Most of Connemara is free to see: the mountains, the fjord at Killary, the Sky Road and the national park trails. Two places charge for entry. Weighing up Connemara tickets? Here is what each place gives you, what it costs, and which days out stop there.
Kylemore Abbey is the one paid stop most days make. Mitchell and Margaret Henry began building it in 1867, and Benedictine nuns have lived here since December 1920. The estate covers 1,000 acres beside its lough.
Your ticket covers the restored ground-floor rooms, the Neo-Gothic Church, the Mausoleum, the woodland and lakeshore walks, and the six-acre Victorian Walled Garden. A shuttle bus runs you to the garden and back. Upstairs is closed, because the nuns live there.
The abbey suggests 3 to 6 hours. A tour gives you about two, so head for the garden first and finish in the house. In summer the estate opens 10:00 to 18:00, with last admission at 17:00. Winter hours run 10:00 to 17:00, and it closes from 24 to 26 December.
Kylemore Abbey is not inside Connemara National Park. The park begins across the lough, and you can see the abbey from the top of Diamond Hill.
Aughnanure is Connemara’s best-preserved late-medieval tower house. It stands on a rock over the Drimneen River, near the western shore of Lough Corrib, 3.5 km from Oughterard off the N59.
The O’Flaherty lords of Iarchonnacht built it in the late 15th century and held it for over two centuries. It stood through the Cromwellian blockade of Galway. Peadar O’Flaherty gave it to the State in 1952, and it opened to visitors in 1974.
| Ticket | Price | When |
|---|---|---|
| Adult | EUR 5 | 27 February–28 October: daily 9:30–18:00 |
| Group or senior | EUR 4 | Last admission 17:15 |
| Child or student | EUR 3 | 29 October–18 November: daily 9:30–17:00 |
| Family | EUR 13 | Last admission 16:15 |
You get a guided tour, an exhibition and a river walk. Walkways are uneven, with a handrail to hold, and dogs are welcome on a lead. The castle is on your way into Connemara on the N59, so it suits a morning if you drive yourself.
Killary Harbour is a fjord about 16 km long. It is one of three glacial fjords in Ireland, with Lough Swilly and Carlingford Lough, and it forms the border between County Galway and County Mayo. Mweelrea, the highest mountain in Connacht at 814 m, rises over its northern shore.
Leenane is the village where the N59 meets the fjord. On Lally Tours’ Leenane day you get 30 minutes in the village and a 15-minute stop at the water. The Cong day and the private chauffeur stop for photos at Killary too.
Clifden sits where the N59 turns north for Letterfrack, 20 km from Kylemore. The Sky Road is a 16 km loop out of it along the coast, with views over Clifden Bay and its islands. On the choice days you get 30 to 45 minutes in the town and drive the loop. The private half day gives you 20 minutes on the Sky Road.
Clifden also holds a piece of flying history. Alcock and Brown, the first to fly non-stop across the Atlantic, crash-landed in the bog at Derrygimlagh, just south of the town. A bronze statue of the pair has stood on Market Square since 2020. Nearby, the Marconi station at Derrygimlagh sent the first commercial transatlantic wireless messages in 1907.
There are two roads west from Galway. The coast road follows the signs for An Spidéal, known as Spiddal, and runs through the Connemara Gaeltacht, where Irish is the everyday language. You will see it on the road signs and hear it in the shops.
Lally Tours’ days stop at Spiddal on the way home. Connemara Chauffeurs’ half day goes out through Barna, Spiddal and Inverin. Wild Atlantic Way Day Tours’ private chauffeur can take the coast to Roundstone and Dog’s Bay.
Watching a dog work a flock on a mountainside is one of the region’s set pieces. Lally Tours’ small-group day gives you 70 minutes with Joyce Country Sheepdogs, after two hours at Kylemore. Fat Bike Galway’s guided hike opens with an hour at the same farm.
Walk About Galway’s private day spends two hours at Killary Sheep Farm. On Fat Bike Galway’s e-bike day, the demonstration is by Loch na Fooey, where you ride.
The Connemara Greenway will run 76 km, traffic-free, from Galway to Clifden along the old railway line. It is not finished. The open sections today are about 6 km at Ballynahinch, 3.5 km in Clifden and 4 km in Galway city.
You can hire bikes in Clifden, but the N59 is narrow and busy in summer. Cycling is not allowed on the national park’s walking trails. The easy way onto two wheels is Fat Bike Galway’s electric fat-bike day: private, with pickup in Galway and most of the day on the bike by Loch na Fooey.
Use this to see where your money goes before you pick a day.
| Place | Free or paid | On a tour |
|---|---|---|
| Kylemore Abbey | An estate ticket; the car park, café and shop are free | In the fare on Lally Tours’ Kylemore days; extra on the Cong day, the choice days and the private cars |
| Aughnanure Castle | EUR 5 adult (2026 season) | An hour on Walk About Galway’s private day |
| Connemara National Park | Free, with free parking | Two or three hours on the park days |
| Killary Harbour and Leenane | Free | A photo stop and a village break |
| Clifden and the Sky Road | Free | A town stop and a drive on the choice days |
| The coast road and Spiddal | Free | A break on the way back to Galway |
| Sheepdog demonstrations | Paid, in the fares that include them | Lally Tours’ small-group day and Fat Bike Galway’s days |
Every tour card shows where the day’s long stop goes and whether the Kylemore ticket is in the fare.
Kylemore’s facts come from the abbey’s own pages, Aughnanure’s from Heritage Ireland, and the Sky Road and Killary from Discover Ireland, all read in 2026. Where a tour stops, and for how long, comes from its own itinerary.
A private car for up to three from your Galway hotel, with Kylemore, Aughnanure Castle and two hours at Killary Sheep Farm; marked wheelchair accessible, entry fees extra.
From $878 per group, up to 3
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The lowest fare from Galway: up to two hours at Kylemore, where the driver sells entry for EUR 14 in cash, then the Lough Nafooey road to Cong.
From $51 per person
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An electric fat-bike ride by Loch na Fooey and a sheepdog demonstration, with pickup in Galway city and helmets supplied; riders 12 and over.
From $228 per person
Check AvailabilityNext: walk the trails on the national park page, plan the roads on getting to Connemara, or compare every day out on Connemara Tours.