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Connemara Self-Guided
The heart of the Wild Atlantic Way
Ireland
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Region
West of Ireland
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Tour Type Self Guided (Open Departure)
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Duration
7 days
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Bike Types Road, Hybrid, Touring & e-bike
Core Route
322 Kilometres
Difficulty Level: 2 (Moderate)
Extended Route
520 Kilometres
Difficulty Level: 2 (Moderate)
Experience cycling the West Coast of Ireland and explore some of the most breath-taking landscapes on this self-guided tour, delving into the stunning Wild Atlantic Way.
This cycle route of the West coast of Ireland has been designed by cyclists and starts in the village Oughterard to the west of Galway City, which is the location of your first night’s accommodation. If you arrive in good time, you can take a warm up ride by the shores of Lough Corrib. The first leg of the itinerary takes you south to meet the coast at Rossaveal from where you take a 40 minute ferry ride to Inishmore, largest of the three Aran Islands. The next day is spent exploring and enjoying the island.
Returning to Rossaveal you ride west through Connemara to the town of Clifden for a two night stopover. The loop ride takes you around the coast to Roundstone and out along the Sky Road. Leaving Clifden you ride through the Lough Inagh Valley to Leenane on the shores of Killary Harbour. From Leenane you continue north to Westport, with the option of an upper or a lower level route. The loop ride from Westport takes you to Doolough and along the shores of Clew Bay in the shadow of Croagh Patrick.
Highlights
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Sharing the lanes with the pony carts on Inishmore
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The cliff top fort of Dun Aengus on Inishmore
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The wonderful views of the Twelve Bens from the Bog Road
Day 1
Arrive in Oughterard (20km from Galway, there are regular buses from Shannon Airport or trains from Dublin to Galway), easily reached by bus or taxi from Galway. Stay the night in guesthouse/B&B. If bicycle rental has been arranged we will meet you in the evening or first thing the following morning (depending on arrival time) to adjust the bicycle for you and talk you through the week ahead.
Day 2
Day 2: Oughterard – Rosaveal – Aran Islands (25km climb 288m plus extra on the island) Cycle to the ferry port of Rossaveal to catch the ferry (ticket not included) to the island of Inishmore, the biggest of the Aran Islands. The route brings you on a very quiet back road onto a plateau of bogs, moorland, lakes and forests. There are stunning views back over lake Corrib and then onto the Atlantic. There are restrictions on carrying bicycles on the boats, resulting in it there being a small risk that you may not be able to take it with you, in which case you can lock them securely in the office building and then hire bikes again once on the island. The ferry crossing takes about 45min and the rest of the day is spent exploring the island by bicycle and on foot. Highlights include the cliff top fort of Dun Angeus, the Seven Churches and the coast road to the west of the port village of Kilronan. The island is famous for the knitwear that bears the Aran name.
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After a morning spent exploring the island further and perhaps visit the fantastically located Black Fort (a 3,000 year old promontory fort), you take the ferry back to Rossaveal at noon. You will be heading north into Connemara proper. There are great views towards the Twelve Bens (the 12 mountains at the centre of the Connemara National Park). Turning west you ride across the peats bogs (where you can watch peat digging in progress) to Cashel and across another Bog Road to Clifden. This colourful small town is often labelled the metropole of Connemara. Here you will stay for two nights, and you may enjoy traditional Irish music in its pubs
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There are 3 options to choose from, the core describing a figure of eight loop based on Clifden. On the way you can visit the village of Ballyconneely where Alcock and Brown crash landed their biplane after completing the first transatlantic flight in 1919. There are some very beautiful beaches here. In Roundstone you can see traditional musical instruments being made by hand. There is a wonderful a ride out along the Sky Road to enjoy some sublime coastal scenery, and for the enthusiastic rider you continue along more coastal scenery to Claddaghduff and Aughrusbeg.
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Leave Clifden behind to cycle through the beautiful Lough Inagh Valley to Kylemore, where you may like to visit Kylemore Abbey. From here there are choices to cycle along the coast to Lettergesh or to go a more direct route to Leenane. This small village is located on Killary Harbour, Ireland's only fjord. It was the location for the film “The Field”.
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A beautiful and gentle day in the hills of Connemara and Mayo on very quiet roads, as you cycle along the lakes of Lough Mask and Lough Nafooey. Westport where you stay for 2 nights is a colourful market town in County Mayo. Here it is not difficult to find pubs with traditional Irish music
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This is a beautiful loop ride around Croagh Patrick (Ireland's holy mountain) visiting the village of Louisburgh and heading back to Westport along Clew Bay. Along the way visit the National Famine Memorial, Murrisk Friary and the Croagh Patrick visitor centre. Or hike up this mountain on a pilgrims path.
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Breakfast, followed by farewell and departure for your onward journey.
Route Map
Accommodation
The standard accommodations for this region's self-guided itineraries are guesthouses and bed and breakfasts (B&Bs). Generally, these have between 4 and 10 guest rooms and the owners/providers live on the premises. In almost all cases the bathroom facilities are ensuite (self-contained within the room), and the room facilities usually include a television and tea/coffee making facilities. There is a communal reading / television lounge. Small family run hotels are also used in a few locations. The providers are excellent sources of local information.
Breakfast is always included. Most guesthouses do not offer an evening meal.
When you book a tour, your pre-trip planner will have more details about the specific facilities and services provided by the accommodations.
Examples of our guesthouses in this region include;
Travel
The most convenient international airports are Shannon Airport and Dublin Airport.
There is a small regional airport in Ireland West Airport.
Galway, Westport and Ennis have direct rail links with Dublin (Heuston Station) operated by Irish Rail.
Bus Eireann operates intercity and regional bus services throughout Ireland.
Citylink and GoBus run buses between Galway and Dublin Airport. Citylink also operates a service on the Galway to Clifden route
Climate
Ireland's climate is surprisingly mild given its northern location. This is mainly due to the warming effects of the Gulf Stream which brings warm waters up to Western Europe from the more tropical Atlantic zones.
Temperamental is a fitting description of Ireland's weather. It can be very unpredictable! The old adage that it is possible to experience four seasons in one day is close to the truth. During the summertime, the warmest months tend to be July and August, when average temperatures during the day can range from 15ºC to 20ºC. A hot day in summertime could produce temperatures of 22ºC to 24ºC and on rare occasions can exceed 30ºC.
The best time to travel to Ireland for an outdoor trip such as a bicycle tour is from the beginning of May to the end of September. April and October are also possible, but the chances of encountering inclement weather increase. Towards the end of October the days are significantly shorter.
Traditionally May can provide some of the best weather days of the season. The last two weeks in June have the longest days of the year.
July and August are peak travel season for Ireland. The first weekend in August (a public holiday weekend) is the busiest of the season. School holidays are from the end of June until the end of August.
| Core Tour Cost | €925 |
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| Luggage Transfers | €200 (per person) |
| Hybrid Bike Rental | €145 |
| Road Bike Rental | €215 |
| E-Bike Rental | €295 |
| Single Supplement | €325 |
€925 per person sharing, to include;
- 7 nights' accommodation with breakfast
- Pre-Trip Information Booklet and Planner
- On call telephone support
- All mapping, routes and cue sheets with gpx tracks
- Meet, greet and bike fitting
Luggage Transfers
Note that the more riders in the group, the less expensive are the luggage transfers per rider.
Please note that we will endeavor to provide you with the bike listed below. On occasion, due to availability and size requirements, you may receive a different bike. All our bikes will be of a similar style, quality and specification to those listed.
Stevens 6x Lite Hybrid Bike
5 frame sizes
Aluminium 6061 DB Frame
Stevens Alloy fork
27 speed
Bring your own saddle and/or pedals if you wish and we will fit them to the bike. (You must be able to remove them yourself at the end of your trip).
Fitted with: Rear rack; platform pedals, bottle cage, fenders (mudguards)
Equipment provided: Handlebar bag; map case; spare tube; puncture repair kit; lock; mini pump; multitool.
Available on request: Panniers, helmet, odomoter, gps unit
Stevens San Remo Road Bike
8 frame sizes
Aluminium 6061 DB
Carbon fork
Bring your own saddle and/or pedals if you wish and we will fit them to the bike. (You must be able to remove them yourself at the end of your trip)
Fitted with: Platform pedals, bottle cage,
Equipment provided: map case; spare tube; puncture repair kit; lock; mini pump; multitool, frame bag
Available on request: Panniers, helmet, odomoter, gps unit
Stevens E-Lavena E-Bike
E-Bike
- 4 frame sizes
- Aluminium 6061 Frame
- SR Suntour NCX D LO Air
Bring your own saddle and/or pedals if you wish and we will fit them to the bike. (You must be able to remove them yourself at the end of your trip).
Fitted with: Rear rack; platform pedals, bottle cage, fenders (mudguards)
Equipment provided: Handlebar bag; map case; spare tube; puncture repair kit; lock; mini pump; multitool.
Available on request: Panniers, helmet, odomoter, gps unit
The best vacation
We had a great time! The weather, the roads, the people...
We had a great time! The weather, the roads, the people, the bikes and the scenery all conspired to give us just the best vacation!
Beautiful Aran Islands
The directions were easy to follow, and there was so little traffic on the roads that I found myself singing out loud with sheer pleasure
Thank you so much for everything you did to make our first bike tour such a great success. I must admit I was a bit nervous when we set off from our first guesthouse – but I needn’t have worried. The directions were easy to follow, and there was so little traffic on the roads that I found myself singing out loud with sheer pleasure. Ireland is a great country to visit – and our trip to the Aran Islands was the icing on the cake.
Thanks again!
The accommodation were all so lovely, the maps were great and the routes were well described.
Thank you so much for a great trip. The accommodation were all so lovely, the maps were great and the routes were well described. We really appreciated you coming to Leenane to check on Ciaran's bike
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