Aran Islands

Strewn like limestone chips hammered off the jagged west coast, the three Aran Islands — Inishmore, Inishmaan, and Inisheer — confront the wild Atlantic with stubborn grit. Craggy, vertical cliffs fortify their southern flanks (particularly Inishmore). Windswept rocky fields, stitched together by stone walls, blanket the interiors. And the islands' precious few sandy beaches hide in coves that dimple their northern shores. The vast majority of the islands' visitors make a day trip to Inishmore (the biggest of the islands), where they hop on a minibus to the must-see Iron Age fort of Dun Aengus.