<strong>Great Blasket, Kerry: </strong>The Blaskets, like many of Ireland's islands, have the kind of dazzling white sand beaches that wouldn't look out of place in the Caribbean.
Great Blasket, Kerry: The Blaskets, like many of Ireland's islands, have the kind of dazzling white sand beaches that wouldn't look out of place in the Caribbean.
Courtesy Tourism Ireland
<strong>Great Blasket, Kerry: </strong>The largest, Great Blasket Island, is the most commonly visited, and is a hiker's paradise -- bring a picnic and explore the trails around the island. Click through to see more of Ireland's most beautiful islands.
Great Blasket, Kerry: The largest, Great Blasket Island, is the most commonly visited, and is a hiker's paradise -- bring a picnic and explore the trails around the island. Click through to see more of Ireland's most beautiful islands.
Courtesy Tourism Ireland
<strong>Skellig Michael, Kerry:</strong> After starring in "Star Wars: Episode VII -- The Force Awakens," Ireland's Skellig Michael island is a hot property.
Skellig Michael, Kerry: After starring in "Star Wars: Episode VII -- The Force Awakens," Ireland's Skellig Michael island is a hot property.
Tourism Ireland
<strong>Skellig Michael, Kerry:</strong> It hosts a UNESCO World Heritage Site, an ancient Christian monastery famous for its architecture consisting of stone "beehive" huts built without mortar.
Skellig Michael, Kerry: It hosts a UNESCO World Heritage Site, an ancient Christian monastery famous for its architecture consisting of stone "beehive" huts built without mortar.
Tourism Ireland
<strong>Rathlin Island, Antrim:</strong> Your best chance of spotting puffins on Rathlin is from April to July, but at other times you can see seals in Mill Bay or spot gannets dive-bombing into the sea.
Rathlin Island, Antrim: Your best chance of spotting puffins on Rathlin is from April to July, but at other times you can see seals in Mill Bay or spot gannets dive-bombing into the sea.
Courtesy Tourism Ireland
<strong>Rathin Island, Antrim:</strong> Rathlin is a place shrouded in myth and legend, from tales of banished kings to the shipwrecks surrounding its shores.
Rathin Island, Antrim: Rathlin is a place shrouded in myth and legend, from tales of banished kings to the shipwrecks surrounding its shores.
Tom O'Hare
<strong>Clare Island, Mayo:</strong> Though only a 25-minute ferry from the mainland's western coast, Clare is the kind of island that feels a million miles away from the everyday world.
Clare Island, Mayo: Though only a 25-minute ferry from the mainland's western coast, Clare is the kind of island that feels a million miles away from the everyday world.
Courtesy Tourism Ireland
<strong>Clare Island, Mayo: </strong>You can rent a bike and head out to explore the island's mountains, cliffs and bays -- the swimming cove on the east of the island will take your breath away (both with its beauty and its staggeringly cold waters).
Clare Island, Mayo: You can rent a bike and head out to explore the island's mountains, cliffs and bays -- the swimming cove on the east of the island will take your breath away (both with its beauty and its staggeringly cold waters).
Courtesy Tourism Ireland
<strong>Achill Island, Mayo:</strong> The largest island off the Irish coast, there's a wealth of gorgeous spots to discover in Achill, such as the crumbling stone cottages in the Deserted Village, or the cute little Lynott's Pub.
Achill Island, Mayo: The largest island off the Irish coast, there's a wealth of gorgeous spots to discover in Achill, such as the crumbling stone cottages in the Deserted Village, or the cute little Lynott's Pub.
Tourism Ireland
<strong>Achill Island, Mayo:</strong> In April 2017 at Dooagh, a beach that was washed away by storms more than 30 years before <a href="index.php?page=&url=https%3A%2F%2Fcnn.com%2Ftravel%2Farticle%2Fdooagh-beach-achill-island-ireland%2Findex.html" target="_blank">reappeared</a>. The Atlantic returned what it had stolen, depositing thousands of tons of sand.
Achill Island, Mayo: In April 2017 at Dooagh, a beach that was washed away by storms more than 30 years before reappeared. The Atlantic returned what it had stolen, depositing thousands of tons of sand.
Courtesy Sean Molloy/Achill Tourism
<strong>Inis Oírr, Galway: </strong>The three Aran Islands -- Inis Mór, Inis Meáin and Inis Oírr -- all share a distinctive, otherworldly look, with honeycombs of stone walls, swathes of limestone and teeny beaches.
Inis Oírr, Galway: The three Aran Islands -- Inis Mór, Inis Meáin and Inis Oírr -- all share a distinctive, otherworldly look, with honeycombs of stone walls, swathes of limestone and teeny beaches.
Courtesy Tourism Ireland
<strong>Inis Oírr, Galway: </strong>The smallest of the three, Inis Oírr, has an unparalleled charm. It even has its own ale, Inis Beer, and a feisty island dolphin, Dusty, who swims into the bay almost every day.
Inis Oírr, Galway: The smallest of the three, Inis Oírr, has an unparalleled charm. It even has its own ale, Inis Beer, and a feisty island dolphin, Dusty, who swims into the bay almost every day.
Courtesy Tourism Ireland
<strong>Cape Clear, Cork:</strong> Because of its status as one of Ireland's most southernmost islands, Cape Clear is blessed with fairer weather than most of the destinations on this list.
Cape Clear, Cork: Because of its status as one of Ireland's most southernmost islands, Cape Clear is blessed with fairer weather than most of the destinations on this list.
Courtesy Tourism Ireland
<strong>Cape Clear, Cork: </strong>It's a Gaeltacht island, meaning the inhabitants speak Irish, so learning a <em>cúpla focal</em> (couple of words) in the native tongue will be sure to earn a few smiles.
Cape Clear, Cork: It's a Gaeltacht island, meaning the inhabitants speak Irish, so learning a cúpla focal (couple of words) in the native tongue will be sure to earn a few smiles.
Courtesy Tourism Ireland
<strong>Innisfree, Sligo: </strong>Nobel Prize-winning poet W. B. Yeats made this tiny lake-bound island famous with the lines, "I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree."
Innisfree, Sligo: Nobel Prize-winning poet W. B. Yeats made this tiny lake-bound island famous with the lines, "I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree."
Peter Martin
<strong>Lambay Island, Dublin: </strong>On this private island off the east coast you can stay in a 16th-century castle and a 20th-century addition by legendary English architect Edwin Lutyens.
Lambay Island, Dublin: On this private island off the east coast you can stay in a 16th-century castle and a 20th-century addition by legendary English architect Edwin Lutyens.
Millie Baring
<strong>Lambay Island, Dublin: </strong>Wallabies are Lambay's most surprising animal residents, but there are also seals to be spotted.
Lambay Island, Dublin: Wallabies are Lambay's most surprising animal residents, but there are also seals to be spotted.
Greg Marsh
<strong>Tory Island, Donegal</strong>: One of the most remote islands off the Irish coast, Tory is a magnet for creatives, with its own art gallery -- and some impressive sea cliffs.
Tory Island, Donegal: One of the most remote islands off the Irish coast, Tory is a magnet for creatives, with its own art gallery -- and some impressive sea cliffs.
Courtesy Tourism Ireland