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Trip to Ireland June/July 2020

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fernmanus
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Trip to Ireland June/July 2020

Postby fernmanus » Sun Sep 22, 2019 10:26 am

I have heard great things about kiting in Ireland, but I have never been there. I am thinking about a trip next summer with my wife. I would like to spend 2 weeks there - one week in two locations. We are interested in staying in nice hotels and spending our days exploring the countryside (we have no desire to spend time in cities).

My question - is Ireland so windy that you can stay just about anywhere on the coast and get wind and decent launch or do I need to try to stay near certain locales to get wind and a decent launch? I have been kiting for 20 years, so I am experienced at self launch/land, so I am comfortable launching in sketchy launches in the middle of nowhere.

Second question - what is the most scenic area of Ireland? I don’t feel like I need a tour of Ireland on this trip, I would like to stay in 2 scenic spots.

Any opinions would be appreciated!

knot_moving
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Re: Trip to Ireland June/July 2020

Postby knot_moving » Sun Sep 22, 2019 5:10 pm

We visited the last week in May 2015. Stayed on the western side of the island and it was beautiful everywhere we went. From Enystimon up to Killybegs. I brought 2 kites and planned to rent a board over there - turns out most of the shops were not open yet so that didn't work out. I managed to get out 1 day at Portnoo when a kind soul let me borrow a board.
There are 2 Facebook groups that I subscribed to (might be closed groups, but just send a request and they will add you) "Heading out NW (Sligo, Donegal)" and "Heading out West (Clare, Galway, Mayo)"

We stayed at Tara Hotel in Killybegs - we liked it a lot.
Stayed at Broadhaven Bay Hotel in Belmullet - nothing remarkable.
Stayed at Falls Hotel in Ennystimon - this was a hotel featured in a series of books my wife liked. Its a historic hotel and is really close to Lahinich, which is nice spot with the right wind direction.

We could have stayed a week at Tara Hotel in Killybegs and Falls Hotel in Ennystimon. Country landscape is very different between south and north - north is very wild, south is more cultivated.

I don't think you can go wrong - beautiful area and very friendly. Have fun planning and on the trip
Mike
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knot_moving
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Re: Trip to Ireland June/July 2020

Postby knot_moving » Sun Sep 22, 2019 5:16 pm

Achill Island, near Belmullet is apparently a really great spot on the west coast - Those were the only 2 days on our trip where it was raining cats and dogs, and I didn't have a board. Pure Magic Kiteboarding has a kiteboarding hostel there if that is your speed. If there is wind you can find a spot to ride in almost any direction there. Broadhaven Hotel I mentioned above was OK, a bit run down, looked like an older Best Western inside. We booked it ahead of time to have a chance to check out Achill Island.

fernmanus
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Re: Trip to Ireland June/July 2020

Postby fernmanus » Sun Sep 22, 2019 6:35 pm

Hi Mike,

I appreciate your reply. I will definitely bring my split board. I can haul 3 to 4 kites in my bag, I hear that the wind tends to be on the strong side, so I can leave my lightwind kites at home. I am thinking 7, 9, 12. I have read that the water is cold, so I need to decide whether I bring a 3/4 or 5 mil wetsuit.

I will sign up for the Facebook pages.

Your reference to Lahinich made me smile. My wife was following the Outlander Books for awhile.

Thank you for the hotel recommendations. I will check them out!

I am glad you got out at least one day. A trip doesn’t seem complete without at least one session on the water and that session can be the highlight of the trip.

Thanks again!

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Re: Trip to Ireland June/July 2020

Postby HugoMC » Sun Sep 22, 2019 6:43 pm

Have a look at 360 Kitesurfing in Belmullet 👍 West coast is the best. Post a message to the the FB pages mentioned above and you will get info on what spots are best depending on conditions. Have a look at the Wild Atlantic Way too.

ronnie
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Re: Trip to Ireland June/July 2020

Postby ronnie » Mon Sep 23, 2019 11:28 am

There can be a lot of light wind in the Summer - the weather is unpredictable, except for up to a week ahead. Places transform when the sun comes out eg. the sea can change from grey to turquoise blue in minutes.
The SouthWest and the NorthWest have more mountains and tend to have more spectacular scenery. The Midwest is a bit flatter, but it still has good scenery, depending on what you like - it also has a big variety of kite spots.

If you look for 5 star accommodation, you should be able to find some interesting places.
https://www.ireland.com/en-gb/accommoda ... /1/star/5/

Here is a site with many of the kiting locations on it.
http://locations.splocs.com/kitesurf/lo ... Beach.html

This is a site that lets you see aerial photographs of any place on the coast of Ireland. It also has a very detailed map attached, which is helpful to find small tracks/roads to get to remote kiting locations.
http://www.coastalhelicopterview.ie/imf ... Helicopter
EDIT: Unfortunately this brilliant site which was very useful for anyone needing to get information about accessing the coast, seems to no longer be available. :(
Last edited by ronnie on Mon Sep 23, 2019 10:14 pm, edited 1 time in total.

dwoodcoc
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Re: Trip to Ireland June/July 2020

Postby dwoodcoc » Mon Sep 23, 2019 2:56 pm

Get in touch with a group on facebook called Kiting Buddies - there are always people on there announcing where they are going on particular days and what the conditions are like at the time.

I'm Irish(living in the US) and went over there last summer for 3 weeks with the wife. I got out a few times over in Achill. There's always Belmullet in Mayo for some flat water, and loads of wave spots in Sligo, Donegal, Mayo, Clare, Kerry and Cork. The east coast obviously works best when the wind is the other direction, but that happens less often in the summer. There are a few spots around Dublin, on the north side of the city. Down southeast in in Wexford there's Lady's Island Lake, Rosslare strand and the Burrow, and Curracloe. There are many other spots around the country and Ireland is not soo big that you couldn't drive from anywhere for a day on the water. Oh, and I used a 5/3 and a 3/2 shortie while I was there - huge difference in what you need when the sun is out, and the west coast water is a few degrees colder than the east.

Enjoy


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