Departing from Galway at 10:00 AM, you begin your fully guided tour of Connemara & Cong at our first photo stop near the scenic Inagh Valley. Our main stop is the enchanting Kylemore Abbey & Victorian Walled Gardens. The admission fee for Kylemore Abbey is charged separately at the discounted price of €14 per person (tickets are purchased in cash from your driver). Admission includes entrance to the Abbey, the shuttle bus to the walled gardens and entry to the Neo Gothic Church. There is also a restaurant where you can purchase a hearty lunch and a gift shop for souvenirs. After this visit you explore the wilder Connemara regions visiting Killary Fjord and experience the stark beauty of the valleys of Connemara through the hidden Lough Nafooey route. Arriving in Cong village, you will enjoy a 45-minute break to inspect the ruins of the Old Abbey and take a walk in Cong Woods, wander the streets made famous by the Quiet Man movie before returning to Galway by approximately 18:00
Kylemore Abbey, a beautiful Connemara castle, offers much history of romance and tragedy, captivating visitors who step upon its threshold. The Abbey is a beautiful, neo-gothic, building built-in 1868 by Mitchell Henry for his wife. It is now home to the Benedictine Nuns, and here you can enjoy their excellent home cooking while visiting the Abbey and the restored walled gardens. The grounds and surrounding mountains and lakes are steeped ina rich Irish history, and you can learn all about this on our Connemara & Cong Tour. The Abbey and estate are open all year round and include the Abbey, a Gothic Church, the walled gardens, a craft shop, pottery studio, restaurant and tea rooms, as well as the lake and woodland walks. Please note the Kylemore Abbey is closed every Tuesday and Wednesday on the dates 07.11.23-23.12.23 and 08.01.24-05.02.24.
Lough Corrib is the largest lake within the Republic of Ireland and the second largest on the island of Ireland (after Lough Neagh). ( It covers 176 km² )
Killary Harbour is Ireland’s only true fjord and extends 16km (10 miles) in from the Atlantic .It's extremely deep, over 45m at its centre. This offers a very safe, sheltered anchorage, because of the depth and the mountains to the south and north. It is a centre for shellfish farming, and strings of ropes used to grow mussels are visible for much of its length.
You will make your own way to the meeting points
Travelers cannot enter their own pickup location Meeting point: Kinlay Hostel Galway, Merchants Rd, Eyre Square, Galway, H91 F2KT, Ireland Please be there by 9:40 am