I had read that this was everyone's favorite part of their trip to Ireland, so I knew I had to try to get tickets.
There are only about 12-15 boats allowed to go per day and each holds only 12 people. We looked into booking two months in advance and over half of the boats were sold out already. Some of the boats have websites but most you just have to email. It's 85 euros per person and you pay in cash only on the boat. It is very dependent on the weather. They say only about 70% of boats go out because of bad weather. If your trip is cancelled because of weather you don't have to pay, but you won't be able to rebook. All but one of the boats leave from Portmagee and there is no ATM in that town, so bring your cash with you.
The ride over to the island is 1-1.5 hours. You first go around Little Skellig which is a great view. There are so many birds around that island. Since we had good weather, they took us around Skellig Michael before we landed which was really cool to see. If you get motion sick, come prepared because it is a choppy ride. We apparently had one of the smoothest trips, but it was still really rocky to me. I took Dramamene before and I still felt kind of nauseous 2/3 of the way through the trip.
Once you land, you walk up a short path with a hill where you meet a guide and a couple of other boats. The guide gives you many safety precautions before you start your climb. The climb up to the monasrery is around 600 steps. There steps are very steep and narrow on the edge of a cliff. It's a bit scary, but if you pay attention to the ground, it's not too bad. It's a challenging climb, but it only takes 20 minutes or so to get to the top. There are good views the whole way up (make sure to stop before looking around). You are not allowed off the path. We got lucky with the weather and it was sunny, but they say the stairs are slippery when they are wet.
Once at the monastery, you are free to explore and enjoy the views. Once everyone from your group is at the top, there is a guide that will tell you about the history of the monks lives at the monastery. It was very informative and interesting. You get about 2-2.5 hours on the island before you have to be back at the dock to catch your boat back.
There are no toilets on the boats or on the island, so make sure to go before you leave and not to drink much on the trip. There is no food or drink on the island or boats, but you can bring your own with you. You aren't allowed to eat in the monastery, but you can eat before or after. You will probably get wet on the boat, so waterproof clothing is a good idea. We only got a little bit of spray, but with worse weather, you would get more. The trip lasted from about 9:45-3 for us, so it takes most of the day.
Fun fact: this is the island featured in The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi.
This completely lived up to my high expectations. So far, this has been my favorite thing that we've done on our Ireland trip (we have Northern Ireland remaining). If you have to pick one thing to do, I would definitely make it this! read more