Name: Great Blasket Island Accommodation
Address: Great Blasket Island, Ballyickeen, Ballyickeen, Ballyickeen, Ireland
Rating: 10

24-hour reception

Smoke-free property

Garden

Outdoor furniture

No elevators

General

Breakfast

Meals

Picnic area

Recreation

Pets allowed

Pets

Personal protection equipment for staff

Extra decontamination measures

Personal protection equipment for guests

Contactless check-in and/or check-out

Additional measures against COVID-19

Health and Safety Measures

Location

At the cottage

Great Blasket Island Accommodation

Ballyickeen

An amazing experience. Truly unique. The icing on the cake was staying in Peig Sayers cottage. We stayed for 2 nights in mid September in 2022. Got good weather. 
The cottage was spotless, full gas cooker, utensils and everything you needed. Having no ESB for 2 nights was good fun. We sat by a warm fire in the stove and played cards with our head torches. We did the circular walk on the island both days. A good path, very doable and amazing scenery. We sat on the sandhills listening to the waves crashing and watched the seals jostle and play on the beach. Evenings were particularly special, day trippers were gone, eerie quiet and you could hear the crying/barking of the seals on the beach from the cottage.
A very interesting tour of the island on the 2nd day by the OPW-brilliant guide.
We have been on a lot of trips at home and abroad but this was a unique experience.
Thanks to Alice for managing our booking, to Billy, Chris and all the boat crew, to Brock and Claire the caretakers. We will definitely visit again. Highly recommend it.
Need to book early. A wonderful trip. Best of luck with the project Alice & Billy.

Blasket Experience

With iffy weather expected we enjoyed spectacular sun and skies.  During our walks and stay we felt a sense of history and in a small way what it may have been like to live  on the island.  Our hosts could not have been nicer and truly  had great respect for the island's animals and land.  The comfort and simplicity of the cottage was a needed switch off for a normally manic household.  I was actually hoping that the weather would suddenly turn bad so that we could be marooned  on the island for a few days.

Beautiful retreat from it all

Fantastic experience, pretty unique - do it!!  Three of us shared a two bed house in on the island for 3 nights. We agreed afterwards that this was the ideal length of stay allowing us time to wander here and there, spend time actually watching wildlife (gannets fishing, oyster catchers, seals beaching nightly, Risso's dolphin etc) and finally spend one day walking the full length of the island.  Early mornings and late evenings were particularly special times in on the island.  We are hill walkers and brought two sets of outdoor clothes in our rucksack.  We also brought food for breakfasts, lunch and dinner (there is currently no cafe / food service available).  This all worked very well and was part of the fun.  We travelled to the island on the Peig Sayers . . expertly looked after by Billy and Chris.  With their help we transferred ourselves and our luggage onto the boat, later onto an inflatable to reach the small slipway.  From there Brock (one of the current caretakers) brought all luggage up the the houses on his quad . . very useful!  Expecting very basic accommodation we were pleasantly surprised at how well the house was fitted out.  Two bedrooms with amazingly comfortable beds . . some really good sleeps were had.  Kitchen has a gas cooker (hob and oven), work & washup area, a very efficient, modern solid fuel stove (which Brock cleaned and re-supplied each morning) . . so we were more than warm enough even on some cool evenings. Cold running water meant we had two regular toilets in our house.  There is also a sitting room with couches but we lived in the kitchen . . looking our over the half door at the mainland and the beach.  This is a very unique, wonderful experience which we truly enjoyed.  You need to book well ahead . . we had booked one year in advance.  Thanks to Brock and Claire (caretakers), Billy, Chris and Kieran (boat crew) for looking after everything so well.

One of my best lifetime experiences

We stayed for 2 nights in cottage No 4 in May and we enjoyed our time.
The scenery is fantastic and the walk around the island is enjoyable with great views.
The hosts Brock and Claire are very friendly and helpful.
The beach is beautiful, especially with the seal colony.
The cottage is very very basic.
We didn’t expect a luxury accommodation, but there are a few things, we couldn’t understand…
On the kitchen/dining room floor were 10 centimetres long holes filled with gravel.
A few times I went into the holes with my foot and the gravel spread all over and I was lucky not to twist my ankle.
We think the cottage needs some maintenance.
The bathroom wasn’t looking inviting.
We had no problem with the cold shower, but to press the button for to keep the water flowing is ridiculous.
Anyway good tradesmen are needed!
We know the management/owners of the cottages are trying to do their best, but we think, it’s a wrong understanding of „authentic life of the Islanders“ and living in the past.
We missed, that the coffee shop wasn’t open and we missed very much, that during our stay there was no tour guide with the knowledge of the history of the Great Blasket Islands.

Amazing views — Very basic cottage

Having been a day tripper for yrs(it's my happy place) I finally got the chance to stay on the island overnight..what a treat.Apart from the absolute beauty of the island,you get a little idea of what life was like 100 yrs ago.yes, there's a toilet,gas cooker,head lamps etc.things they didn't have back then,but going to bed and blowing out a candle,and listening to the waves,and the seals on the beach... priceless.Loved every minute.Jack and Niamh will look after you well..lovely houses, spotlessly clean.And billy is a mine of information..thank you for a memorable night.....

Heaven in kerry

The cottage was so cool very old school irish style! When we opened the door the scenery was stunning, could also feed the donkeys which was cute! Also joined the boat tour to see Fungi! Did a few walks there! Got down to the beach so many seals realy cool! Nothing bad about the trip tbh! Really enjoyed our weekend there! Big thanks to Billy Alice Eoin and Anne! Good luck hope to see you all again soon! The island is outstanding and the all the surroundings are stunning!!!!!

One of the best weekends

Staying on the Great Blasket is enough to restore even the most frayed senses. Our three nights in September were truly special thanks to the care taken by Billy & Alice, and caretakers Eoin and Annie. The cottages are warm and snug, with good beds and plenty of blankets an duvets for warmth. Good, coal burning fires kept us toasty at night, with plenty of candles for reading. A wonderfully useful, but comic touch, are the "headlamps" left for each guest - great for stumbling about at night or just putting a spotlight on a book! There is a steep 200 yard walk on each end of the trip and a slight hop to get into Billy's boat. That said, my 78 year-old husband negotiated it without much trouble - though the extra hands of some of our fellow travellers were very welcome.

Already plotting our return visit!

I had the chance to stay 2 nights in one of the restored cottages,Tigh O'Se, on the Great Blasket Island and it was simply fantastic. I loved the atmosphere of the restored cottage with it's old world charm and cosy fireplace. There were ample candles and the views from the windows and the half door were amazing. The added bathroom was nice and I didn't mind the cold shower. Annie and Eoin, the caretakers for this season, were great, they were there if needed and had loads of tips and you could just feel that they love the place.
Falling asleep at night with the sound of the waves crashing and the seals singing on the beach was wonderful. I can only recommend staying in one of the cottages and I'll definitely be back

simply amazing

We spent 3 days here in September.The boat trip out with Billy was excellent-great views of the geology and informed commentary. The house and facilities were exactly as described and in keeping with the island. Gordon and Lesley run the accomodation efficiently and do their best to meet every need. They are very knowledgeable about the island. Just having the opportunity and privilige  to stay on this island makes this one of our favourite destinations ever. Jim and Geraldine, Cookstown.

Unbeatable location recreating the feel of the Great Blasket

Staying on Great Blasket Island is an opportunity to really disconnect from the world, to re-engage with nature, to witness pure natural beauty and to gain a new perspective. 

We travelled to Dunquin as a group, for the third summer running, and met Billy on the Peig Sayers, ably assisted by Chris and Wolfie. We carted all of the food and supplies needed up the hill to Peig's house, and settled in, with Ingrid and Charlotte looking after us. 

Over the course of the weekend, we swam with the seals (although not too close - we didn't want to disrupt them!), had a bonfire on the beach and toasted marshmallows, cooked huge meals on the gas hob, hiked to the western side of the island to watch the sun setting behind "An Fear Marbh" (aka The Dead Man), lay on the sand and watched the stars (we were even lucky enough to see some shooting stars), and spent hours with new and old friends around the campfire in the village. 

As soon as the daytrippers leave every day at 4pm, it is just you and a handful of others who are staying overnight .

As others have mentioned, there is no electricity or hot water, but this is definitely part of the experience! Few top tips;

- Bring LOTS of insect repellent - the midges can be overwhelming at times. Best place to go if they are very bad is into the sea!
- Bring food that does not require refrigeration. Plan meals well and bring only what you need - everything has to be carried up the hill from the pier.
- Spend time in the sea - the water is crystal clear and you will see abundant sea-life with goggles or a snorkel.
- Trek across the island for sunset - it's only 10 minutes from the houses. 
- Bring black bags to allow you to take all of your litter home!
- Don't frighten or disrupt the seals
- Check yourself for ticks when you are there and when you get home - most of our group found ticks on our skin when we got home
- Listen to the sea, watch the sunset, look for shooting stars and enjoy! 

Big thanks to Alice, Billy, Joey, Chris, Ingrid, Charlotte and Wolfie for having us back!

Great Blasket Island Accommodation

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