From Galway: Connemara and Cong Full-Day Tour

About This Tour

If you have seen The Quiet Man, the 1952 John Wayne film that turned a tiny Mayo village into one of the most recognised locations in Irish cinema, then Cong will feel immediately familiar. The stone bridges, the pub, the cottage - they are all still there, and remarkably little has changed. Even if you have never seen the film, Cong is a gorgeous village in its own right, sitting at the head of Lough Corrib with the spectacular Ashford Castle as its neighbour.

You get ninety minutes to explore Cong, which is enough to walk the village’s leafy paths, see the Quiet Man statue and museum, and stroll through the publicly accessible grounds of Ashford Castle. The castle itself is now one of Ireland’s most exclusive five-star hotels, but the grounds and riverside walks are open and absolutely worth seeing. The setting, with the castle reflected in the river and ancient woodland all around, is fairy-tale Ireland at its finest.

From Cong, the tour heads west into Connemara proper. The landscape changes rapidly once you leave the wooded lakeland behind. Suddenly it is open bog, rugged mountains, and narrow roads winding through valleys that feel completely untouched. The highlight is Killary Fjord, a deep inlet carved by glaciers that runs 16 kilometres inland from the Atlantic. It is Ireland’s only true fjord, and standing on its shore with the mountains dropping straight into the dark water is a humbling experience.

The drive back to Galway takes in more of the Connemara scenery, and your guide fills the journey with stories about the local area, its history, and the hardy communities that have made a living here for centuries.

What’s Included

• Return coach transport from Galway city centre
• Professional guide with live commentary
• Visit to Cong village and Ashford Castle grounds
• Scenic drive through Connemara
• Stop at Killary Fjord

What’s Not Included

• Meals and drinks
• Entry to the Quiet Man Museum (small fee payable locally)
• Tips for the guide

Good to Know

• Cong is compact and easy to explore on foot in the time allowed
• Ashford Castle grounds are free to walk through but entry to the castle hotel requires a reservation
• Killary Fjord can be breezy and cool even in summer, so bring a jacket
• The Connemara roads are narrow and scenic, and the driver will stop for photos at the best viewpoints
• At EUR35 this is excellent value for a full-day guided tour covering two of the west of Ireland’s most beautiful areas