Best day trips from Galway: how to get there and what to see

Galway sits at the edge of Connemara, the Burren and the Aran Islands, so a day trip here is mostly a question of how far you want to drive and whether you have a car. The table below gives the realistic shape of each trip: what it costs, how long it takes and whether public transport works.

The classic Galway day trip: west along the N59 through Oughterard, Maam Cross and Recess, with the Twelve Bens on your right and bog and lakes on your left. Allow 6–8 hours with stops. The road is good; the side roads to beaches and viewpoints are single-track with passing places.

Kylemore Abbey is the usual anchor, a Victorian castle above a lake with walled gardens. Entry is about €17 for adults in 2026 and the site can take two hours. Clifden, the main town in Connemara, is another 20 minutes west and has cafés, a small museum and the Sky Road loop above the bay.

If you have no car, a guided coach tour from Galway city covers the same ground in a day; independent travel by bus is possible to Clifden but leaves little time to stop.

Inis Mór is the largest of the three Aran Islands and the easiest day trip: a ferry from Rossaveal, about 40 minutes west of Galway city, or a shorter sailing from Doolin in Clare. Crossings take roughly 40–50 minutes and cost about €25–30 return in 2026. The alternative is a flight from Connemara Airport at Inverin, which is faster but pricier and weather-dependent.

On the island, rent a bike (about €15–20 a day) or take a minibus tour to Dún Aonghasa, the clifftop stone fort. The island is small but hilly; a bike plus a few hours is enough for the main sights and a pub lunch.

Book the morning ferry in summer, because afternoon sailings fill and the last return can be early evening. Sea-sickness is possible on rough days.

South along the coast through Kinvara and Ballyvaughan, the Burren is a limestone plateau with rare plants, Poulnabrone dolmen and cave systems. Continue to Doolin and the Cliffs of Moher, where the visitor centre car park costs about €10 per car and the cliff path takes an hour or two.

Driving time from Galway is about 1 h 30 to the cliffs without stops, but the point of the trip is the stops, so plan a full day. Coach tours from Galway city run daily and remove the parking and driving problem.

This is also the natural link to County Clare if you are continuing south rather than returning to Galway.

Cong is a small village on the border of Mayo and Galway, about 45 minutes north of Galway city, set between lakes and known for the Quiet Man film connection and the grounds of Ashford Castle. The castle itself is a hotel, but the estate paths and the village are a comfortable half-day.

Closer still, the Gaeltacht village of Carraroe (An Cheathrú Rua) is a 40-minute drive west and a good half-day for a beach, a bog walk and a sense of the Irish-speaking coast. Inishbofin Island, reached by ferry from Cleggan, is a full day and needs an early start.

Costs below are 2026 estimates for one adult, excluding food and drink. Fuel assumes a small car at roughly €1.70–1.90 per litre. Coach tours from Galway city typically run €25–45 for a full day depending on the route.

Drive on the left and expect single-track roads with passing places in Connemara and the Burren. Distances look short on the map but take longer than you think: 60 km of boreen can be 1 h 30.

Weather changes quickly on the Atlantic coast. A waterproof jacket and shoes you do not mind getting muddy matter more than a plan. In summer, daylight lasts until about 10pm in June, which makes late returns easy; in winter, plan to be back by 4.30pm.

Book ferries and popular attractions ahead in July and August. If you are relying on buses, check the last return times before you set out, because rural services are infrequent and often stop in the early evening.