Where to surf North West Ireland?

[shack]

Hi there,

I'm coming over for two weeks at the end of August. Can anyone point me in the direction of;

some good campsites (basic but clean)
some good beaches
a good surf shop where I can hire a board for 2 weeks

Please help!

[scuba steve]

I assume you mean donegal/sligo area.

Surf: head to Enniscrone if you are a beginner, Strand hill if you're better, or Easky if you're good (world class break). Then all the obvious places up in Donegal; Rossnowlagh, Bundoran reefs/ beaches etc.

Surf shops and rental: All over Bundoran and many in Sligo town.

Should be many campsites and B&B's that time of year around the place.
I think you can camp at Enniscrone.

You should have a really good time if you respect the area and the locals as everyone is really friendly and layed back in Ireland. Bundoran town has been ruined by Tourists but still holds a classic wave on its day.

Tip for Ireland: 'If you search you shall find'.

Good Luck.

[kitesurfer]

Speaking of which im goping to be in sligo in 10 days time.



KS

[O_Danny_Boy]

there loads of spots littered around there if your based in sligo theres.......

easky-loads of camping sites near itive never surfed it, out of my league

strandhill is the job really- im not great myself but ive rarely had a bad day there

up the road from sligo theres bundy and tullan, again never surfing bundy but tullan was right down my alley way, a lovely rip by the rocks sucks you straight out back, pleasant as a pheasant

when in sligo i stay in one of the lads house but up in bundy stayed in the surf lodge, its nothing special but cheap enough. thats my 2c, hope its some help

[Partyboy]

You may want to phone to check if the places rent proper boards before you arrive, I could be wrong but i'm pretty sure that in either the North or South of Ireland you can only legally rent softboards but im not sure which one it is. The way around this is they advertise surf lessons which would end up pretty spendy for 2 weeks.

Here's a link you may find useful

http://www.isasurf.ie/index.php?page=surfshops

Any number of good beaches in this part of the world, if your bringing ur own tent you'll have no objections to camping by the beach(provided u respect the place of course).Where do plan on staying and I might be able to recommend a few good spots, can't give away the really good ones though ....

[shack]

PartyBoy,

In particular we we planning on heading to Achill first, then across and up Bundoran. Either way we have no preference, just looking for a 'nice' quiet campsite. Or a nice spot to pitch where we're not going to get hassle.

Can you suggest anywhere?

[Lobo]

there's loads of quality waves around the place and camping at easky is no bother...you can pretty much camp anywhere though i'm sure there's rules but they're not enforced at all

[shack]

So is Easky a village, or just a beach?

[myate]

Easky is a village...pub, some shops etc. Enniscrone is just down the road, and it's a bigger village. There's a point there that's supposed to be great at times...follow the coast to your right from the beach...500 metres or so.
http://www.globalsurfers.com/spot_region.cfm?land=Ireland&surfing=3749&travel=Enniscrone%20Point&region=Donegal%20Bay
There's a campsite right beside the beach in Strandhill....which was huge this weekend!

[chembot]

There's an ok campsite in achill at keel beach, you should have no problem finding places to camp. Explore the coastline between easky and sligo for sheltered spots. However, I'm not sure about surfboard hire for 2 weeks. It would be far cheaper I'd say to bring boards with you. Ryanair isn t so bad for charging for sports equipment and of course if you're bringing your own car you're sorted. Its pricey to rent boards (20 for 2 hours maybe). And it's true that it's illegal to rent out hard boards. If you definitely dont want to bring a board look up a few of these places and give them a ring before you go in order to work out some kind of a deal. (In some places it may even be impossible to rent out boards on a daily basis, i.e might only be renting on the beach at the weekends.) Try Lahinch surf shop. www.lahinchsurfshop.com. seventh wave surf in enniscrone (http://www.seventhwavesurfschool.com/. Generally have a search for surfshops that rent out boards. Good luck