Guided bike tour in Ireland
Fully guided group cycling tour in Connemara
The West of Ireland is perfect for biking with quiet back-roads, stunning landscapes, myriad of historic sites, colourful villages and towns, friendly locals and amazing food and drink.
This is a guided cycle tour, thus you will bike with your local tour guide to enjoy their vast knowledge of the sites along the way or anything Irish in general. There is also a support vehicle taking care of the logistics, the luggage and offering help to anybody wishing to avail of it. We make sure that you are not getting lost, but you can bike at your own pace and longer and shorter options are available, making your bike tour of Ireland just the way you want it.
During our guided bike tours in Ireland, you are free to immerse yourself in your biking – your two guides and support vehicle will take care of everything else for you.
Tour Itinerary
DAY
1
We will collect you in Galway and transfer you to Oughterard, where after checking in you can try out your bikes and equipment during a short trip along Lough Corrib. Over dinner, you can get to know your fellow cyclists, and your bike guide will run through the itinerary for the week ahead. Then you may just want to sample a Guinness before retiring.
DAY
2
The biking proper starts with a beautiful 18-mile cycle to the port of Rossaveal. We take a 50min ferry ride to Inishmore, largest of the Aran Islands. After lunch there is time to explore some of the many magnificent historic sites on the island, such as the cliff-top stone-age fort of Dun Aenghus, the Seven Churches, Dun Eoichall, or Teampall Chiaran. Dinner in the evening can be followed by a visit to the lively pubs in Kilronan.
DAY
3
There is a chance to visit the impressive Black Fort and perhaps do a little shopping for one of the famous Aran sweaters before we catch the noon ferry back to Rossaveal. After lunch we cycle west through the magnificent Connemara landscape to the town of Clifden, often labelled the metropole of Connemara. The bicycle ride offers plenty of great vistas of the Twelve Bens – the mountain range that sits at the heart of Connemara. Along the way there are several locations where peat is dug for fuel. Accommodation for the next two nights is the family run Foyle’s Hotel in the centre of Clifden.
58km (36mls) climb 250m, longer option available.
DAY
4
This is a day where you have various alternatives, perhaps take a day out of the saddle and try your hand at horseback-riding or play a round of golf on the Connemara Links Course, but for those who wish to bicycle there are loop rides availble. Cycle out along the Sky Road to enjoy some sublime coastal scenery. Or head for a longer ride south of Clifden all along the coast to Ballyconneely and Roundstone, before returning to Clifden over a beautiful bog-road.
41km/25mls – climb 292m – 17km/11mls – climb 200m
DAY
5
Leaving Clifden, we cycle east on the beautiful bog road before turning north past Ballynahinch Castle and Lough Inagh to visit Kyelmore Abbey, one of Connemara’s architectural treasures. The setting is perhaps even more impressive than the abbey itself. This is followed by a stunning coastal route from Tully Cross that culminates in a glorious downhill cycle to the village of Leenane. This small village located at the head of Killary Harbour, Ireland’s only fjord, was the location for the film “The Field” with Richard Harris.
DAY
6
From Leenane we head north past the Aasleagh Waterfalls and into the beautiful Delphi Valley to Louisburgh, one of the homes of Grace O’Malley, the West of Ieland Pirate Queen. From here we follow the Clew Bay coast to Westport. On the way we pass the striking Famine Memorial and the foot of Croagh Patrick, Ireland’s Holy Mountain. The steep path to the summit is rewarded by fantastic views over Clew Bay, and yes you can climb it if you have the inclination (and the energy – best to do it the following day). Our destination for the next two nights is the bustling small Mayo town of Westport.
(53km/33mls climb 473m)
DAY
7
Various options for today, hike Ireland’s Holy Mountain Croagh Patrick, cycle the Greenway one of Ireland’s only dedicated cycle trails along the old railway line from Westport to Achill Island or alternatively there is a loop ride into the Partry Mountains and over to Tourmakeady before returning to Westport. You might like to top off your tour with a visit to one of the town’s many musical pubs – Matt Malloy’s (Matt of Chieftains fame) is a favourite.
(57km (36mls) climb 578m – shorter option available)
DAY
8
Map
Price 2024
from €2,950 per person sharing
€650 single room supplement. Max 2 single rooms per tour.
Level
gentle, some occasional climb, options available on most days
Tour Dates 2024
We have 2 guided tours scheduled in 2024.
Tour 1: Starting Sunday 7th July
Tour 2: Starting Sunday 28th July
Included
Bicycle
Trek or Stevens hybrid touring bike
Accommodation & Meals
7 nights in 3* and 4* hotels, inclusive of 7 breakfasts, 5 dinners
Transfers
Support vehicle during duration of tour, all luggage transfers, transfer from Galway to Oughterard, ferry crossings
Miscellaneous
Fully guided, snacks and water throughout the tour,
detailed daily route notes, maps, and route notes, gpx files
Arrival Location
Oughterard – we will transfer you from Galway city.
Departure Location
Westport
Guided group tour – accommodation
Leenane Hotel
Located overlooking Killary Harbour the hotel offers 66 rooms, all individually decorated some with antique furnishings. The hotel also offers reception rooms and facilities, including a Bar, a spacious Restaurant and a Private Residents Lounge, with free Wifi.
The Restaurant has a deserved reputation for serving good food and fine wines with local produce high on the list of specialties. Locally grown and of the highest standards, on offer are regional specialties such as fresh Killary Bay Salmon and Rack of Connemara Mountain Lamb.
Foyle’s Hotel
Connemara’s longest established hotel, situated in the picturesque town of Clifden, has been owned and managed by the Foyle family for nearly a century.
This impressive building, has recently been redesigned to the highest modern standards, yet retains much of its old charm and atmosphere.
Gallery of Tour Pictures