided by Tripadvisor
D9255ktjennifere
Apr 19, 2022
Wonderful day with Gabriel! - Our multi-generational group (ages 11-83) spent an unforgettable day touring Inishmore with Gabriel Faherty. The island itself is magical - dramatic green hills dotted with sheep and criss-crossed with ancient stone walls. Gabriel met us at the ferry terminal and drove us to loads of lovely sites, giving us plenty of time to explore the coast and take photos. We had lunch at a lovely cafe - Teach Nan Phaidi - and shopped in the nearby woolen shops. We wrapped up our trip with a visit to Gabriel’s farm to see the goats and taste the amazing goat cheese he makes. Our only regret is we couldn’t transport a bunch of his cheese back to the U.S. Highly recommend!!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Ojcurley13
Mar 18, 2022
Best tour in Ireland - I have traveled to Ireland 4 times, and by far, this was my favorite tour! The jewel of the Aran Islands is its people, and Gabriel takes you to them! In addition to seeing the "standard" points of interest (fort, 7 churches, etc . . .), Gabriel introduces you to his people and makes the best recommendations. His goat cheese is incredible, and the seaweed harvesting done by his friend, Jenny O'Halloran, is equally fascinating. My family and I left wishing that we could have spent more time with them. Our children are young (ages 15, 12, 11 and 9) and they loved this tour!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Robert_e
May 18, 2024
Pricey but nice - Gabriel met us at the ferry dock as stated and was easy to contact for final confirmation. The tour of his goat facility was nice. Learned a lot about the cheese and such. Took a nice little drive around the island. Learned some history. Then he dropped us off at the gift shops and cafe on the middle of the island for about 2 hours for us to eat and shop. Then he drove us back to the ferry. Overall it was a nice experience. Not sure it was worth the expense as we could have seen all of this on our own, but he was a nice guy and we had a good time.
Review provided by Viator
Cfpharris
Aug 19, 2022
Great authentic Irish experience - This excursion was a wonderful way to learn about the culture and history of the Aran islands. Unfortunately, our excursion was cut down by an hour due to the ferry schedule and we did not get to go to the goat farm but Daniel was very gracious and gave us some of the products made on his farm to take with us. He was a wonderful guide and it was our favorite experience in Ireland.
Review provided by Viator
M4278pqbriank
Jul 7, 2022
Disappointing and overpriced - We took the ferry from Galway which only left us 4.5 hours on the island. The tour operator assured us we would get the whole experience less the seaweed eating. We spent an hour near the docks waiting to get picked up. We went right to the goat farm. It is not as picturesque as the photo. Instead you stand in the the building with a few goats. It’s really a marketing ploy. The island is barren and we spent at least an hour driving around. Our driver, Thomas, provided no really commentary other than the pitch and the recycling plant. The kids in the back couldn’t hear a thing. We did not have enough time to visit any historical sites and we didn’t even see some that were supposed to be offered. We sat in traffic mostly and only got out at the goat farm and a lunch spot. Thomas left us both places, no private guider. We were charged over $500. Would not recommend
Review provided by Tripadvisor
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June 2024
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