Galway Attractions and What They Cost

Hours, prices and access verified by the Galway Ireland Tours team — last checked 2026-09-12

Twelve named places within reach of the city, what each one charges at its own gate, and which day trip actually gets you there. Two of them publish no price anywhere we could read it, and this page says so rather than guessing. Every fare that carries a gate ticket is marked on the Galway day tours themselves.

What you pay, at a glance

Prices below come from the body that charges them, not from a tour listing. Where a day trip includes an admission, its own card says so.

Place	What it is	What it charges	Which day reaches it
Cliffs of Moher Visitor Experience	The cliff-top site, exhibition and tower	€8 adult, €6 senior or student, free under 12	Most day trips south; the card says which ones carry the ticket
Kylemore Abbey and Victorian Walled Garden	A Victorian house, a Gothic church and a restored walled garden	Set by the abbey and not published where we could read it	Three Connemara days; one carries the ticket, one leaves it at the gate
Connemara National Park	Bog, woodland and the Diamond Hill loops	Nothing	One Connemara day, as the alternative to the abbey
Aillwee Burren Experience	A show cave in the Burren hills	Set by the operator; its site was unreachable	One Clare day, which names the entry as excluded
Poulnabrone Dolmen	A portal tomb on the limestone pavement	Nothing — an open field site	One Clare day, for twenty minutes
Dunguaire Castle	A tower house on the shore at Kinvara	Set by the tower house; no tour here buys entry	Two Clare days stop fifteen minutes for photographs
Galway City Museum	The city's own museum, beside the Spanish Arch	Free, suggested donation €5	Walk to it; no tour needed
Hall of the Red Earl	The 13th-century municipal hall, under a modern floor	Free	One private city walk stops there
Galway Cathedral	The 1965 cathedral above the Corrib	No admission charge; €3 donation requested	City tours pass it or stop at it
St Nicholas' Collegiate Church	A parish church finished in 1320	Not published; ask at the door	Some city walks stop outside it; one goes in
O'Brien's Castle, Inis Oírr	A tower house on the island's high ground	Nothing — an open site	All three island days
The Plassey, Inis Oírr	A cargo ship wrecked on the eastern shore	Nothing — an open shore	All three island days

Free, and worth the walk

Galway City Museum

Spanish Parade, beside the Spanish Arch. Open Tuesday to Saturday 10:00 to 17:00, and Sunday 12:00 to 17:00 from Easter to mid-September; galleries close at 16:45. Free, with a suggested €5 donation, and closed on Christmas Day, St Stephen's Day, St Patrick's Day and Good Friday.

The Hall of the Red Earl

Druid Lane, off Quay Street. The oldest excavated building in the city, found in 1997 by Office of Public Works archaeologists when an extension was proposed, with over 11,000 artefacts from the dig. Open Monday to Friday 09:30 to 16:30, free.

Poulnabrone Dolmen

An open field site on the Burren limestone, reached from a car park on the R480. Nothing to pay and nothing to book; one Clare day trip stops there for twenty minutes.

Connemara National Park

Letterfrack, an hour and a half from the city. Entry costs nothing, and the Diamond Hill loops climb far enough to see the coast. One Connemara day gives you three hours there if you choose it over the abbey.

Paid, and worth booking ahead

Cliffs of Moher Visitor Experience

€8 for an adult, €6 for a senior or student, free for under-12s, €16 for a family of four. Parking, the exhibition, the virtual-reality theatre and O'Brien's Tower are all inside that. The site advises booking online ahead, and several day trips from the city already carry the ticket.

Kylemore Abbey and the Victorian Walled Garden

The abbey sells its own admission through a system that refuses every request from here, so you will not find a figure on these pages. What the day trips say is on their cards: one names entry in the fare, one stops for two hours without naming a ticket, and one excludes entry fees altogether.

Aillwee Burren Experience

A show cave above Ballyvaughan. Its website was returning a server error when these pages were written, so no price is quoted here either. The one day trip that stops there names the cave entry as excluded, which is the fact you can act on.

Galway Cathedral

No admission charge at all; the cathedral asks each visitor for €3 towards the upkeep of the building. Usually open 08:00 to 20:00, with a request not to come in during Mass unless you are taking part.

Inside a day trip, and hard to reach otherwise

O'Brien's Castle and the Plassey

Both on Inis Oírr, both open and free, both a walk or a bike ride from the pier. Reaching them means a ferry, and every fare that includes the crossing puts you within two hours of both.

Joyce Country Sheepdogs

A working farm in the hills of Connemara where the dogs bring sheep off the mountainside. It appears on exactly one day trip, for seventy minutes, and the fare does not name an entry.

The Cliffs of Moher from the sea

A fifty-minute cruise along the foot of the wall, sold inside the island days and not reachable on foot at all. It sails at the skipper's discretion.

What the coaches pass without stopping

Dunguaire Castle — fifteen minutes outside it on two routes, and no tour here buys entry.
Corcomroe Abbey, Kinvara, Ballyvaughan, Fanore and Black Head — named as pass-by points on the Clare road; the coach slows, the guide talks, nobody gets off.
Oughterard, Maam Cross and the Twelve Bens — the same on the Connemara road, with photo stops at Screebe waterfall and the Sky Road instead.
Salthill promenade — passed on the way back on one Connemara route, and a stop on the open-top bus.

What needs booking, and what does not

Only one of these needs a booking, and it is the one most people turn up to.

Book ahead: the Cliffs of Moher Visitor Experience. The site advertises a saving for booking online, and if you are on a day trip that carries the ticket, it is already done for you.
Turn up: Galway City Museum, the Hall of the Red Earl, Galway Cathedral, Poulnabrone Dolmen, the Spanish Arch, Salthill. None of them takes a reservation and none of them charges you at the door.
Check the day: the Hall of the Red Earl closes at weekends, and the museum closes on Mondays. Both catch people out on a wet Sunday.

Opening hours to check before you go

Place	Open	Closed
Cliffs of Moher Visitor Experience	09:00–17:00 Nov–Feb, 08:00–19:00 Mar–Apr and Sep–Oct, 08:00–21:00 May–Aug	24, 25 and 26 December
Galway City Museum	Tue–Sat 10:00–17:00; Sun 12:00–17:00 Easter to mid-September	Christmas Day, St Stephen's Day, St Patrick's Day, Good Friday
Hall of the Red Earl	Mon–Fri 09:30–16:30	Weekends
Galway Cathedral	About 08:00–20:00 daily	During Mass, to sightseers
St Nicholas' Collegiate Church	Mon, Tue, Thu, Fri, Sat 10:00–17:30; Wed from 11:00; Sun from 13:00	Last entry 30 minutes before closing

Want the gate ticket inside the fare?

Four of the day trips carry the Cliffs of Moher admission and one carries Kylemore Abbey. Every card says which.

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Frequently asked about the attractions

Is the Cliffs of Moher entrance fee included in the tour price?

On some fares, and it is the single biggest difference between them. Four of the coach days here name the Cliffs of Moher entrance fee or the Visitor Experience entry in their inclusions; one stops there for ninety minutes without naming it, and one passes the cliffs by boat and never enters. The adult ticket starts at €8 and under-12s go free, so check the card before you decide on price alone.

Is O'Brien's Tower included in the Cliffs of Moher ticket?

Yes. The Visitor Experience ticket covers all areas including O'Brien's Tower and the Cliffs exhibition, along with secure parking, the cafés and the free audio guide. Where a tour names the entrance fee in its fare, the tower is inside that.

What can I see in Galway for free?

A good deal of it. Galway City Museum on Spanish Parade is free with a suggested €5 donation, the Hall of the Red Earl is free on weekdays, and Galway Cathedral asks for €3 rather than charging admission. The Spanish Arch, Eyre Square, the Claddagh and the Salthill promenade cost nothing at all.

Is Galway Cathedral free to enter?

There is no admission charge; the cathedral asks visitors for a €3 donation towards the upkeep of the building. It is usually open 08:00 to 20:00, and visitors are asked not to come in during Mass unless they are taking part. Dedicated in August 1965, it calls itself the youngest of Europe's great stone cathedrals.

Is Kylemore Abbey entry included on a Connemara day tour?

On two of the three, and not on the cheapest. One fare names entry to Kylemore Abbey and the Victorian Walled Garden in its inclusions; another stops there two hours without naming a ticket; the third excludes entry fees altogether and asks you to choose between the abbey, which you pay for at the gate, and Connemara National Park, which is free.

What time do the Cliffs of Moher open?

The Visitor Experience opens 09:00 to 17:00 from November to February, 08:00 to 19:00 in March, April, September and October, and 08:00 to 21:00 from May to August. It is closed on 24, 25 and 26 December. A winter day trip therefore has four fewer hours to work with than a June one.

Next: the city's own landmarks are on Galway city, what to do between tours is on things to do in Galway, and every fare is on Galway Ireland Tours.