/
Ireland
/
County Galway
/
Galway
/
Tours & Activities
/
Connemara Day Trip from Galway: Kylemore Abbey and Ross Errily Friary
1 day
Full Day
Instant confirmation
About this activity
Leave Galway Coach Station and head north by luxury coach through the countryside of County Galway, in the west of Ireland. First stop is near the town of Headford visit Ross Errilly Friary – one of the best preserved Franciscan friaries in Ireland. Known locally as Ross Abbey, the medieval ruin is considered as a National Monument of Ireland, with atmospheric cloisters and medieval tombs just itching to be explored.
After strolling around the ruin with your guide, hop back on your coach for the short trip to Cong village, where The Quiet Man featuring John Wayne, was filmed. With roughly 45 minutes at leisure here, you can perhaps retrace the steps of actors through the village, or maybe amble over to Cong Woods to see 11th-century Ashford Castle. Alternatively just relax with a coffee (own expense) on the banks of Lough Corrib – Ireland’s largest lake.
Continue to County Connemara, traveling around Loch Na Fooey – an unspoiled glacier lake – and soak up sights of the region’s incredibly scenic countryside. Hear tales of life in Connemara from your guide and learn about the time-honored Irish traditions and customs that are still preserved in Gaelic-speaking Connemara today.
Next stop is Kylemore Abbey – a majestic Benedictine abbey on the banks of Lake Kylemore. Steeped in history, the abbey is said to have been built as a romantic gift in the late 1800s, and later served as a refuge for Benedictine nuns who fled Belgium during World War I. Entry to Kylemore Abbey is at your own expense, and once inside you’ll have two hours to spend at leisure. Enjoy lunch (own expense), stroll around the abbey or perhaps take a look at its Victorian walled gardens.
On the journey back to Galway, pass though the spectacular scenery of Connemara’s Inagh Valley, weaving alongside the Maam Turks Mountains and back around Lough Carrib. Arrive back to Galway in the early evening.
Read more
Show less
After strolling around the ruin with your guide, hop back on your coach for the short trip to Cong village, where The Quiet Man featuring John Wayne, was filmed. With roughly 45 minutes at leisure here, you can perhaps retrace the steps of actors through the village, or maybe amble over to Cong Woods to see 11th-century Ashford Castle. Alternatively just relax with a coffee (own expense) on the banks of Lough Corrib – Ireland’s largest lake.
Continue to County Connemara, traveling around Loch Na Fooey – an unspoiled glacier lake – and soak up sights of the region’s incredibly scenic countryside. Hear tales of life in Connemara from your guide and learn about the time-honored Irish traditions and customs that are still preserved in Gaelic-speaking Connemara today.
Next stop is Kylemore Abbey – a majestic Benedictine abbey on the banks of Lake Kylemore. Steeped in history, the abbey is said to have been built as a romantic gift in the late 1800s, and later served as a refuge for Benedictine nuns who fled Belgium during World War I. Entry to Kylemore Abbey is at your own expense, and once inside you’ll have two hours to spend at leisure. Enjoy lunch (own expense), stroll around the abbey or perhaps take a look at its Victorian walled gardens.
On the journey back to Galway, pass though the spectacular scenery of Connemara’s Inagh Valley, weaving alongside the Maam Turks Mountains and back around Lough Carrib. Arrive back to Galway in the early evening.
Included
- Local guide
- Air-conditioned vehicle
Not included
- Food and drinks
Additional
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Features
Tourism
95%
Cultural
60%
Original
45%
Reviews
Similar activities in Galway
Click to discover other experiences
Kylemore Abbey was great. Gardens are beautiful and rooms inside are well done and well presented. The Friary was a fascinating added bonus!
I enjoyed the Castle, and the country side was beautiful. Ross Errily Friary was also interesting. Ok
Beautiful scenery, spectacular Abbey, and the Friary is awesome. Tour guide was good. I would recommend this tour.
This excursion was not what I really expected. Most of the trip was sitting in the bus. The Kylemore Abbey was beautiful and it would have been nice to have a little more time. The last stop at the ruin was amazing and a highlight of the trip. I would hope that the drive through the Connemara would be more informational and we would have the ability to take more photos.
John did an amazing job sharing much of the Irish history while traveling down and back to Kylemore Abbey. The grounds are extremely impressive. I wish we could have seen more rooms inside the Abbey but loved walking in and around the gothic church. We couldn't go to Ross Friary due to flooding which was disappointing but understandable. John's commentary was a wonderful addition to this trip and I would recommend it highly due to the countryside you see as well.
Wonderful day trip. Informative guide. Gorgeous scenery. Our pictures can't begin to show the natural beauty of this area. Just beautiful.
We had a wonderful time. Although our bus broke down and we were delayed an hour our driver made sure we still saw everything we were suppose to. The driver also ensured that a few of us that had committments that evening made it on time. Kylemore Abbey is so beautiful and the Ross Errilly friary was very impressive. Our driver was knowledgeable and made the trip very entertaining. I have been on a number of Viator tours and they have all been great.
Gorgeous scenery, fantastic and hilarious driver. Great value for money. A must-do. The West is best, yeeeeee-ha!
Michael, the tour guide and driver, cracked us up on the ride. very nice, friendly, helpful and knowledgeable. The tour was one of the best i've taken so far. It took us to great locations for a period of time and got us to know the Irish culture more.
this was a very good tour. I thought,m however, that there would be more to see at the Abby, but there really isn't much inside of it. the grounds, however, were spectacular. Our tour guide, Big Mike, was very funny and informative. He gave us plenty of time to get done what we needed to.
I loved the tour, the guide and our special singer In the bus . She was a student who was studying Irish and sang for us during the drive home
Great Tour!! We saw all that we wanted to see. The only issue was that we needed more time at Kylemore Abby. Maybe less time in the town of Cong. Also more time at the Friary.
Mike I think his last initial was D? was hilarious, and provided us a truly memorable and enjoyable experience. He was full of stories, and could talk the whole time without getting boring or making me feel like he was droning on. The scenery was amazing. Mike gave us plenty of time at each place, and gave us really good suggestions and instructions for every stop. Honestly, I would have given the tour only a 4 if it weren't for our tour guide!
To Good for the price, Driver were so professional, polite and knowledge of the tours topics Thanks
wonderful experience. well worth the time and cost.