The Aran Islands

The Aran Islands (Oileáin Árann, in Gaelic) are a group of three islands located at the mouth of Galway Bay, on the west coast of Ireland. The name of the three islands, from the West to the East are:

• Inishmore (Árainn Mhór or Inis Mór) which means what it is, the largest island.
  
• Inishmaan (Inis Meáin or Inis Meadhóin) means the middle (and second-largest) island.
  
• Inisheer (Inis Oírr or Inis Oirthir) the most eastern (and the smallest) island.

Inishmore, the largest island, is the main tourist attraction of all three islands. The access to the islands is made only through motorboats and ferries. There is a ferry port at Rossaveal, which is on the West of the city of Galway. If you arrive at Rossaveal by car be careful on the Galway area, because the traffic is intense during the working hours. We arrived just ten minutes before departure... However, there is another less-known choice. On the far side of Galway Bay, there is another enbarkment, in Doolin, near the famous Cliffs of Moher.

You can spent a perfect day at Inishmore. There are a lot of activities available. Once your boat ties up you can rent a bike for just €10 a day. After crossing Kilronan (the bigest city in the island) it is possible to choose several routes. We follow the road to the Dún Aonghasa prehistoric fort. We left our bikes in a parking and after visiting the ruins we went to the spectacular cliffs of the island.

Then, we took the typical Irish beer and went to buy an original pullover from the islands (very expensive to be honest). we spent the rest of the day biking through the Island. If I am correct, we came back at 17.00 to Rossaveal and went to the Cliffs of Moher.

The other islands can be also visited, but it is better to book in hostel to have plenty of time...
The Aran Islands are a kind of remote place, so unique. If you are travelling through Ireland do not hesitate to visit them.

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Tomintoul, Highland Youth Hostel

We chose this lost village in the middle of the Highlands before going to the Aberdeen airport. After a long day, driving a bunch of miles, we arrived at Tomintoul. Our plan was to get some rest, to spend a night there and leaving very early at dawn, in order to take the flight to Ireland.

Tomintoul is a little village of what we felt like ‘nowhere’ and it is near a ski resort near Balmoral, the royal residence, summer retreat of Queen Elizabeth II.

The advantage of travelling on April is that you find very few people, so you have plenty of room at hostels. We just met an Englishman in the morning who gave us useful infotmation about biking in the area...


In this region of green landscapes and pure nature you can find lots of sheeps. The Scottish sheep is really genuine. The following day while driving down to Balmoral, we found a warning signed, which was really funny: SHEEPS!

Tomintoul Youth Hostel is quite small and particularly our room. There was two bunk beds and no room for anything else. But it was nice for sleeping one night. There were also a comfortable living-room with a kitchen and two roomy bathrooms for men and women. I made a very interesting discover in the shower. If you wanted hot water you had to pull down a string hanging in the ceiling, just before getting inside, something really weird, if you are not used to do that... So, some of us got a cold shower...

This is the adress:

Tomintoul
Main Street, Tomintoul, Ballindalloch, Banffshire, AB37 9EX
Hostel Tel: 01807 580 364
Central Bookings: 0870 1 55 32 55
E-mail: reservations@syha.org.uk

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Hostel at Davos Switzerland

This little Swiss town is a kind of lost spot in the Alps. Or at least, that is my feeling upon viewing. The first time I've ever heard of Davos was on TV, while watching on CNN a special report about the World Economic Forum. The snowing landscape I saw and, above all, after realizing I was going to cross the border to Austria helped me to determine to spend a night on this town.
This choice was great.

Davos is the perfect place to get some rest and visit the Grison region. We went on the morning to the Tarasp Castle and on the evening we croosed to Italy and to Austria. On the season we travelled throughout the Alps, April, there were some roads blocked off... Once the thaw starts, the Swiss avoid accidents because of possible avalanches. As long as you are in Switzerland and need "to go to the other side" you just take a train with your car in order to save the obstacle. Davos is surrounded by mountains and offers you whatever you can ask to a peaceful and modern town, such as winter sport facilities, hiking or just getting some rest at the hotel...

The youth hostel of Davos is really good. It belongs to the Youth Hostel Network. We booked an en suite room for four with bunk beds. Breakfast was included in the price (€26 per person per night) and it was a really generous buffet. But pay attention on time, because the Swiss are very strict on punctuality. Breakfast ended at 9:00 and they looked really nervous at 9:01 if you were still taking food at the buffet. Something really nice for us was to find a letter sticked at the main entrance door with the instructions to go in, as we arrived too late that evening...

The adress is:

Davos Youth palace Horlaubenstrasse 27
7260 Davos (GR)
Phone: +41 (0)81 410 19 20
Fax: +41 (0)81 410 19 21
davos@youthhostel.ch

The Trailer From Ireland

This is a trailer from our trip to Ireland in April 2006. Actually, that trip took us around England, Scotland and Irleand for a whole week...