Connemara & Kylemore Abbey tour from Galway: Wild Atlantic Way

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Free cancellation

1/9

Duration9h

GroupUp to 30

LanguagesEN

Mobile ticketAccepted

Nine hours through Connemara's mountains and coastline, with a choice of where to spend your afternoon

This guided day trip from Galway travels through Connemara along the Wild Atlantic Way, taking in Screebe Waterfall, Clifden, Sky Road and the Inagh Valley before returning to the city. You choose between spending three hours at Kylemore Abbey and its Victorian gardens or at Connemara National Park with its Diamond Hill trails. The driver-guide provides live commentary throughout, and the coach departs Merchants Road at 09:30, arriving back by 18:30.

Step-by-step itinerary

Connemara and Kylemore Abbey tour

Depart Galway at 09:30
Photo stop at Screebe Waterfall
Photo stop at Derryclare Lough
Visit Clifden town for 30 minutes
Photo stop at Sky Road
Choose Connemara National Park or Kylemore Abbey visit
Photo stop at Lough Inagh Viewing Point
Visit The Connemara Giant Viewing Point
Return to Galway at 18:30

The Experience

The coach leaves Galway at 09:30 from Merchants Road outside Kinlay Hostel, heading west into Connemara. Your driver-guide narrates the route as you pass thatched cottages, dry-stone walls and bog landscapes that stretch toward the coast. The first stop is Screebe Waterfall, a quick photo point that sets the tone for the day's scenery. From there the route climbs toward Clifden, the unofficial capital of Connemara, where you have half an hour to walk the town before heading to Sky Road — a 16-kilometre circular route that rises above the Atlantic with panoramic views on clear days.

At 12:45 you reach the main decision point. Kylemore Abbey, built in the 1860s as a wedding gift and set against mountains and water, sits on one path; Connemara National Park, with its Diamond Hill trails and free access to upland hiking, sits on the other. Both get three hours. If you choose Kylemore, your guide can arrange discounted entry tickets (cash only). If you choose the park, you can walk as much or as little as the trails allow, from short loops to the full Diamond Hill circuit. Either way, the landscape does not change — mountains frame everything.

The return journey follows the Inagh Valley between the Maumturk and Twelve Bens mountains, with a photo stop at Lough Inagh and another at the Connemara Giant, a statue in the village of Recess that marks a local landmark. The coach arrives back in Galway by 18:30. Transport is by air-conditioned minivan, and the commentary runs live throughout the day in English.

What’s included

Driver-guide with live English commentary.
air-conditioned coach transport.
photo stops at Screebe Waterfall, Derryclare Lough, Sky Road and Lough Inagh.
30 minutes in Clifden town.
three hours at either Kylemore Abbey (with discounted entry available) or Connemara National Park.

Good to know

Easy physical levelWheelchair accessibleStroller friendlyPets welcomePublic transport nearby

Operated by Ireland Wild Escapes

Is this one for you?Book this tour if you're spending a day in Galway and want to see Connemara's mountains, valleys and coastline without driving yourself — the fixed schedule and included transport mean the route holds together, and the choice between Kylemore Abbey and the national park lets you decide whether to walk or tour a historic building.