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From Galway: Guided tour of Connemara with 3 hour stop at Connemara National Pk.

Badge of ExcellenceGalway, Ireland

Full Day Connemara and the Coast of Galway Bay Tour from Galway

9 hours (approx.)
Mobile ticket
Offered in: English

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Overview

Embark on a thrilling road trip along Ireland’s Wild Atlantic Way on this full-day tour from Galway. Discover the natural wonders of Galway Bay and Connemara as you leave the tourist trail behind and journey along the coast. Admire views of Rosmuc, Derrygimlagh Bog and the Twelve Bens Mountains; visit the former residence of political leader Padraic Pearse; and stop for morning tea in Roundstone (not included). Finally, look out for wild Connemara ponies as you hike through Connemara National Park or pay a visit to the magnificent 19th-century Kylemore Abbey.

Full-day tour of Galway Bay and Connemara from Galway
Marvel over the dramatic coastal scenery of the Wild Atlantic Way
Ideal choice for nature lovers
Learn about the area from live onboard commentary

What's Included

Driver/guide
Local guide
Live commentary on board
Air-conditioned vehicle

Food and drinks
Gratuities
Entry to Kylemore Abbey - tickets can be purchased from the driver at discounted rates, cash only.
Hotel Pickup

Meeting and Pickup

Meeting point

Merchants Road
Galway, Co. Galway, Ireland
Tour departs: Merchants Road, Galway outside the Kinlay Hostel, H91 F2KT at 09:30. Please present 15 minutes prior to departure. Tour returns: Merchants Road, Galway at 18:30.

Start time

09:30 AM

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

What To Expect

Meet your guide and group for this Connemara National Park and Kylemore Abbey tour in the designated meeting spot in Galway, and board your vehicle for the day without having to worry about the little details.

Set off and take in scenic sights of the Wild Atlantic Way from your vehicle’s windows as your guide provides commentary about the scenery, as well as Ireland’s history and folklore.

Highlights and stops for this experience include a waterfall photo op in Screebe, Clifden’s Sky Road, Connemara National Park and Visitor Centre, Kylemore Abbey and Victorian Walled Garden, and the Quiet Man Bridge.

After your Wild Atlantic Way tour, your guide takes you back to Galway for a convenient drop-off.

The Claddagh (Pass By)

Salthill Promenade (Pass By)

Barna (Pass By)

Spiddal (Pass By)

Costelloe (Pass By)

Screebe

10 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Connemara (Pass By)

Clifden

30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Clifden Castle (Pass By)

Sky Road

15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Connemara National Park & Visitor Centre

3 hours • Admission Ticket Free

Kylemore Abbey & Victorian Walled Garden

15 minutes • Admission Ticket Not Included

Quiet Man Bridge

15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Infants must sit on laps
Children must be accompanied by an adult
Not wheelchair accessible
Stroller accessible

Service animals allowed
Near public transportation
Most travelers can participate
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 37 travelers

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.

Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.
This experience requires a minimum number of travelers. If it’s canceled because the minimum isn’t met, you’ll be offered a different date/experience or a full refund.

Traveler Photos

Featured review

Jonathan_C

The Connemara area is just absolutely stunning and there's truly nothing like it anywhere else. Our bus driver, Mike, was excellent. He gave shared a lot of history of the area and how it's being protected today. He also made several stops for us to get out and take pictures. We opted to go to Kylemore Abbey because of the rainy weather. The abbey, church, and extensive gardens were quite beautiful. This was also where we had lunch and the lunch was quite good. I highly recommend this tour from Galway!

Reviews

5.0

450 reviews

Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews

Reviews by Viator travelers.

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Showing 1-10 of 450 reviews

Blue Skies and Wild Vistas

Nicki_B, May 2024

Fantastic experience! Door to door service with a knowledgeable driver/host. We were on schedule which allowed us to maximize our time at either the hike in Connemara or enjoy Kylemore Abbey. We saw so many beautiful places and sights and learned so much about the land and way of living in the region. This was definitely a highlight of my Ireland trip! Oh, the apple pie with custard at Kylemore Abbey is a must!!!!

A nice way to survey some of the highlights of Connemara.

Sherri_H, May 2024

The scenery of beautiful Connemara! Our guide Mike was knowledgeable of the area and a pleasant host for the day.

Great experience!

Joanna_H, Apr 2024

Mike was a great guide! Super informative. The tour itself was wonderful. Once on the tour, you will choose either Connemara Park OR Kylemore Abbey. Connemara park was grateful! Different trails for varied skill levels - wear good hiking shoes for the harder trails!

Great tour

Caig_P, Apr 2024

Our driver Mike was great. He had lots of interesting narration during the tour. Some more time at the Park would be nice but probably not practical. The skyway was fun. Pickup was obvious with folks waiting for us early.

Ok but did not follow the program

Estela_G, Apr 2024

The driver, Mike, was very nice and really good at explaining things, but though most part of the passengers didn't have English as first language, he spoke very fast and so a lot of people didn't understand a word. The stops were ok for a tour, 3 hours were enough, if not for getting to the top of Diamond Hill, at least for walking part of the trail and see the landscape. The program said that after Connemara National Park we would stop for 15 minutes at Kylemore Abbey, but that stop didn't happen. The bus simply took the passengers that had stayed at the Abbey and continued the route. That's why I'm not giving the tour 5 stars

The stops along the way made the trip

Javier_A, Mar 2024

Had an incredible trip! Due to weather, we ditched the national park and were allowed to change our trip to Kylemore Abbey and had an amazing time!

Great day trip!

Mona_W, Oct 2023

Our driver/ guide Mike was very professional and knowledgeable. We hiked up the red trail at Connemara and the views were spectacular! It was a very memorable experience which I would highly recommend.

Great day trip, but not in a drenching rainstorm.

Stephen_S, Sep 2023

Although the weather was miserable, our guide was wonderful. We stopped at many picturesque spots between the raindrops, but we were unable to hike in the Connemara national park as we had planned. Instead we visited the Kylemore Abbey which was delightful, and dry inside ! Overall, this day trip was very nice although we didn’t get to enjoy it as much as anticipated.

What a great way to spend a day in Connemara

Sarah_D, Aug 2023

Patrick was a wealth of knowledge; my husband and I loved hearing his many stories and facts about Connemara! Our hike in the Park was just what we needed, connecting with nature and working off the great Irish food. Highly recommend to all…

Great driver

AnneMarie_F, Jul 2023

Our driver Mike was great! We really enjoyed our time with him. He is a very good driver and guide. He took good care of everyone. We did the Diamond hill hike even if the weather was bad and not much visibility. We were hoping that it would clear up but we didn’t have that luck. We still very much enjoyed our day and would do it again. We just this tour because it gave us the time to do the hike. Mike’s kindness and guiding tour was really a plus for us!

Awesome views and incredible scenery along the way

Nick_W, Jul 2023

Mike was a great tour guide and provided a lot of helpful info along the way. Note that for this trip you choose between a 3 hour stop at Connemara National Park or Kylemore Abbey - you couldn't do both. We choose the park because we wanted to do the hike. I think that's the more memorable experience if you didn't mind a decent hike.

Fantastic day in Connemara

Donna_P, Jul 2023

Mike was a phenomenal guide with great commentary and useful information. We made plenty of picture stops. We chose to hike in Connemara and were glad for the heads up about the winds on the trails. As seniors we opted to do the blue trail which was plenty challenging with stone stairs and no railings but well worth the view.

Glad I booked this tour

Katrina_M, Jun 2023

All I can say is I’m so glad that I booked this tour. I learned so much from Mike and had a wonderful time! Cheers!

Excellent Adventure

Ryan_C, Jun 2023

Excellent day. Choice of Connemara or Kylemore Abbey with ample time to explore. Multiple smaller stops to experience Wild Atlantic Way. 9 hr day. Tony was our driver and was incredibly professional.

Not to be missed!

David_S, Jun 2023

Climbing the mountain! Amazing views. Allow 3 hours. Carry plenty of water. Wear good hiking boots. Worth the time.

Great trip to Connemara.

John_H, May 2023

We really enjoyed the scenery and the lively commentary by our driver/guide, Tony. We also enjoyed walking up Diamond Hill. Next time we might visit Kylemore Abbey since it did look very interesting, but, we did have to choose. We were lucky and had a wonderful sunny day.

Amazing views of the Irish countryside

Nicholas_P, May 2023

This was a great tour. The views of the Irish countryside were amazing. We made a lot of stops to beaches, bridges, views, etc. The views were spectacular and highly recommend this trip. The hike is to Connemara National park is definitely worth it. I went to the top and the views were spectacular. I recommend it if you feel comfortable. One feedback of improvement I have is that the buses were not great quality, it was very small and felt crowded, and the air conditioners didn’t work. So, bigger buses where people have space would be a great option for next time.

Great opportunity to hike Diamond Hill and see the beauty of Ireland

Brittani_W, May 2023

I recommend this tour for anyone who wants to visit Kylemore Abbey or hike Diamond Hill. Our guide Mike was a great driver and gave us plenty of stops along the way for us to take plenty of photos and take in the gorgeous scenery. One note, you do have to choose to spend your 3 hours at either Connemara National Park or Kylemore Abbey. You cannot visit both. I chose to hike Diamond Hill, and found 3 hours was just enough for me to take my time climbing with plenty of rest and photo stops along the way. But if you don't want time constraints I'd suggest finding another mode of transport (I did feel a bit rushed on my descent, because I was slow climbing and stayed at the top for a while). On the way out, we did drive past Kylemore Abbey, so I snapped a few photos from a distance, which was good enough for me. Overall, the areas you see are quite beautiful, and I really enjoyed this small group tour.

Wonderful

Wendy_P, May 2023

Mike was a wonderful and careful driver - great commentary on the countryside and history. We had a spectacular hike to the top of the “Diamond” in the national park and had many beautiful stops along the way.

Not for hiking

Piotr_N, Apr 2023

Not exactly what I expected. The 3-hour stop is at Kylemore Abbey, so you can visit the estate, but no Connemara National Park hiking routes start from there. While the Abbey and the Gardens are worth visiting, you have choose other trip if you want to explore the National Park on your own.

Response from Host, Apr 2023

Our Connemara Day Tour offers a choice of 2 stop options. # 1. 3 hours in Connemara National Park. # 2. 3 hours in Kylemore Abbey. You can only choose #1 or #2 on the day, you cannot choose both. If you wish to go hiking than yes you are correct the Connemara National Park stop is the one for you. The driver / guide would have explained all of this during your tour.

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