Anyone planning to visit the island by car, bike or foot is encouraged to Text Coney to 51155 (from Republic of Ireland mobiles) or 81400 (from Northern Ireland/UK mobiles) to find out the safe crossing times for that day.
Tidal information can be found online, for those who can read tide tables.
If you choose to walk the strand to the island, it should take approximately 30-45 minutes, depending on your walking speed. If you feel like exploring the island, allow yourself another 1-2 hours to wander around. There are a couple of safe places for swimming, but ask locally for advice, and only swim on an incoming tide.
If you choose to drive, know that locals drive in first gear, without any acceleration, to minimise the salt-water and sand damage to vehicles. It takes ages, but the views are so beautiful it's worth relaxing into it. A really good rinse of the undercarriage with fresh water is recommended after returning to the mainland.
The Cache
A Mermaid’s Purse is the name given to the egg-casings of sharks. These can be found washed up on shore, and are considered good luck. 71 species of shark can be found in Irish waters, none of which attack people. 😊 Each shark has a distinct egg-case, and there’s a good link for identifying them here: https://www.sharktrust.org/shared/great_eggcase_hunt/eggcase_id_key.pdf
The cache is a small tablock box. You do not have to enter any private lands to find it. The box contains some small RNLI souvenirs. The nearest Lifeboat Station is in Rosses Point.
There is also a duck there, just ready to head off on an adventure. If you take her with you, please post some holiday snaps! We’d love to follow her for at least a couple of caches.
Safe travels! We hope you enjoy exploring this beautiful place.