Lovely lake north of Ennis with walking trails, free parking and lots of ducks waiting to be fed!…read more You can also hire a kayak / paddle board there this summer. Unfortunately if it rains while you're there, the only shelter is under a tree. No cafes nearby but there is a little local grocery store across the road

Portumna Quay is a nice place to visit for a range of reasons:…read more Swimming Fishing Canoeing Photography Dog walking Lake watching We did all but one of those on our first visit alone. There is a section for swimming only, so you wont be bothered by jetskis or boats. There are toilets too, which were unlocked when the lifeguards came on duty, at around midday I think it was. It's one of the great amenities Portumna has.

Do not recommend drove 1 hr and 15 mins and got turned away within 5 mins do not recommend and…read morestaff were very mean towards my family

Boating.. Zip lines…read more.. Camping.... Old castle ruins... MASSIVE tree houses... Trails of all levels of intensity.... Adventure Kingdoms (aka a playground fit for a princess) Huhhh huuhh hugh, wait one minute while I gather myself..... Within 5 minutes of entering Lough Key Forest and Activity Park, I was reduced to the age of 5 years old. There was so much to do and so little time, but I had unfortunately, had made the monumentous mistake of only setting aside an hour or so, to "put a check in the box" beside this local attraction. If I can save just one person the disappointment I felt when (for the 3rd time) my girlfriend tried to usher me out of the park, this review will have been worth it. This is no where near your average park. You could easily spend an entire day, getting lost under the glowing green canopies of the forest or swept up in the romance and history that lingers near the bridges and brooks. Simply put, it has been one of the most beautiful places I've had the pleasure to have visited to date.

One of my favourite woodland parks in County Galway. Coole…read moreis situated just a few miles outside the town of Gort in Co.Galway. Coole was originally the home of Lady Gregory who co-founded the Abbey Theatre with W.B.Yeats. Yeats wrote alot of potery whilst visiting Coole. His most well known poems about Coole are "The Wild Swans of Coole" and "To a Squirrel at Kyle-Na-No" Lady Gregory's home was knocked many years ago but the stables have been rennovated in recent years and now hold a visitor centre and coffee shop/cafe. there are wonderful trails arond the park and it's a haven for wildlife. I have spotted red squirrels here. There are also deer in the park and some beautiful swans on Coole Lake. It's a great place to bird watch. Plenty of car parking space and there is a lovely picnic area to be found within the walled garden. Lovely on a Summers day to spend a few hours here.

I hope that to see Coole Park beautiful,like was years ago. I have been there for Walk and relax…read more To enjoy the calm and natural beauty through more than 15 years. Still nice to go there, but nothing is beautiful like before 2014.

We used to visit Portumna Woods, which is what we used to call it, regularly as children. It was so…read moremuch fun and to us there was only the one walk, marked out with numbered stumps that we use to race each other to reach first. Today its the same but different. The one walk is not how I remember and there are no numbered stumps. But there are new path signs and many more walks, all of different distances and cycling as well as walking is encouraged. The weather on this occasion was fabulous, clear blue skies and a blazing sun, for February it was as good as it could get. But its not always sunny, the last time I was there in January it was milling rain. But it was still great. The trees, the deer (if you are lucky), the water fowl and the lake, this place is really enchanting. There are toilet facilities by the carpark, both of which are free. How good is that!

Beautiful park with lots of trees, walking trails and views of Lough Derg. Lovely spot to relax.read more

Went for a tour of a local island with this company last summer, and had a great time!…read more The tour guide was able to give us loads of information on the history and heritage of the island, seal spotting was included and then we were brought to a spot where we could swim and jump off the rocks into the water and just have fun in the sun, a great family day out for all, adults and children alike. I will note that kayaking can be quite a tiring activity, especially if you are younger or abit smaller in build (such as myself) it can be tough to paddle against the current, however the instructor/tour guide keeps a close eye on everyone and provides encouragement along the way, and it is worth it once you get to land and can enjoy the beauty that Ireland has to offer. We were exceptionally lucky, the day we kayaked was sunny (a rare occasion indeed!), but seeing as you are already getting wet from being in the sea I can imagine it would matter too much if there was a small shower or too throughout the day! The tour took a good couple of hours, including the kayak in and out to the island and back to the mainland, so I recommend bringing supplies with you (including a picnic of sorts, suncream, sunglasses, water and sensible shoes are a must!). Also be wary, parts of the tour can be quite overgrown, as this island is uninhabited, so while shorts may be needed for nice weather, longer, lightweight trousers may be a good idea to pack! The tour guide was friendly and positive throughout, another bonus, and I would highly recommend to anyone looking to do something a little more active and outside of the box.

This was one of my favorite activities in Doolin. A great way to experience the beauty of Ireland…read more If you like adventure, this is for you. Guides are great at reading the weather - and you can tell they love what they do.

It is extremely crowded but I'm glad I went once at least. We went all the way down the right side…read morepath to the end because I wanted to try to get some photos of the Aran Islands and that side was quite crowded and a bit narrow especially around the stairs. It was also windy enough that it was pushing us along at a light jog/trot at a couple points. No joke. I had suggested that my mom remove her hearing aid for our walk and that was probably a good idea. Remove your hats, sunglasses etc and tuck them away safely. Tie back long hair. Great views on a clear day though. Go early and hope for good skies.

We were passing thru and this was our only time to visit. we were luck enough to have some time…read morewith no rain which was rain treat for this trip. So glad to got to see it. We looked around and even saw puffins on the cliffs across the way. Wish I had a better camera but will never forget first sighings of puffins and they were even feeding their babies. sooo cool,

We had a most excellent week on the waters of Lough Derg with an Emerald star cruiser…read more Being the first week in October, we knew we were taking a risk with the weather and conditions, but we did get a 20% online discount because of this. And while we saw our fair share of rain showers, we also had good sunshine and a rake of fabulous rainbows. After being shown the ropes on how to use everything on the boat and a quick demo drive to the river and back (with a practice mooring), we were all set. But we decided to stay in the yard that night, instead of rushing to a nearby harbour that evening. Then next morning we set off. Because of the time of season it was, the harbours around the lake that we visited were not very busy. Which was great because we could take our time and have room for mooring up safely. We moored up in Portumna, Terryglass and Garrykennedy during our week. Our favourite was probably Portumna. You could see the fish in the water, the castle was only a field away and there was also easy access to the Portumna Forest walks. The showers and facilities were also free to use in Portumna. We bought the Waterways Ireland facilities card in the shop in Terryglass, which we were able to use on the showers at the harbour there and in Garrykennedy. For 6.50 EUR you get ten units and to use a shower for ten minutes you need to use 2 units. The card gives you access to the toilets for free. The shower in Garrykennedy wasn't the best, but did the job. On the boat, the kitchen was stocked with more or less all the utensils and delph you would need. The gas cooker was fine to use. Fridge is great too, if a bit small. But we had a cool box with us, that was handy for the beers and keeping the fridge free for the food. There was plenty of storage also in the main cabin. The bathroom was fine too, but we never actually used the shower on-board TBH as we ended up using the showers in the harbours and in a friends house. So I don't know how well it worked. Over all the whole week cost around 963 for a cruiser that sleeps four. This price includes full insurance and all the diesel we used. Honestly four would be the max for this boat. It's perfect for two, but it's obviously more expensive. A few negatives: The demo could be more comprehensive, especially around rope safety when mooring up. The bedroom got very damp overnight with condensation, to the point you had to wipe it down in the morning to stop the drips - yuck. The positives though far outweigh the negatives: Freedom to go anywhere you wanted on the lake or river The scenery The wildlife and bird life Fishing where ever and when ever you wanted We are definitely going to go again, hopefully next year.

We had an enjoyable time kayaking on Keel Lake with Achill Surf in July '18. There were two of us…read morewho were placed in a group with a family of three. There were two instructors and both were helpful and friendly. At the start of the lesson we went through the basics of getting in and out of the kayak, how to recover if we topple over and how to paddle correctly. We also covered some additional techniques on the lake. Changing facilities were provided on site along with free use of wet suits and safety gear. The lesson cost €35 per adult or €25 per child and lasted for two hours. Recommended for anyone visiting Achill and suitable for a wide range of ages.