Burren Ecotourism Network

Doolin Ferry Co has been a proud member of the Burren Ecotourism Network (B.E.N) since 2014. B.E.N is a network of local tourism enterprises collaborating together to promote sustainable tourism in the Burren Region. The main goals of the network are to develop sustainable tourism practices in order to preserve our cherished communities, heritage, and environments.

The network works alongside the Burren Geopark to promote “The Burren & Cliffs of Moher Geopark” as a leading sustainable visitor destination. This is celebrated world wide for it’s high standards in visitor experience, conservation, and learning. This year the Burren Region was thrilled to win Lonely Planets “Best in Travel 2021” award.

How do you become a member of the B.E.N?

In order to be a member of the Burren Ecotourism Network you need to have achieved independent accreditation and demonstrate ecotourism best practice. Year on year we improve our understanding on how to reduce our environmental impact on the region. Our new ‘Express Ferry Service‘ from Doolin is the most environmentally friendly boat transportation in Doolin. We suggest choosing other sustainable transport options while visiting this area of natural beauty. A list of good options can be found HERE.

How does Doolin Ferry Co reduce their environmental impact?

Our main goal is to actively encourage all of our customers to follow the Leave No Trace Ireland principles when they visit anywhere in the Burren. This is an educational message that encourages us as recreational users to understand our actions and to be mindful of our surroundings when we do activities in the outdoors. In addition we have also developed our own Environmental Policy and School Tour series to further promote education.

Some of the ways we have upgraded our environmental police are;

1. In 2020 we introduced a new express ferry to our fleet “The Aran Islands Express”. This increased the capacity of a single ferry from 100 passengers to 250. This allows us to conserve fuel usage by not operating several smaller boats at the same time. We have greatly improved the efficiency of our service to work toward meeting our sustainability and environmental goals.
2. Both our Express Ferry’s have highly efficient tier 2 engines with lower emissions than previous boats, despite their larger size.
3. We don’t use any fresh water on board (e.g. salt water is used to flush our toilets). Our sewage is contained and transferred ashore to be treated.
4. We have recycle stations on board. All of our crew members can assist on what can be recycled and what cannot. We encourage passengers not to bring plastic bottles on board.
5. The vessels are constructed of aluminum, this means they don’t corrode (rust). This results in only having to paint our boats once every 10 years as opposed to once a year!  A huge advancement.
6. All our cleaning products are natural & organic. The reduction of harsh chemicals is better for our boats, crew, passengers, and our environment!
7. We promote electronic tickets/booking online. This has benefited customer experience and also almost completely eliminated paper tickets.
8. We encourage all our Doolin Ferry Co customers that when they visit anywhere in the Burren that they follow the Leave No Trace Ireland principles.

Make sure to check our Burren Ecotourism & Doolin Ferry Co collaboration video on our YouTube channel.