Exploring Ireland’s Wildflowers

Day 1 - Galway

The ‘town of the tribes,’ Galway City is the west cost’s most vibrant urban centre and a great place to start your trip. Cobbled pavement and street performers await as well as some of the best and freshest food Ireland has to offer. Wander the historical streets and XXX.

Day 2 - Hiking Slieve Carran

The Burren is renowned the world over for its rocky grey limestone landscape. In spring and early summer, the Burren transforms into a myriad of colours hosting one of the highest diversities of wild flowers in Europe – flowers from the arctic and the southern Mediterranean blanket the ground here! Today we will climb the iconic Slieve Carran Mountain to enjoy the view of this strange landscape – a region said to have inspired J.R.R. Tolkein’s Middle Earth – while marvelling at the beautiful flowers.

Optional upgrade: Meet a local wildflower expert for your hike through the landscape, learning about the various kinds of beautiful flora growing in the Burren.

Day 3 - The Burren Way

The Burren is an area of scenic attractions where stone-grey hills and the valleys beneath reveal many prehistoric remains. Today as the layers of unfolding to form limestone terraces on the slopes of the hills, you’ll hike part of the scenic Burren Way. The grey stretches are coupled with streaks of colour in the rock fissures. With its innate sense of spiritual peace, extraordinary array of flora and wildlife, and megalithic tombs and monuments older than Egypt’s pyramids, hiking the Burren Way is perhaps the best way to truly get a sense of this unusual landscape.

Day 4 - The Cliffs of Moher

Start your morning off with a truly impressive sight. You’ll hike along the cliff edges of the staggering 700ft high Cliffs of Moher – approaching the massive cliffs via little-known ‘secret’ paths to avoid other visitors, alive with flowers clinging to the crags in springtime. The Cliffs of Moher are home to the largest colony of nesting seabirds on mainland Ireland – and you’ll even have the chance of spotting puffins nesting on the cliffs if you’re lucky! 

Day 5 - The Aran Islands

Cut off from the world, the Aran Islands are a bastion of traditional Irish language, culture and music, unique in their geology and archaeology and alive with a potent sense of history. Inis Mór (Inishmore) is the largest of the Aran Islands and home to one of the most important prehistoric sites in Europe: Dún Aonghusa (Dun Aengus), a semi-circular stone fort that clings dramatically to the top of a 100 metre drop into the sea. We’ll explore the island on foot before settling down to our island retreat with a pint in hand.

Day 6 - Foraging in the Burren

Today, you’ll meet a local forager for a hike through the Burren. Not only will you learn a bit more about the types of plants available in the Burren and on the west coast of Ireland, you’ll get a crash course in edible plants and for lunch, you’ll even get to taste a few wild dishes on a picnic in this remote area. 

Day 7 - Galway & Depart

This morning, your guide will take you to the bustling town of Galway, where you can choose to explore Galway or make your way onwards.