We’re getting excited! Earlier this month we made it onto the Top 5 shortlist in the Irish Times search for the Best Day Out in Ireland. There were 1900 entries, nominated by members of the public, and two Mayo entries made it as far as the Top 20 long list: ourselves and the fabulous Great Western Greenway.
But with the overall winner to be announced on Saturday, we alone are flying the flag for Mayo. Can we do it?
Our nomination came from Gina Corbett who said: “Clare Island Adventures give a wonderful day out, full of adventure and challenges. I was enormously impressed with the professionalism of the staff and the confidence they instilled in me, not to mention the sense of achievement I felt at the end of the day.”
In selecting us as finalists, the Irish Times judges said: “This is without doubt one of the best places in Ireland. Approachable, welcoming and with enough amenities to suit all kinds of travellers. These include: rock climbing, abseiling, guided walks, coasteering, scuba diving, yoga, snorkelling, orienteering, raft building and nature walks.”
For us, it means a great deal to be included on this list. It is a testament to the pride that all of our teams take in their work and it also helps to promote general awareness of what Clare Island has to offer. But, in particular, it highlights the quality of our instructors and of the overall experience we provide here at Clare Island Adventures.
This is the fourth year that the Irish Times has run a competition of this type and Mayo has picked up the overall prize twice, with Westport winning the Best Place to Live in Ireland in the first year and Erris winning Best Place to Go Wild in Ireland last year.
We await to see if we can make it a hat trick for Mayo.