★★★★★
Shane knew the history and was funny with it. He added a stop where we fed sheep, and gave us extra time at the abbey, which you need.
Andrew M. · Couple · August 2026
Connemara Day Trip Including Leenane Village and Kylemore Abbey from Galway
Day trip to ConnemaraAbbey ticket includedHotel pickup on requestMax 61 travellers
Seven and a half hours north-west, and the only day trip in this catalogue whose fare names a paid admission at its main stop. Entry to Kylemore Abbey and the Victorian Walled Garden is inside the price, which is exactly what the cheaper Connemara day leaves for you to settle at the gate.
What this day actually gives you
Two hours at Kylemore Abbey
House, neo-Gothic church, mausoleum and the walled garden, with the ticket paid.
Free hotel pick-up on request
Telephone the operator at least 24 hours ahead and the coach collects you.
Half an hour in Leenane
A village at the head of a sea inlet, and the coffee stop of the day.
Fifteen minutes at Killary Harbour
The long inlet that forms the Galway–Mayo boundary, mountains on both sides.
The Twelve Bens from the road
Quartzite mountains the route skirts for most of the morning.
A last stop at Spiddal
Fifteen minutes in a Gaeltacht village on the way back along the bay.
Two directions leave Galway and this is the other one. Where the Clare road gives you limestone and a cliff, Connemara gives you bog, quartzite mountains, sea inlets and a Victorian house on a lake — and it is the trip people remember for the landscape between the stops rather than for one view.
Kylemore Abbey is the anchor. It was built as a home for a Manchester merchant, became a Benedictine abbey and a girls' boarding school, and keeps a neo-Gothic church and a mausoleum in its grounds with a restored walled garden reached by shuttle. Two hours is the standard allowance, and it is tight for the house and the garden both — so decide which you want before the coach parks.
The rest of the day is the road: Oughterard, Maam Cross, the Twelve Bens on your right, Leenane at the head of Killary, and Spiddal on the coast at the end. The coach caps at sixty-one and leaves Forster Street at 9:45, the latest start of any Connemara departures from the city.
Your day, hour by hour
- Meet outside the HYDE Hotel, Forster Street
- Oughterard, the Twelve Bens and Maam Cross
- Leenane village, 30 minutes
- Killary Harbour, 15 minutes
- Kylemore Abbey and walled garden, 2 hours
- Spiddal, 15 minutes, then Salthill
- Meet at 9:45am outside the HYDE Hotel. Forster Street, beside the bus station; the guides wear blue jackets.
- Out through Oughterard and Maam Cross. The bog begins about half an hour from the city.
- Leenane, thirty minutes. At the head of the inlet, with a coffee stop.
- Killary Harbour, fifteen minutes. Mountains on both sides and mussel rafts down the middle.
- Kylemore Abbey, two hours. Entry to the abbey and the Victorian Walled Garden is in your fare.
- Spiddal, fifteen minutes. A Gaeltacht village on the coast road home.
- Back in Galway by late afternoon. Seven and a half hours in all.
Who this suits, and who should book something else
Book this if
You want Kylemore Abbey and would rather not pay twice. You value a hotel pick-up. You have a second day in Galway and have already given the first one to the Cliffs of Moher.
Book something else if
You would rather walk than tour a house — one Connemara day swaps the abbey for three hours in Connemara National Park and charges less for it. If working dogs are what you came for, a different Connemara route stops seventy minutes at a sheepdog farm. Both sit on the Connemara tours page.
What the fare covers
In the fare
- Hotel pick-up (contact the operator directly at least 24 hours before the tour to request)
- Air-conditioned vehicle
- Driver/guide
- Entrance Fee to Kylemore Abbey and Victorian Walled Garden
Not in the fare
- Gratuities
- Food and drinks
Where you check in
Outside the HYDE Hotel on Forster Street at 9:45am, about two hundred and fifty metres from Eyre Square and beside the bus station. The guides wait in blue jackets, which is the operator's own instruction and genuinely useful on a busy pavement.
Hotel pick-up costs nothing but it is not automatic: you have to telephone the operator at least twenty-four hours before travel to arrange it. Infants under five need a child seat, and the company does not supply one.
Know before you go
- Two hours at the abbey is tight. Pick the house or the garden first and treat the other as a bonus.
- The garden needs the shuttle. It is a separate part of the estate, and walking there eats into your two hours.
- The roads are bendy. Travellers mention car sickness on this route more than on the Clare one; sit forward if that affects you.
- It is not wheelchair accessible. The coach carries a no-wheelchair flag, though it is marked stroller accessible.
- Minimum numbers apply. The operator can cancel a thin departure and offers an alternative or a full refund when it does.
- Food is not in the fare. Leenane at thirty minutes and the abbey café are your two chances to eat.
What travellers said about this day
★★★★★
Brian was kind about my son feeling car-sick on the bends and made sure he was all right. The abbey and the grounds were worth the drive.
Lisa C. · Family · August 2026
★★★★★
Our guide Shane was excellent. I would love to have seen the abbey on a sunny day, but we all know how often those come along here.
Darlene B. · Couple · August 2026
Frequently asked questions
Is Kylemore Abbey entry really included?
Yes. This listing names the entrance fee to Kylemore Abbey and the Victorian Walled Garden in its inclusions, which is unusual on this road — the cheaper Connemara day excludes entry fees altogether.
How long do I get at the abbey?
Two hours. That covers the house and the church comfortably, or the house and the walled garden at a brisk pace. The garden is reached by a shuttle from the car park.
Can the coach collect me from my hotel?
Yes, at no charge, if you telephone the operator at least 24 hours before travel. It is listed as an inclusion with that condition attached.
Does this day include the sheepdog demonstration?
No. That is a different Connemara route, which stops seventy minutes at a working farm in Joyce Country, and you will find it on the Connemara tours page. If you would rather have the cliffs than an abbey, take the Cliffs of Moher and Burren day instead.
Will I hear Irish spoken?
Very likely. The route runs through one of the largest Gaeltacht districts in the country, and the last stop at Spiddal is inside it. Nothing on the tour requires you to speak any.
What if the weather is poor?
The day runs regardless — there is no boat in it. Free cancellation applies up to 24 hours ahead if you would rather move it.
Other ways to spend the day
The other two featured days go the other way: one south across the Burren to the Cliffs of Moher, and one that never leaves the city at all.
Book Connemara with the abbey ticket included
Seven and a half hours, two hours at Kylemore Abbey with entry in the fare, and free hotel pick-up on a day's notice.
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