People often ask how to book accommodation, tours and transport options mentioned on Wild Irish Walks. We’ve taken some time to detail the travel booking resources we use on a regular basis.
Most of our articles on Wild Irish Walks focus on how to do the actual hike. Things like how to follow the trail, what to look out for, points of interest along the way…we want to make sure you have the best experience out of the fab tracks and trails all over Ireland.
However, we do also give useful information about how to:
- How to get to the trailhead
- What maps to use
- Where to stay
- Where is good nearby for food and drink
While every walk is different, below are the travel booking resources I personally use (and regularly recommend) when planning trips and hikes in Ireland and further afield.
Accommodation
This is the platform I use most often when booking accommodation in Ireland.
It’s particularly good for:
- B&Bs, guesthouses and small hotels
- Rural towns close to hiking areas
- Flexible cancellation – to be honest, this is my favourite thing about booking.com. Free cancellation sometimes up just 48 hours in advance is fantastic.
If you’re planning a walking trip to places like say Killarney, Doolin or Adare, this is usually where I start.
Search accommodation on Booking.com.
Agoda overlaps a lot with Booking.com but can sometimes offer better value for:
- International trips
- Longer stays
- City accommodation outside Ireland
I tend to use it less for Irish trips, but it’s worth checking for travel further afield.
Search accommodation on Agoda.
Hostelworld is a great option for:
- Solo travellers
- Budget-focused trips
- Hikers who enjoy a social atmosphere
While hostels in Ireland aren’t always cheap, they can still be a good base in places like Dublin, Galway or Killarney.
Find hostels on Hostelworld.
Tours & Experiences
I generally prefer self-guided walks and hikes. Route planning tools like Alltrails and Hiiker are great for this. That said, there are times when guided experiences make sense — especially for boat trips, city walking tours or activities that require local knowledge.
This is my go-to platform for tours and experiences in Europe.
It’s particularly good for:
- Clear descriptions
- Flexible cancellation
- Well-reviewed operators
Browse tours on GetYourGuide.
Viator offers a very similar range of tours to GetYourGuide and is especially popular with US-based travellers.
It’s worth checking both platforms, as they sometimes feature different local operators.
Browse tours on Viator
Klook is strongest in Asia and some larger European cities.
I include it here for completeness, particularly for readers planning multi-country trips beyond Ireland.
Browse experiences on Klook.
Maps & Route Planning
Good maps and route planning make a huge difference when hiking, especially in unfamiliar areas.
While I always recommend carrying a paper map for mountain days, the tools below are useful for route planning, previews and navigation — particularly for well-established trails.
AllTrails is one of the most popular hiking apps worldwide and is useful for:
- Discovering new walks
- Checking distance and elevation profiles
- Reading recent trail reports from other walkers
I use it mainly for route previews and general planning, especially when travelling outside Ireland. As with any user-generated platform, trail quality can vary, so it’s best used alongside local knowledge and good judgement.
One of the things I like about alltrails is that I can create my own maps – perfect for describing routes on Wild Irish Walks!
View routes on AllTrails.
What I love about Hiiker is that it is an Irish company. More importantly, Hiiker is also an excellent tool for planning longer-distance walking routes, particularly in Ireland and the UK.
It’s especially useful for:
- National and waymarked trails
- Multi-day routes
- Visualising how different trails connect
I find Hiiker very handy when planning longer walks or linking sections of established trails.
Explore routes on Hiiker.
Car Hire
For hiking trips in Ireland, having a car often makes life much easier.
DiscoverCars allows you to:
- Compare prices across multiple providers
- Filter by location and car type
- Find competitive rates at Irish airports
It’s the easiest way to check car hire prices in one place.
Compare car hire prices with DiscoverCars.
A quick note on affiliate links
Some of the travel booking resources links on this page are affiliate links. If you book through them, Wild Irish Walks may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.
It helps cover the running costs of the site and allows me to keep creating detailed walking guides and trip planning content — thank you for the support.