What’s your favourite Gaeltacht accommodation?
The view from Slea Head Farm, Dingle/An Daingean Gaeltacht, Co. Kerry.
Travelling around the Gaeltacht (Irish-speaking region), of course an important part of it is where to rest your sleepy head after a long day. There are actually so many accommodation options available to you, it’s difficult to decide on where to stay.
When picking a place to stay, be it in Dingle/An Daingean in Kerry, Connemara in Galway or up in Donegal, there’s a couple of rules I set out for picking where to stay. This should help you when you’re doing your own travel research.
- Prefer B&Bs (bed and breakfast accommodation) over hotels. A B&B is always family-run, and you will always be greeted by the proprietor. They’ll have the top tips for you on where to visit in the region.
- Choose a B&B where the family speaks Irish (Gaelic). The only way to find this out is to ask the proprietor. You’ll be able to hear the language being spoken, and you’ll be supporting these locals.
I’ve stayed in places in many of the Gaeltacht regions. Of all of them, Slea Head Farm (also called Feirm Chinn Sléibhe) has been my favourite. It is based at the tip of the Dingle Peninsula, in the Gaeltacht of Co. Kerry. Caitlín, the proprietor, is an Irish speaker. What’s more, the views from here B&B are spectacular, as you can see from the photo above. Be sure to book yourself in for at least a night there.
That’s my favourite place to stay in the Gaeltacht. What’s yours?
We're
On a recent trip to Galway I stayed in a B&B and it was a GREAT experience. It was fun meeting fellow travelers at breakfast in the morning and I got a great sense of the culture. Only problem is you can’t sleep in after a long night of being out at the pubs.
If you are planning a trip to Ireland make sure you use the travel meta-search site 1000travelsites.com to find the best prices on flights and hotels. They search pretty much every travel provider on the web in a matter of seconds. It’s the best site for finding the lowest price (and it’s free). I saved a lot of money on my flight to Ireland using it (flying into Shannon is the cheapest most of the time).
Take care.
Jimmy, are you sure about the link to that site. It just brought me to “Price Gossip”.
My favorite (and that of most of my peers) was one called Colaiste Columba in Carraroe. Really good fun (though it’s been 14 years since I was there).
Jack