West of Ireland

Galway is the west's liveliest city, a university and festival town on the mouth of the River Corrib. The heart of it is the Latin Quarter, a knot of pedestrian streets around Shop Street, High Street and Quay Street, full of buskers, painted shopfronts, bookshops and pubs where sessions start in the late afternoon. At the bottom of Quay Street, the Spanish Arch is a surviving fragment of the 16th-century town walls, and the Galway City Museum beside it tells the story of the medieval merchant families, the "Tribes of Galway". Cross the river to the old fishing quarter of the Claddagh, birthplace of the famous ring, then walk the seafront promenade at Salthill, where locals traditionally "kick the wall" at the far end.

TipGalway fills up for the Galway International Arts Festival in July and the Galway Races at the end of July and start of August. Book rooms well ahead if your dates overlap.

The N59 west from Galway crosses the heart of Connemara, a landscape of brown bog, glittering lakes, stone walls and the quartzite peaks of the Twelve Bens. Clifden, the region's main town, sits beneath two church spires at the head of a narrow bay and makes a good base, with traditional pubs and seafood restaurants. From the town, the Sky Road climbs along a headland in a loop of about 11 kilometres, looking down on islands scattered across the Atlantic. Nearby bog roads lead to the site where Alcock and Brown crash-landed after the first non-stop transatlantic flight in 1919.

TipThe coast road south via Roundstone, a pretty fishing village with a fine beach at Gurteen and Dog's Bay, is a slower but lovelier alternative to the N59.

Around 2,000 hectares of mountain, bog, heath and woodland near the village of Letterfrack, the park is free to enter and has well-marked trails. The highlight is the climb up Diamond Hill, a loop that rises over boardwalks and a rocky path to a summit with views across the Twelve Bens, Kylemore Abbey and the islands off the coast. Shorter low-level trails suit families, and you may see the hardy Connemara ponies that the park helps to conserve.

TipSince July 2026, the visitor centre has been closed on Mondays and Tuesdays (except bank holiday Mondays), though the park and trails stay open. The Diamond Hill loop takes about two and a half to three hours; bring waterproofs, as the weather changes fast.

Mirrored in a lake below a wooded mountainside, Kylemore is the most photographed building in Connemara. It was built in the 1860s as a castle-style mansion by Mitchell Henry, a wealthy English doctor and politician, for his wife Margaret, and has been home to a community of Benedictine nuns since the 1920s. A ticket covers the restored rooms of the house, a small neo-Gothic church built as Margaret's memorial, lakeside woodland walks and a large Victorian walled garden, reached by shuttle bus.

TipThe view of the abbey across the lake from the roadside is free, but the walled garden is worth the entry fee in summer when the borders are in flower. Check opening times and prices on the abbey's own website before you go.

Killary is a long, narrow sea inlet carved by glaciers, often called Ireland's fjord, which marks the border between Galway and Mayo. Steep mountains, including Mweelrea, the highest peak in Connacht, drop straight to the water, and lines of mussel rafts float on its sheltered surface. The village of Leenaun sits at its head, and boat trips run along the inlet in the warmer months. Just beyond, the Aasleagh Falls tumble over rocks on the Erriff River.

TipReturn to Galway through the Maam valley and along Lough Corrib via Cong, or continue north into Mayo for Westport and Croagh Patrick.

Inis Mór is the largest of the three Aran Islands, which lie across the mouth of Galway Bay. It is a land of bare limestone criss-crossed by thousands of kilometres of dry-stone walls, where Irish is the community language. Ferries land at Kilronan, where you can hire a bicycle or take a minibus tour. The great sight is Dún Aonghasa, a prehistoric stone fort built in semicircular rings on the very edge of a cliff about 100 metres above the Atlantic, guarded by a band of jagged upright stones. It is reached by a walk of around a kilometre uphill over rough ground from the visitor centre. Elsewhere on the island are the ruined early churches of Na Seacht dTeampaill, the sandy beach at Kilmurvey and the Wormhole, a rectangular natural pool in the rocks.

TipDún Aonghasa is open year round; admission was €5 for adults in 2026, and free for guests staying overnight in participating island accommodation. There are no railings at the cliff edge, so take great care, especially in wind.

South of Galway Bay, the hills of north Clare turn into the Burren, a strange grey landscape of limestone pavement split into slabs and fissures. In late spring the cracks fill with flowers, Arctic and Alpine plants growing beside Mediterranean species, including blue spring gentians and many kinds of orchid. People have lived here for thousands of years, and the most famous relic is Poulnabrone, a portal tomb more than 5,000 years old whose thin capstone balances on two tall uprights in the middle of the pavement. The Burren National Park, in the southeast of the region, has signed walking trails, and nearby you can visit Aillwee Cave or the ruined Cistercian abbey of Corcomroe.

TipPoulnabrone is beside the R480, with a small car park and a path to a viewing area. Stay on the path and never climb on the tomb or move stones on the pavement.

This small, spread-out village near the coast has been a magnet for traditional music lovers for decades, and its pubs host sessions most evenings for much of the year. It is also a practical base: ferries leave from Doolin Pier for the Aran Islands, especially the smallest, Inis Oírr, and run cruises beneath the Cliffs of Moher. Doolin Cave, just outside the village, holds one of the longest free-hanging stalactites in Europe.

TipFerries from Doolin are seasonal and depend on the weather, as the pier is exposed to Atlantic swell; outside the main season, use the year-round services from Rossaveal in Connemara.

Ireland's most visited natural sight is a wall of dark sandstone and shale that rises sheer from the Atlantic for around 8 kilometres, reaching more than 200 metres at its highest. Paths run along the top in both directions from the visitor centre, which is built into the hillside so it does not break the skyline. To the north stands O'Brien's Tower, a 19th-century viewing tower; to the south a viewing platform looks along the cliffs towards Hag's Head. In spring and early summer, puffins, razorbills and guillemots nest on the ledges.

TipAdmission covers parking and the visitor centre and is noticeably cheaper booked online for off-peak slots (before 11am or after 4pm); children under 12 go free. As of August 2026, the long coastal walk from Liscannor was closed for safety reasons and the path from Doolin did not reach the visitor centre, so check the official status page before planning a hike.

Crossing the Shannon estuary by the car ferry from Killimer to Tarbert brings you into Kerry. Dingle, or An Daingean, is the main town of its peninsula, a colourful fishing port of brightly painted pubs, craft shops and seafood restaurants. Some pubs still double as hardware shops or outfitters, and music sessions run late. The surrounding district, Corca Dhuibhne, is a Gaeltacht, so many road signs are in Irish only. The Conor Pass, one of the highest roads in Ireland, climbs north from town over the mountains to Brandon Bay.

TipThe Conor Pass is single-track in places with sheer drops and is not suitable for large vehicles; take it in clear weather or not at all.

A loop of about 47 kilometres from Dingle around the western end of the peninsula, the Slea Head Drive is one of the most beautiful short drives in the country. It passes Ventry beach, clusters of stone beehive huts, and the headland of Slea Head itself, with the Blasket Islands floating offshore. At Dunquin, the Blasket Centre tells the story of the islanders, who were evacuated in 1953 and left behind a remarkable literature in Irish. Returning, stop at Gallarus Oratory, a small early Christian church built of dry stone in the shape of an upturned boat, still watertight after many centuries.

TipDrive the loop clockwise, as local signs recommend, to avoid meeting tour coaches on the narrowest bends. Cycling it in a day is popular but hilly.

West of Killarney, this narrow glacial pass squeezes between MacGillycuddy's Reeks, home to Carrauntoohil, Ireland's highest mountain, and the Purple Mountain range. A small road winds past a string of lakes and over old stone bridges, and the classic way to see it is under your own steam or by horse-drawn jaunting car from Kate Kearney's Cottage at the northern end. Many visitors combine it with a boat trip across the Killarney lakes from Lord Brandon's Cottage, on the far side of the pass, back to Ross Castle.

TipCars are discouraged on the narrow road through the Gap in the main season; walk or cycle it, or book a combined jaunting car and boat tour in Killarney.

A 15th-century tower house standing on the shore of Lough Leane, Ross Castle was a stronghold of the O'Donoghue chieftains and one of the last places in Munster to hold out against Cromwell's forces. Inside, the rooms are furnished with period oak furniture. Boats leave from the quay beside it for Innisfallen Island, with its ruined medieval abbey, and for trips across the lakes.

TipThe interior can only be seen on a guided tour, first come first served, in groups of up to 15. In 2026 the castle opened from 5 March to 3 November, with adult tickets at €5; expect a wait in summer.

Ireland's first national park wraps around the town of Killarney, taking in mountains, lakes, ancient oak and yew woods, and the country's only native herd of red deer, present here since prehistoric times. At its heart is Muckross House, a grand Victorian mansion of 1843 where Queen Victoria stayed in 1861, with gardens running down to the lake and a set of working traditional farms nearby. Walk or cycle to the roofless 15th-century Muckross Abbey, where a great yew grows in the cloister, and to Torc Waterfall, a short stroll from the road. Further along the Kenmare road, Ladies View looks over the upper lakes and was named for Queen Victoria's ladies-in-waiting, who admired it on her visit.

TipHire a bike in Killarney town; the flat lakeside paths to Muckross are ideal for cycling and you avoid hunting for parking at the busy sites.

The Ring of Kerry is a loop road of about 180 kilometres around the Iveragh Peninsula, and one of the most famous drives in Ireland. From Kenmare, a handsome planned town, it runs past the village of Sneem, the circular Iron Age stone fort of Staigue and the beaches of Derrynane, where Derrynane House was the home of Daniel O'Connell, the 19th-century campaigner for Catholic rights. It continues through Waterville and Cahersiveen and along the north coast to Glenbeigh and Rossbeigh strand. Walkers can follow the Kerry Way, a long-distance trail that circles the peninsula inland.

TipTour coaches drive the Ring anticlockwise from Killarney. Whichever way you go, start early in summer, and allow a full day rather than trying to rush it in an afternoon.

A detour off the main Ring, the Skellig Ring is quieter, wilder and arguably even more beautiful, with views across to the jagged Skellig islands. The little harbour of Portmagee, with its row of coloured houses, is the main departure point for Skellig boats. A bridge leads to Valentia Island, where you can see fossil footprints left by an early four-legged animal hundreds of millions of years ago, and learn about the transatlantic telegraph cables laid from here from 1858 onwards. The privately run Kerry Cliffs, just outside Portmagee, offer a dramatic clifftop view for a small fee.

TipIf you cannot land on Skellig Michael, the Skellig Experience visitor centre on Valentia and the round-the-island cruises are good alternatives.

Some 12 kilometres off the Kerry coast, this pinnacle of rock rising from the ocean holds one of the most extraordinary sites in Europe: an early medieval monastery of stone beehive huts and tiny oratories, clinging to a ledge near the summit. Monks lived here for centuries in near-total isolation, and the island is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, more recently known as a filming location for Star Wars. Reaching the monastery involves climbing 618 steep, uneven stone steps, rising about 180 metres. Neighbouring Little Skellig is one of the largest gannet colonies in the world, and puffins nest on Skellig Michael in early summer.

TipLandings are possible only with permitted boat operators, mainly from Portmagee, during a short season: in 2026, from 12 May to September, weather permitting. Admission to the island itself is free but boat places are very limited, so book months ahead, and expect cancellations when the sea is rough. The island is now closed until 2027.