The Waterbus

Based a few minutes down the road in Donegal Town... All aboard!!- Donegal Bay Waterbus

People will enter the new waterbus mid-ship, which is also fully wheelchair accessible. The bow of the boat is like a jumbo tour bus, fully air-conditioned and centrally heated. Full-Bar facilities are provided.

The crew comprises of retired publicans, self-employed businessmen and local characters who do not get paid for their work.

The company runs tours around Donegal Bay all year-round. Local shops, hotels and bed and breakfasts keep a list of the times of each sailing which is dependent on the rise and fall of the tide.

Each tour leaves the waterbus pier at Donegal Bay and traverses the inner bay as far as a native seal colony near the mouth of the Laghy River. A running commentary is given by a local guide throughout the 80 minute tour which leads on then to the McManus estate, the area where the coffin ships left for America during the famine, St Ernan's and Bell Island.

"Most our customers are tourists staying in the local hotels and coach tours but, we have had schoolchildren who never knew about the local wildlife, Donegal town residents who have never seen our very own seal colony and people interested in our local heritage and history,"

The next major area for development by the waterbus company is to install a new wheelchair accessible gangway and boarding pontoon. It is expected the civil works for this project will cost in excess of  €300,000.

We hope to tie in with all the local restaurants when we make snacks available on board and have the boat hired out for parties. The local hotels offer a waterbus tour as part of a holiday package to their premises and all the shops keep a copy of our times and rates, so the waterbus really has become part of the community.

"We already get a fantastic response from our customers whether they are local or from further afield every time we finish a tour. It's an amazing trip and a wonderful experience.

All aboard the Waterbus!