Delve into the rugged wilderness of Connemara, an Irish county thronged with historic monuments and natural splendor, on a full-day tour from Galway City. Gaze at the tranquil surfaces of Lough Carrib and Loch NaFooey and discover the elaborate walled gardens of Kylemore Abbey. Enjoy a pleasant balance of guided tours and independent exploration during this enriching excursion.

Full day trip to Connemara from Galway city with an expert guide
Spend time at leisure in Cong village, where 'The Quiet Man' was filmed in the 1950s
Visit Kylemore Abbey and admire its Victorian walled gardens (entry at your own expense)
Transport by luxury coach

What's Included

Professional Local Driver/Guide
Air-conditioned vehicle

Food and drinks
Entrance Fee to Kylemore Abbey & Victorian Walled Garden

Meeting And Pickup

Meeting point

Kinlay Hostel Galway
Merchants Rd, Eyre Square, Galway, H91 F2KT, Ireland
Please check in at the Galway Tour Company Office located on a ground floor of the Kinlay Hostel

Start time

10:00 AM

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

What To Expect

Depart from the Kinlay Hostel in a luxury, air-conditioned coach and admire stunning natural panoramas as you travel through the Irish countryside towards Headford, home to the ancient Ross Errilly Friary. Receive an insightful introduction to the sacred structure from your expert guide and then set out to explore the medieval tombs and atmospheric cloisters that beg to be discovered.

After thorough exploration, travel onward to Cong village to delight in the quaintness of the setting for John Wayne epic movie, The Quiet Man. Stroll the cobbled streets during some leisurely free time, perhaps ambling over to Cong Woods to see the 11th-century Ashford Castle.

Head next to County Connemara, home to the unspoiled glacier lake, Loch Na Fooey, and absorb sweeping countryside vistas. Listen to tales of Connemara’s rich culture and learn about the time-honored Irish traditions that are still preserved in the region.

Next, venture to Kylemore Abbey and immerse yourself in the sacred ambience of an ancient Benedictine abbey shrouded in history. Hear legends surrounding the construction of the abbey and enter the abbey at your own expense. Spend ample time inside the Irish national treasure, opting to enjoy lunch at your own expense if you wish.

On the return journey to Galway, meander through the incredible tableau of Connemara’s Inagh Valley and the Mamm Turks Mountains and then bid your guide and group farewell on arrival at Kinlay Hostel.

Kylemore Abbey & Victorian Walled Garden

2 hours • Admission Ticket Not Included

Lough Corrib

5 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Not wheelchair accessible
Service animals allowed
Near public transportation

Infants must sit on laps
Most travelers can participate
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 50 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 good weather. If it’s canceled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund.
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.

Frequently Asked Questions

The answers provided below are based on answers previously given by the tour provider to customers’ questions.

Filter by:

Q:What is the pick up location?

A:We offer pick ups from most hotels in Galway City. Let us know where you are staying in the 'Special Requirements' box in the Traveler Details section during checkout. Or you can let us know after booking by visiting 'Manage my Booking' and emailing us there.

Jul 2019

Q:Where is the meeting point?

A:The meeting point for this tour will be at Kinlay Hostel Galway.

Nov 2022

Q:What is the meeting time?

A:Please be at our departure point by 09:45 AM.

Jul 2019

Traveler Photos

Traveler Tips

There were several places to take pictures and a great souvenir/gift shop.30 minutes was not enough time to do it all.

A must visit for anyone on the West coast of Ireland.

Reviews

4.5

573 reviews

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

Reviews by Viator travelers.

Showing 1-10 of 573 reviews

Loved it

Lauri_R, Mar 2023

Mike was knowledgeable, gave lots of good information. Sites were all beautiful, good timing of stops.

Beautiful Landscape of Connemara

Luzie_S, Mar 2023

The trip was very beautiful, loved to learn all the interesting information about Connemara from the Tourguide! There where a lot of stops for photos!! We really enjoyed it :)

Connemara is a slice of heaven on earth!

Shauna_P, Feb 2023

The scenery around Connemara is just beautiful and breathtaking but Kylemore Abbey was my favourite bit of the whole tour! Mike, the bus tour guide, was such a laugh and very knowledgeable :)

Recommended!

theresaravelo, Dec 2022

Mike was an excellent guide, knowledgeable, personable and kind. The stops were great, the perfect balance to break up ride.

Wonderful Day

Annie_M, Dec 2022

Great trip with great guide. The weather was not wonderful but the driver really did a good job with stopping at all the places you could in a 8 hour tour! The Kylemore was fantastic!

Amazing guide and enjoyable trip

Karrish_t, Dec 2022

The guide, Mike was fantastic and humorous. He communicated well. The trip was enjoyable. I recommend the trip to anyone.

Connemara & Abbey

Gail_D, Dec 2022

Stunning scenery — great guide & so interesting to hear the stories & history of the area. Enjoyed the tour.

Absolutely beautiful!

Hanri_S, Nov 2022

Driving through the Connemara mountains was just amazing! The scenery is just beautiful and mesmerizing!

Our tour was enhanced by...

Debra_C, Nov 2022

Our tour was enhanced by Mike, our driver. Knowledgeable, funny and sweet. Well worth the time and money.

Great Day!!!

Bruce_N, Nov 2022

Our guide, Michael was personable, funny and very knowledgeable. We had a wonderful experience and would highly recommend this tour with him to anyone.

A great day in Ireland!

Kelly_F, Oct 2022

Great day tour! The tour bus driver, Mike D., was knowledgeable, a wonderful storyteller, and humerous. The sun shone, the skies rained, and even some hail showed up. The coach was large and comfortable with a washroom onboard. Kylemore Abbey could be a day trip all its own; the Connemara countryside breathtaking. The charming and picturesque village of Cong is a must see. One of the best day tours I've experienced!

Lots of laughs and stories

Tristan_M, Oct 2022

Best rainy day tour ever. Mike is the best tour guide in Ireland! I will recommend this tour whenever I can.

Great small group tour. Kylemore is worth seeing! But too many stops.

Deborah_M, Oct 2022

The small group size for this tour was great! Much better than the huge groups. I liked the Cong stop...cute little town, nice walk on the secret road to see across to Ashford Castle from afar. There were many stops on the way, TOO MANY. Kylemore abbey was fantastic and if I could have done a half day tour straight there, I would have preferred it. What I didn't like about this tour were all the extra stops for photo ops. Every stopped looked the same as every other. This driver literally stopped 5 times for a lake/hill view. I found this to be very unnecessary and annoying. I'd rather have cut an hour off the tour and stopped three times...Cong, a lake/hill stop and Kylemore Abbey. Kylemore is worth seeing! It's amazing. Walk down the trail in front that goes to the chapel and mausoleum, both our beautiful out in the woods. Great tour, but too many stops for no reason.

Fabulous tour guide!

Justeen_s, Oct 2022

Mike is a wonderful historian, stopped for photo ops and talked the sheep off the road! His obvious pride in this beautiful country was heart warming and very informative. I had no idea what the Famine Wall was and he explained it in depth. Beautiful and interesting trip!

Lucky with the weather and happy to have seen Connemara and Kilmore Abbey.

Gloria_S, Oct 2022

Great tour, we visited beautiful places and learned a great deal about them from our guide. The mini bus left and returned in a timely fashion

Wonderful trip through the country side.

Mary_D, Oct 2022

This was my favorite thing my family and I did in Ireland!! Also when you're at the kylemore Abbey get the apple pie with warm custard! You will not regret it!

Amazing trip and guide

Prabha_R, Oct 2022

An amazing journey that simply awesome! Our guide Mike was fantastic! He explained things very well and got us feeling entertained and comfortable with visiting every venue. Further, we we given a very unique perspective from him on every situation that showed us what a sincere and genuine person he was. Besides the obvious beauty of Ireland that stands on its own,the trip was made so much better just because of our 5 star guide!

A most interesting tour to Kylemore Abbey.

David_K, Sep 2022

Ken, the tour guide, was an excellent and safe driver. He had great knowledge of all the places that we visited, had a great sense of humour and made everyone feel relaxed and interested.

Explore Ireland's Wilderness

Joshua_W, Sep 2022

First off, we absolutely loved our tour guide/driver Mike, he was fantastic and a pleasure. This tour is a bit different, you really get to see a lot of the wilderness and mountains of Ireland going into Connemara and the beautiful Kylemore Abbey, both of which are very picturesque. Traveling through some small roads to get into Cong Village was also very cool and for fans of "The Quiet Man," going through Cong Village is extra special, but is fun regardless of being a fan or not. I would definitely recommend the tour and especially recommend our guide/driver.

Beautify Kylemore Abbey

Clara_H, Sep 2022

The visit to Kylemore Abbey was great. The gardens & grounds were beautiful and so serene. Very calm and peaceful! Though we had a rough start on the bus. There were a large group of foreigners that kept talking. Mike had to stop the bus a couple of times to ask them to stop so others on the bus can hear his guided tour. A couple guys had to leave the bus due to their constant chattering. We very much appreciated Mike’s stance and firmness on this so other people on the coach can enjoy the ride 👏. The noise level with rude foreigners was the reason we rated this experience as 4 stars.

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Connemara Day Trip from Galway: Cong and the Kylemore Abbey

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