I had a moment of pure travel bliss on Rathlin Island, a small island off the coast of Northern Ireland. I stepped off the ferry and into a 5K walk to the seabird cliffs. The walk took me through rolling hills with brilliant wildflowers–buttercups, orchids, fuchsia, bellflowers. Cows mooed as I walked by. Ancient stone cottages. Steep cliffs dropping off into the sea.

And oh my goodness, the seabirds. At peak nesting season, it’s estimated there are 250,000 seabirds. The nesting season was just starting to wind down in July; not that I could tell if there were 50,000 less! Puffins are the main attraction, but also dozens of other species in the hills and meadows.

You can hitch a ride back into town on the Puffin Bus if you aren’t up for doing another 5K walk. Sitting on the bus, listening to soothing Celtic music, watching the green hills rolling by, I thought, this is why I travel. To see this beauty.

Thousands of Guillemots (called Murres in the U.S.) were packed wing to wing on the rocky cliffs. From here, the fledgling birds will jump off into the sea at the end of the nesting season, an event called “jumpling.”

Unlike the Guillemot cuddlers, Atlantic Puffins like their personal space, guarding their hole-in-the-ground nests to protect their pufflings.

Harbour and grey seals haul out on the rocky shores. They’re not the shiny glossy seals you see at San Francisco piers. They look like they’ve weathered a few storms.

The island is not easy to get to. From Belfast, it’s an hour on a bus, followed by an hour on a train, then an hour on a ferry, then a 5K walk or ride on the Puffin Bus to get to the seabird cliffs. But if the birds aren’t a draw for you, The Manor House lodge where I spent the night had THE best raviolini, stuffed with tomato paste, olives, and goat cheese.

I usually prefer my travels to take me somewhere I’ve never been before, but this is one place I would happily return to.