The Slightly Unhinged 1 Week Westport Itinerary: Where Irish Charm Meets Mayo Madness

Your Day-By-Day 1 Week Westport Itinerary (With Room For Spontaneous Irish Detours)

When planning a trip to Ireland with Westport as your base, a week requires strategic brilliance—balancing cultural immersion, outdoor adventures, and adequate recovery time for evening pub sessions. This 1 week Westport itinerary delivers the perfect blend of structure and flexibility, ensuring travelers experience Mayo’s magic without the manic exhaustion that comes from trying to see everything—a common pitfall when exploring all the incredible things to do in Ireland. Remember the local saying: “The fastest way to see Ireland is slowly.”

Day 1: Westport Town Orientation – First Impressions and Pint Glasses

Begin your Westport adventure with a graceful arrival and strategic base establishment, keeping in mind all the wonderful things to do in Westport that await your exploration. When deciding where to stay in Westport, accommodation options span all budgets: penny-pinchers can secure rooms at the centrally-located Clew Bay Hotel from $120/night, mid-range travelers find exceptional value at Westport Plaza Hotel for around $190/night, while luxury-seekers should head directly to Knockranny House Hotel, where $260/night buys views that make smartphone cameras seem woefully inadequate.

After check-in, dedicate your afternoon to exploring The Octagon, Westport’s impossibly photogenic town center, which features among the best things to do in Westport for first-time visitors. The colorful buildings house everything from legitimate artisan crafts to sheep-themed kitsch that somehow becomes appealing after crossing the Atlantic. The Carrowbeg River’s tree-lined Mall provides a genteel promenade experience—think Boston’s Commonwealth Avenue but with 100% more sheep references and 90% fewer car horns.

For dinner, An Port Mór offers seafood dishes starting at $25 with Atlantic catches so fresh they make Red Lobster look like a seafood cemetery. Follow this with the obligatory pub crawl starting at Matt Molloy’s, owned by The Chieftains’ flutist, where $6 pints accompany traditional music sessions starting around 9:30pm. Watch as visitors inevitably attempt Irish dancing after their second Guinness—a spectacle locals find more entertaining than the professional musicians.

Day 2: Westport House and Pirate Queens – Aristocracy With a Side of Swashbuckling

Dedicate your morning to Westport House ($15 admission), the 18th-century mansion sometimes called “Ireland’s most beautiful historic home”—a title contested by approximately 47 other Irish estates. What sets this particular aristocratic playground apart is its unusual foundation: it’s built directly atop the castle ruins of Grace O’Malley, the 16th-century pirate queen who controlled much of Ireland’s west coast through a combination of political savvy and strategic terrifying of men.

The afternoon presents a delightful contradiction: Westport House’s Adventure Park, where ziplines and swan boat rentals ($22) offer wholesome family entertainment on property once controlled by history’s most successful female pirate. It’s essentially the most photogenic amusement park this side of Disneyland, but with fewer princesses and more bewildered sheep watching from nearby fields.

For dinner, Sage Restaurant serves mains from $22-30, their locally-sourced ethos ensuring your vegetables probably grew up with a better view than your hotel room. Cap the evening with Westport’s ghost tour ($18), where guides masterfully calibrate their storytelling based on how frightened the tourists look—the American capacity for believing in banshees being a source of particular delight.

Day 3: Croagh Patrick Pilgrimage – Spiritual Awakening Via Quad Burn

Rise with the pilgrims for an early assault on Croagh Patrick, Ireland’s sacred mountain where St. Patrick allegedly spent 40 days fasting and banishing snakes through what modern scientists might classify as hallucination-induced reptile eviction. The 3.5-hour round trip hike with its 764m elevation gain offers spiritual rewards and quad punishment in equal measure. Climbing in reverent silence is optional; climbing in inappropriate footwear is surprisingly common.

Practical hikers bring water, wear layers (temperatures drop 10°F at the summit), pack rain gear regardless of forecast, and prepare explanations for why they’re wheezing while 80-year-old Irish grandmothers breeze past with rosary beads clicking rhythmically. The views from the top—Clew Bay’s islands scattered like dropped puzzle pieces—provide both spiritual elevation and premium Instagram content.

Recover at Staunton’s Pub in Lecanvey with hearty Irish stew ($14) and post-mountain redemption pints ($6). Spend the afternoon at nearby Bertra Beach, gentle walking along its perfect arc providing stunning views of Clew Bay’s 365 islands—allegedly one for each day of the year, though no one has actually counted while sober. End at The Pantry and Corkscrew in Westport, where mains ($18-28) accompany a wine selection surprisingly sophisticated for a town where most liquid consumption involves barley and hops.

Day 4: Achill Island Adventure – Atlantic Drama Queens

Dedicate day four of your 1 week Westport itinerary to Achill Island, a 40-minute drive that delivers Ireland’s most dramatic coastal scenery. The Atlantic Drive scenic route rivals California’s Pacific Coast Highway but with more sheep and fewer convertibles. The road occasionally narrows to single-lane width precisely where the drop-offs become most terrifying—Irish road engineers apparently believing that driving should include regular moments of existential reflection.

Keem Bay’s horseshoe-shaped beach appears on so many Irish tourism brochures that visitors experience déjà vu upon arrival. The water temperature rarely exceeds 60°F, ensuring your swim will be brief but invigorating—and possibly the fastest immersion baptism in Catholic history. Lunch at Gielty’s Bar and Restaurant in Dooagh ($12-18) proves seafood doesn’t get fresher unless you’re wearing gills.

The afternoon at the Deserted Village at Slievemore provides sobering historical perspective among the abandoned stone cottages from the 1800s famine era. It’s a poignant reminder of Irish resilience in the face of historical challenges and terrible weather forecasts. Adventure seekers can arrange surfing lessons at Keel Beach ($45 for 2 hours), though wetsuit fashion remains firmly in the “function over form” category. Return to Westport for dinner at Cian’s on Bridge Street, where seafood chowder ($9) adheres to the unofficial measurement of quality in Irish culinary circles—a spoon stands upright without assistance.

Day 5: Clare Island Excursion – Pirates, Poets, and Panoramas

Board the morning ferry from Roonagh Pier to Clare Island ($22 round trip, 20-minute journey), understanding that the Irish Sea occasionally performs its impression of a washing machine on spin cycle. This island, with its population of just 160 year-round residents, provides perspective on true remoteness—the kind of isolation that makes you understand why Irish poets were simultaneously depressed and inspired.

Visit Grace O’Malley’s castle with its historical exhibits about Ireland’s famous female pirate who commanded respect from sailors and Queen Elizabeth I while most 16th-century women were limited to commanding needlepoint. The lighthouse walk (2 hours round trip) rewards with Atlantic views that make even professional photographers question their equipment choices.

Lunch at the Sailor’s Bar and Restaurant ($14-20) serves seafood so fresh it practically introduces itself. Afternoon bike rental ($15) offers the perfect way to explore the 5-mile-long island—essentially a miniature Ireland without the traffic or souvenir shops. Check return ferry schedules obsessively as being stranded overnight is charming only in romance novels. Complete the day with dinner back in Westport at JJ O’Malleys with live music and mains $16-26.

Day 6: Mayo’s Hidden Gems – Beyond the Brochure Experience

Venture to the National Museum of Country Life in Turlough (30-minute drive) with its collection of rural Irish artifacts ($8 admission). The bygone farming implements make modern inconveniences seem trivial—complaints about Wi-Fi speeds lose perspective when contemplating tools designed for cutting turf by hand in horizontal rain. Lunch at Café Rua in Castlebar ($10-16) explains why Irish butter has its own international fan club.

The afternoon presents a choice: Ballycroy National Park with its vast blanket bog landscape (essentially standing on Mars but with more rainfall) offers Ireland’s first International Dark Sky Park designation—perfect for stargazing when clouds occasionally part. Alternatively, Foxford Woollen Mills provides a working mill tour ($10) and outlet shop where you can purchase a scarf genetically engineered to outlive most relationships.

For your penultimate Westport dinner, The Helm serves seafood platters ($28) in an atmosphere where, after nearly a week, the bartender greets you like a returning hero rather than a tourist—the ultimate Irish hospitality achievement unlocked.

Day 7: Coastal Farewell – Last Looks and Lingering Goodbyes

Dedicate your final morning to Old Head Beach (15-minute drive) for spectacular Clew Bay views. Photographers can capture the 50 shades of green and gray that define the Irish coastal palette, while golfers might prefer Westport Golf Club’s challenging 18-hole course ($60 weekday green fee)—where the wind ensures your ball will visit parts of Mayo you hadn’t planned to see.

Farewell lunch at Westport Quay means watching fishing boats at Clew Bay Harbor while dining at The Towers ($12-18). The seafood this fresh makes you question everything you’ve ever eaten from a freezer. Final souvenir hunting should include O’Reilly and Turpin bookstore for Irish literature, Carraig Donn for woolens, and Marlene’s Chocolate Haven for sweets that require additional baggage allowance.

As departure logistics loom, consider transport options including bus connections to Knock Airport (1 hour, $15) or train to Dublin (3.5 hours, $45). The journey away from Westport inevitably involves gazing backward more often than forward—the classic symptom of Mayo withdrawal that affects approximately 96% of visitors.