Connemara & Connemara National Park day tour from Galway. Guided.
Description
Visit awe-inspiring Connemara, known for it’s wild and rugged landscape and glistening lakes. A guided journey including 3 hours spent in either the Connemara National Park or Kylemore Abbey & Victorian gardens. Min1, Max 50. Available all year round
Tour Options
Itinerary
09:30 - Depart Galway Tour vehicle departs Merchants Road, Galway, outside the Kinlay Hostel at 09:30. Please present 15 minutes prior to departure. Leaving the city, your locally sourced and fully trained driver / guide will take you from Galway out into the wilds of Connemara. You will discover stunning landscapes and explore the wildness of this enchanted land in our luxury tour coaches. En route, you will pass beautiful coastal villages, thatched cottages, fields of dry-stone walls and vast expanses of bog land.
10:30 - Screebe Waterfall Viewing Point A quick photo stop at the picturesque Screebe Waterfall The Connemara landscape along with the Wild Atlantic coastline has inspired many writers and musicians including French singer / songwriter, Michel Sandou’s popular hit ‘Les lacs du Connemara.’
11:00 - Pine Island Viewing Point. Another photo stop at Derryclare Lough Derryclare Lough is a freshwater lake at the entrance to the Inagh valley. This is a popular viewpoint for visitors to Connemara and a great place for photo opportunities of Pine Island.
11:30 - Clifden 11:30 - Clifden A chance to wander around the town of Clifden for half an hour. The unofficial residential and commercial capital of Connemara and the axis on which everything in the region turns. Founded in 1812, Clifden is positioned between the mountains and ocean and has historic links to Marconi, Alcock and Brown.
12:15 - Sky Road Viewing Point A photo stop at the Sky Road The Sky Road is one of the Discovery Points on the Wild Atlantic Way. A 16km circular route that starts in Clifden and rises high above the Atlantic Ocean, offering spectacular panoramic views. On a clear day the view from here has to be seen to be believed!
12:45 - Connemara National Park - 3 hour stop On todays tour you have a choice of main stop. Either 3 hours in Connemara National Park or 3 hours at Kylemore Abbey. Free, accessible and richly rewarding, the Connemara National Park is a gateway to a deeper level of intimacy with this unique landscape. The Diamond Hill trails are an idyllic hiking experience, one that climbs through wild uplands before rewarding you with jaw-dropping views across the region.
13:00 - Kylemore Abbey and Victorian Walled Gardens - 3 hour stop For those of you who don’t wish to explore Connemara National Park, your alternative main stop option is one of Ireland’s most iconic sights, Kylemore Abbey and Victorian Walled Gardens Discounted admission available. Few buildings in Ireland or the world have such a dramatic setting or history as Kylemore Abbey. Built in the 1860’s by Mitchell Henry as a wedding gift to his wife Margaret, the magnificent castle at Kylemore is a must-see in Connemara. Your driver / guide will be able to source entry tickets at a discounted rate - cash only.
16:15 - Lough Inagh Viewing Point Another photo stop en route back to Galway City, at the inspiring Inagh Valley. Inagh valley is one of the most scenic valleys not just in Connemara but in the whole of Ireland. This romantic valley offers breathtaking views of peatlands, mountains, lakes and glorious countryside where sheep graze freely.
16:45 - The Connemara Giant Viewing Point There is a little bit of Connemara humour associated with this popular stop! The tiny village of Recess (Sraith Salach – riverside meadow of willows) is situated on the edge of the beautiful fishing lake of Glendalough and is home to the Connemara Giant or Con MacNamara, a statue overlooking the village car par
Our driver / guide will return you to our departure point on Merchants Road, Galway, where our tour for today concludes. Time to say ' Good Bye' or 'Slan Abhaile' to our driver / guide.
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Service animals allowed
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- Children must be accompanied by an adult
- Please arrive 15 minutes prior to departure time
Reviews(17)
A beautiful part of the west coast of Ireland. Our driver and guide Mike, was excellent in his knowledge and very personable. We then went on to Kylemore Abbey. Where we spent a couple of hours. Another stunningly beautiful place! We can recommend this tour and Mike highly.
Mike was our tour guide/bus driver, and did an exceptional job. The roads in the Connemara region are... Challenging... But he did an expert job of safely navigating them while also providing our bus with some very interesting history. He also gave us some great tips on how to maximize our time in the Kylemore Abby. Worth noting: this is one of the few tour options that gives you 3 hours to either hike around the park or explore the Abby, and I think you need every minute of that 3 hours, because there is just so much to see. I would highly recommend this tour to anyone visiting the Galway area.
We had a lovely time. Knowledgeable guide. Loved the history with practical recommendations to make the most of the time at each stop. Nice variety in the stops. Would highly recommend this your & driver
Our tour bus driver was great. Very informative and entertaining! We select the tour of the Abbey and it did not disappoint. Lovely visit.
We were lucky that this was a small bus tour. Our driver was great & pointed out lots of interesting. The small towns & sights were wonderful. Cliftden & the sky road was breathtaking. Connemara mountains has more than 50 shades of green & is gorgeous. Kylemoore Abbey & area is beyond words. Make sure you visit the church & mausoleum. The pillars in the church are the different marbles found in Ireland.
This was the perfect trip for a day in Ireland. Kylemore Abbey is breathtaking and our driver, Michael, was filled with great information and made several stops on the side of the road for us to take pics and stretch. Very comfortable bus ride
On September 10, 2021 we participated in the Connemara tour bus. It was a perfect day The driver/guide was really friendly, he made us discover Connemara through stories, really interesting anecdotes. He stopped the bus in all the beautiful places so we could take pictures. He also drove safely. Recommend to all
Our family really enjoyed this tour. Not only was the Connemara area so beautiful, but our driver and guide, Damien, was SO good! He was very entertaining as well as knowledgeable on Irish history and the area. He really went to the extra effort to make sure we saw everything the area had to offer and because we were not in a huge tour bus, but a large van, we were able to go on some of the smaller roads to see things other tour companies may not be able to do because there were some small roads! I had read some reviews where they said you got to choose if you wanted to hike Diamond Hill or see Kylemore Abby. I didn’t understand that it wasn’t either/or depending on what the group decided. For those who wanted to hike, they were dropped off at the park area and those who wanted to see the Abby, they were dropped off at Kylemore. Both places had about 3 hours to explore and that is when we had lunch. My family went to Kylemore Abby and had a really good lunch in their restaurant then off to see the gardens, Abby and chapel. There was plenty of time to explore and enjoy the area. The tour was well planned out, the van was very comfortable (thank you a/c!!) and Damien was wonderful! Best way to relax and see the area. We were SO glad we didn’t do it on our own!! There is no way a driver would have been able to see the countryside and absorb the beauty of Connemara at the same time.
Gerry is an excellent guide, me and my husband really enjoyed our bus tour to Connemara this weekend, thank you!
Thank you so much for your lovely review. We are delighted you had such a lovely tour to Connemara, it is such a spectacular place to visit and experience.
Nice tour guide but good if can switch on the air-conditioner as we felt studdy in non-ventilated coach with sealed windows. Good if organiser can include both Kylemore Abbey and Connemara National Park in the tour
