Guide · The west

A Galway day trip from Dublin, with Connemara

Galway sits on the Atlantic side of Ireland, and beyond it lie the lakes, bogs and mountains of Connemara. A Galway day trip from Dublin can show you the city, the wild country to its west, or both.

Check availabilityfrom $87 · free cancellation

Editorial team, dublindaytrip.comUpdated October 18, 20266-minute read10 sources

The tour that goes with it From Dublin:Kylemore Abbey, Connemara,Killary Fjord & Galway 4.2 (319 reviews) 13 hours from$87per person Check availabilityFree cancellation up to 24 hrs before

The quick answer

01Connemara and Galway: 13 hours with Kylemore Abbey and Killary, from $87.
02Galway with the cliffs: 13 hours, about 2 hours in Galway, rated 4.81.
03By train: About 2.5 hours each way to Galway Ceannt, beside Eyre Square.¹ ²
04Distance: Galway is about 210 km from Dublin.³
05Start: The Connemara tour leaves from the Molly Malone statue.

Galway and Connemara in one long day

Galway is about 210 km from Dublin, on the far side of the country, with rail and bus links that take between 2 hours 10 minutes and 2 hours 30 minutes.³ That distance shapes every day trip here: you spend real time on the road, so the trip is only worth it if the places at the end are the ones you came for. Happily, the west delivers. Galway is a lively small city on the Atlantic, and Connemara, about an hour beyond it, is wild country of lakes, bog and bare mountains.⁴

There are two main ways to do it with a guide. One sends the coach straight through to Connemara, with Kylemore Abbey and Killary Harbour, and finishes in Galway. The other pairs Galway with the Cliffs of Moher and the Burren on the way, which is the tour this site recommends on its home page and a fine choice if the cliffs are on your list as well. Both leave Dublin in the morning and bring you back at night, so the choice is about what you want to see, not about comfort or timing.

This page focuses on the first kind, the Connemara day trip from Dublin, because it is the one that shows you the most of the far west. It also covers getting to Galway on your own by train, which works well if you only want the city.

The day

Dublin to Connemara and back

Morning

Molly Malone

Meet at the statue on Suffolk Street, 10 minutes early.
Late morning

Oughterard

A scenic road to the gateway to Connemara.
Midday

Connemara

Into Connemara National Park, with a Killary cruise in summer.
Early afternoon

Kylemore Abbey

Photo stop and time for lunch at your own cost.
Late afternoon

Galway

Free time in the city before the drive back.

The Connemara tour, from Dublin to Kylemore

The tour we suggest leaves from the Molly Malone statue on Suffolk Street, and the operator asks guests to arrive 10 minutes before departure. It runs 13 hours, starts from $87 and holds a 4.15 rating from 319 reviews. The route crosses the midlands and takes a scenic road to Oughterard, the gateway to Connemara, before entering Connemara National Park. Have your booking on your phone and a jacket in your bag, because the first stop comes only after a good stretch of motorway.

In summer the day includes a boat cruise on Killary, a long sea inlet framed by mountains. The next stop is Kylemore Abbey, where you have time for photos and lunch, which is not included in the price. The tour then turns back east and finishes with time in Galway before the long drive back to Dublin.

Be ready for a lot of driving. The operator itself warns that cross-country driving takes a noticeable part of the trip. Take that as honest advice: bring something to read, plenty of snacks and a pillow for the return leg, and enjoy the scenery when the coach slows down in the valleys.

Ratings

How guests rate the tours to Galway

out of 5

Average ratings on each tour's GetYourGuide listing.

Compared

Galway tours from Dublin

Tour	Length	Galway time	Reviews	Price
Cliffs, Burren, Galway	13 hrs	about 2 hrs	26,606	from $90
Cliffs, Atlantic Edge, Galway	13 hrs	2 hrs	6,067	from $87
Kylemore, Connemara, Killary	13 hrs	free time	319	from $87
Connemara and Galway	12 hrs	a couple of hours	563	from $87

From-prices, lengths and review counts as each listing states them.

Three routes west

Connemara, cliffs or both

Connemara

Kylemore and Killary

Connemara, then Galway

Length: 13 hrs
Rating: 4.15
Price: from $87

See dates

From Dublin: Cliffs of Moher, Burren & Galway City Day Tour

Most reviewed

Cliffs & Galway

Cliffs of Moher, Burren

Length: 13 hrs
Rating: 4.81
Price: from $90

See dates

Dublin: Cliffs of Moher, Atlantic Edge & Galway City

Galway walk

Atlantic Edge tour

Guided walk in Galway

Length: 13 hrs
Rating: 4.73
Price: from $87

See dates

Decision helper

Which way west?

Choose by what you most want to see

Lakes, mountains and an abbey The cliffs as well as the city A guided walk in Galway Only the city, no coach

Kylemore and Killary tour

Kylemore Abbey, Connemara and a summer Killary cruise.

Cliffs & Galway

About 2 hours in Galway after the cliffs.

Atlantic Edge tour

A 20-minute guided walk in the city.

The train

About 2.5 hours from Dublin to Galway.¹

Arriving at Galway Ceannt station, you’re right in the centre of the city, just off the famous Eyre Square.

Tourism Ireland (Ireland.com)Source 2

Kylemore Abbey and Killary Fjord

Kylemore Abbey is the postcard of Connemara: a turreted house reflected in a dark lake under steep wooded hills. It was built in 1868 by Mitchell Henry for his wife Margaret.⁵ The house, its little neo-Gothic church and its walled garden make a scene photographers love, whatever the weather.

Killary is a 16 km inlet, with the village of Leenane on its southern shore.⁶ It looks and feels like a Norwegian fjord, with mountains dropping straight into calm water, and a cruise on it is the quietest moment of the day.

Around them, Connemara National Park stretches across 2,957 hectares of mountain, bog and heath.⁷ On a coach tour you see it mostly from the road, but even a short stop lets you breathe the peaty air and hear how quiet this corner of Ireland can be. Stone walls, grazing sheep and scattered white cottages fill the views between the lakes, and the light changes by the minute.

Checklist

For a day in the far west

Bring

A waterproof jacket
A warm layer for the boat
Snacks for a long drive
Money or a card for lunch at Kylemore

Check

Arrive 10 minutes before departure
The Killary cruise runs in summer
Free cancellation until 24 hours ahead

Cost calculator

The west for your group

Compare the totals for everyone traveling.

Kylemore and Killary13 hrsfrom $87 Cliffs & Galway13 hrsfrom $90 Atlantic Edge tour13 hrsfrom $87

People 2

Total from$173

per head from $87

Check availabilityfree cancellation

Totals multiply the starting price GetYourGuide lists by your party size, shown in your chosen currency at the ECB rate; checkout confirms the final sum.

Video

A complete guide to Connemara in County Galway

The YouTube player stays switched off until you press play, then streams through youtube-nocookie.

Galway city: what to do with your time

Galway is compact, which makes it a good city for a short visit. Trains arrive at Galway Ceannt station, right in the center just off Eyre Square.² From there, Shop Street and Quay Street lead down through a lively pedestrian quarter to the River Corrib and the Spanish Arch, a walk that takes in most of the old center.

Spend your time on the streets rather than inside. Galway is known for buskers, colorful pub fronts and bunting strung across the lanes, and the riverside by the Spanish Arch is the spot for a view over the water to the Claddagh. If it rains, the Galway City Museum sits right behind the arch.

Food is a highlight. Seafood chowder, oysters from the bay and fish and chips are easy to find, and the pubs serve hearty lunches. On a coach tour your time is limited, so pick one place to sit down rather than trying to see everything. If you have a little time left, browse the bookshops and craft stores along the lanes for a small souvenir to take home.

Comparing the Galway tours

Not every Galway tour from Dublin is equal, and the ratings show it. The Cliffs of Moher, Burren and Galway tour holds 4.81 from 26,606 reviews and gives you about 2 hours in Galway. A second cliffs tour with the Atlantic Edge experience gives 2 hours in Galway with a 20-minute guided walk and holds 4.73.

For Connemara, the Kylemore and Killary tour scores 4.15 from 319 reviews. Another Connemara and Galway tour scores 3.48 from 563 reviews; it visits Cong in winter and the Glengowla silver mines from Tuesday to Saturday between April and October. We do not recommend it while its rating stays that low.

In short: choose the cliffs tours if you want the safest bet and a taste of Galway, and the Kylemore tour if Connemara itself is the goal. Read the most recent reviews of whichever you choose, since the guide on the day makes a big difference.

Going on your own by train or bus

If Galway city is all you want, the train is a relaxed option. Trains between Dublin and Galway take about 2.5 hours, and you arrive in the heart of the city.¹ ² Buses run frequently too, and by car the motorway takes around 2 hours 20 minutes.³ ⁸

From Galway, Connemara is about an hour away, and Oughterard, the gateway to it, is 32 km from the city.⁴ ⁹ Without a car, though, reaching Kylemore and Killary and getting back for the last train to Dublin is hard to fit into one day, which is why the coach tour makes sense.

The cliffs work the same way: Bus Éireann Route 350 links Galway city with the Cliffs of Moher Visitor Centre in around 2 hours.¹⁰ That is a good plan for an overnight stay in Galway, but too much for a single day from Dublin. If you decide to stay a night, Galway also makes a good base for the Aran Islands and the Burren.

Tips for a long day west

Bring layers. The west of Ireland catches Atlantic weather first, and Connemara can be windy and wet even when Dublin is dry. A waterproof jacket, a warm sweater and shoes for wet grass will cover most days, and a hat helps on the boat. Sunglasses are worth packing too, since the light off the lakes can be bright when the sun comes out.

Pack food for the coach and plan lunch at Kylemore, since it is not included and the drive between stops is long. Keep some cash and a card for the café and any souvenirs you pick up in Galway.

Finally, check the season. The boat cruise on Killary runs in summer, so ask the operator what replaces it outside that period before you book. Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead gives you room to change plans if the forecast turns.

Plan your west