Anna Daly’s Clifden: Best hotels, ‘magic’ sights and her favourite food spot

Anna Daly has opened up about her favourite staycation spot in Ireland and shared her top recommendations as we head into the summer holidays.

More and more people are deciding to explore our home country instead of jetting off on holidays abroad, seeing as there are so many fabulous places to see in Ireland.

For broadcaster Anna, Clifden in Galway is somewhere she was absolutely blown away by on a trip there.

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Speaking to RSVP Magazine, Anna said: “I love the colour and vibrant feel of Clifden, the perfect base to explore the West of Ireland.

“There’s a real buzz about this place especially at the market square. It’s the type of place I could potter around all day and I certainly gave it my best shot!

“We stayed at an apartment at the Clifden Station House Hotel and it made for the ideal base for a family to enjoy the charm of Clifden itself but also to take trips to Inisbofin, drive the Sky Road and enjoy all the magic that Connemara has to offer.”

One of the standout moments of the trip was the Sky Road, as she told us: ” I thought the Sky Road was magic. It’s definitely one of the most picturesque parts in the Connemara region, the circular route is 16 km long. It’s rugged yet beautiful. We stopped to feed the donkeys and suddenly we were on our holidays. Out of office. Doing something different in a new place breathing in the fresh salty Connemara air, it was just marvellous.”

Her top dining experience came from a food truck – which was so highly recommended that they waited over an hour for their food.

“The Misunderstood Heron is a food truck in Leenaun and on the shores of the Killary Fjord in Connemara about 35 mins drive from Clifden and it gets a lot of media attention and coverage across social media,” Anna explained. “My husband Ben doesn’t do queues. He queued for 1 hour, 10 mins with several moments where he threatened to throw in the towel but like all good things, it was worth the wait.

“My dish was spicy chicken on a bed of chilli beans, rice and a carrot and peanut salad. Delicious. This is street-style food set against incredible views, on a clear day, from their wooded outdoor seating area. If you’re looking for somewhere quirky to eat along the Wild Atlantic Way, this is the answer. Just have patience with the queues or get there earlier than we did! We arrived at about 1pm. Rookies!”

Anna has her eye on another spot to visit soon, as she said: ” I’ve heard loads about Cashel Palace so I’m hoping to take my Bliss Escape retreat there soon! Keep an eye on the littlebliss.com site for details of the next retreat – I promise we only choose the finest of venues!”