About This Tour
Three days is what the west of Ireland deserves, and this private luxury tour covers it properly - from the wild landscapes of Connemara and Ireland’s only fjord, through Galway city, and out to the Cliffs of Moher and the Burren. The pacing is flexible, the stops are handpicked, and the local insight is the kind you don’t get on a standard coach tour.
Day 1: Cong, Killary Fjord, Killary Sheep Farm, Connemara
You’ll start with Cong, a charming village on the Galway-Mayo border about 2.5 hours from Dublin. It’s famous for its role in the 1952 film The Quiet Man, starring John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara, and it’s a lovely spot to ease into the west.
From Cong, it’s on to Killary Fjord - Ireland’s only true fjord, carved out between rugged mountains. A scenic boat trip through the glacial waters gives you a view of the landscape that’s hard to get any other way. Nearby, the Killary Sheep Farm offers a 1.5-hour experience on a traditional Connemara farm along the Wild Atlantic Way, complete with a skilled sheepdog demonstration.
Overnight in Connemara, with options including the luxurious Ashford Castle or a cosy local guesthouse.
Day 2: Kylemore Abbey, Clifden, Dog’s Bay Beach, Galway City
Day two opens at Kylemore Abbey, the 19th-century castle built in 1868 by Mitchell Henry and now home to Benedictine nuns. The setting alone is worth the visit.
Lunch is in Clifden, Connemara’s vibrant “capital”, with good pubs and fresh local food. There’s a quick detour to Dog’s Bay Beach, a 30-minute stop at a white-sand beach with shell sand and clear waters, about 15 minutes south of Clifden.
Then it’s a 1.5-hour drive through Connemara’s dramatic hills and lakes into Galway City, where you’ll spend the evening. Galway has colourful streets, a great pub scene, and a bohemian energy that’s genuinely its own - worth exploring at your own pace.
Day 3: Cliffs of Moher and the Burren
The final day brings you to the Cliffs of Moher, one of Ireland’s most iconic landscapes. The views over the Atlantic are as good as the photographs suggest, and the scale of them catches most people off guard in the best way.
Nearby, the Burren’s otherworldly limestone karst landscape offers a complete contrast - a vast, almost lunar terrain that’s unlike anywhere else in Ireland.
Good to Know
- This is a private, tailored 3-day tour departing from Dublin
- Accommodation options include Ashford Castle or local guesthouses (arrangements made to your preference)
- Stops and pace can be adjusted throughout the tour
- Free cancellation available
Local Tips
- Lunch in Clifden earns the stop. Lowry’s on Market Street is a three-time winner of Ireland’s Best Traditional Bar and serves smoked salmon at lunch without fuss; Mitchell’s on Market Street is the kitchen locals recommend for a proper dinner if your timing works out. Either way, allow time to walk out the Lower Sky Road to the ruins of D’Arcy’s Gothic castle - it’s a 2km return walk off the road and the view of Clifden Bay from the field is the one that belongs to you rather than a postcard.
- The Derrygimlagh Discovery Loop (5km, 1.5 hours) sits just south of Clifden and takes in the site where Marconi sent the first commercial transatlantic wireless signal in 1907 and where Alcock and Brown crash-landed after the first non-stop transatlantic flight in 1919. It’s flat, well-signposted bog walking, and it puts Day 2 in proper perspective. Ask your guide if there’s time before Dog’s Bay.
- Letterfrack is the village closest to Kylemore Abbey and the gateway to Connemara National Park. The park headquarters and visitor centre are here; Diamond Hill - a 7km loop to 442 metres with Killary Harbour spread below and the Twelve Bens all around - starts from the car park. If your Day 2 schedule allows time on the mountain before Kylemore, it’s two and a half hours and worth it.
- Oughterard sits on Lough Corrib at the point where the farming country stops and Connemara begins - the N59 west runs through it on the way to Clifden. It’s a working angling village first, with brown trout in the lough and salmon in the Owenriff River. The O’Flaherty tower house at Aughnanure Castle, three kilometres east, is a six-storey OPW site on a rocky outcrop with a river gorge alongside - a worthwhile detour if you’re passing through.
- Galway city in the evening runs itself - Shop Street and Quay Street give you the pubs and the buskers, but the session circuit rewards wandering. Tigh Coili on Mainguard Street and the Crane Bar on Sea Road are where the trad players go when they want an audience of people who already know the tunes. Give yourself the evening freely; this is a city that wears its size lightly and fills an unplanned night better than most.
- The Cliffs of Moher on Day 3 are best early in the day, before the large coaches arrive from Galway and Limerick. Your private tour start time is the advantage - use it.
- Liscannor is the village at the southern end of the cliff trail, eight kilometres from the visitor centre. The Hag’s Head coastal path starts from the coast road above the village - walkers come out here after the full cliff walk. Vaughan’s Anchor Inn on Main Street is Michelin-recommended for seafood and has been run by the same family since 1979; useful to know if Day 3 ends at the southern end of the cliffs.
- Doolin sits six kilometres north of the Cliffs of Moher visitor centre. If Day 3 extends along the coast, it’s the trad music capital of west Clare - Gus O’Connor’s has run sessions since 1832 - and a working pier where ferries leave for Inis Oírr twenty minutes away.
- Ballyvaughan is where the Burren meets Galway Bay - a small village with a pier built in 1829 and limestone country in every direction. Monk’s at the harbour does a chowder heavy with mussels and salmon. If your Burren stop brings you north, this is the village to arrive in.
Nearby on IrelandMe
- Clifden - Connemara’s planned town from 1812, with the Sky Road loop, the Derrygimlagh bog where the first transatlantic wireless signal was sent, and Lowry’s bar which has won Ireland’s Best Traditional Bar three times
- Galway - the city at the mouth of the Corrib, where Day 2 ends; medieval laneways, trad in Tigh Coili most nights, and a session circuit that runs later than you planned to stay up
- Letterfrack - the gateway village for Connemara National Park and the closest hub to Kylemore Abbey; Diamond Hill’s 7km loop starts from the car park here, with Killary Harbour and the Twelve Bens as the reward
- Oughterard - the angling village on Lough Corrib where the N59 to Connemara begins; Aughnanure Castle, a six-storey O’Flaherty tower house from around 1500, is three kilometres east and OPW-managed
- Liscannor - the back-door cliff village at the southern end of the Hag’s Head trail; Vaughan’s Anchor Inn has been Michelin-recommended for years
- Doolin - three hamlets and four pubs north of the cliffs, with trad sessions at Gus O’Connor’s since 1832 and the Aran ferry at the pier
- Ballyvaughan - where the Burren meets the bay; Monk’s for chowder on the harbour, and the Burren Way walking route passes through
