©Lonely Planet Publications Pty Ltd GALWAY & THE WEST OF IRELAND ROAD TRIPS Belinda Dixon HOW TO USE THIS BOOK Symbols In This Book Reviews KTop Tips Food & In the Destinations section: Drink All reviews are ordered in our authors’ Link preference, starting with their most Your Trips Outdoors preferred option. Additionally: Tips from Sights are arranged in the geographic Essential Locals Photo order that we suggest you visit them and, within this order, by author preference. Trip Walking Detour Tour Eating and Sleeping reviews are ordered by price range (budget, midrange, top end) and, History & within these ranges, by author preference. Culture 5 Eating Family 4 Sleeping Map Legend otes rips 1 Sights 4 Sleeping Trip oute Trip umers Trip Detour r 5 Linked Trip Trip Stop Beaches Eating Walk oute Tollay Walking tour 2 Activities 6 Drinking Freeay Primary Trip Detour C Courses 3 Entertainment Secondary Tertiary oplation T Tours 7 Shopping Lane Capital ational nsealed oad Capital z Festivals Information Plaaall StateProince & Events 8 & Transport Steps CityLarge Ton Tunnel Tonillage Pedestrian Oerpass Areas Walk TrackPath each These symbols and abbreviations give Cemetery vital information for each listing: ondaries Christian nternational Cemetery Other StateProince Park % Telephone # Pet-friendly Cliff Forest number g Bus eseration h Opening hours drograph ran rea f Ferry p ierCreek Sportsground Parking j Tram ntermittent ier n Nonsmoking d Sampangroe ransport Train a Canal irport Air-conditioning apt apartments Water Cale Car i Internet access DrySalt Funicular d double rooms W ntermittent Lake Parking Wi-fi access dm dorm beds s lacier Trainailay Swimming pool q quad rooms Tram v Vegetarian selec- r rooms ighwa arers tion Eoad etork s single rooms ational etork E English-language menu ste suites c Family-friendly tr triple rooms Note: Not all symbols displayed above appear on the maps in this book tw twin rooms CONTENTS Inisheer ........................................... 69 PLAN YOUR TRIP Connemara ......................................71 Inishbofin .........................................72 Letterfrack & Around .....................73 Welcome to Galway & the West of Ireland .......................... 5 COUNTIES MAYO & SLIGO ..............76 Galway & the West County Mayo ...................................76 of Ireland Map ................................. 6 Cong .................................................76 Galway & the West Westport ..........................................78 of Ireland Highlights ....................... 8 Achill Island .....................................81 Galway City Guide ...........................10 Ballina ............................................. 86 Need to Know ..................................12 County Sligo ................................... 88 Sligo Town ...................................... 88 COUNTY CLARE .............................. 92 ROAD TRIPS Ennis ............................................... 92 Southwestern & Western Clare ... 95 Musical Kilrush ............................................. 96 1 Landscapes 5 Days 17 Loop Head Peninsula .....................97 North Mayo 2 & Sligo 4–5 Days 27 Ennistimon ..................................... 99 Loughs of Cliffs of Moher ..............................100 3 the West 4–5 Days 35 The Burren .....................................101 County 4 Clare 8–9 Days 43 Doolin .............................................102 Lisdoonvarna .................................105 DESTINATIONS ROAD TRIP COUNTY GALWAY ........................... 52 ESSENTIALS Galway City .................................... 52 Aran Islands ................................... 64 Ireland Driving Guide ...................109 Inishmore ....................................... 64 Ireland Travel Guide .....................114 Inishmaan ........................................67 Language ...................................... 122 3 ©Lonely Planet Publications Pty Ltd SEND US YOUR FEEDBACK We love to hear from travellers – your comments help make our books better. We read every word, and we guarantee that BEHIND your feedback goes straight to the authors. Visit lonelyplanet. com/contact to submit your updates and suggestions. THE Note: We may edit, reproduce and incorporate your comments in Lonely Planet products such as guidebooks, SCENES websites and digital products, so let us know if you don't want your comments reproduced or your name acknowledged. For a copy of our privacy policy visit lonelyplanet.com/privacy. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS THIS BOOK Climate map data adapted from Peel MC, Finlayson This 1st edition of Galway & the West of Ireland Road BL & McMahon TA (2007) ‘Updated World Map Trips was researched and written by Belinda Dixon. of the Köppen-Geiger Climate Classification’, This guidebook was produced by the following: Hydrology and Earth System Sciences, 11, 1633 44. Destination Editor Cliff Wilkinson Cover photographs: Front: Country road in County Daniel Bolger, Sligo, Cahir Davitt/Alamy ©; Back: Cliffs of Moher, Senior Product Editors Jessica Ryan Patryk Kosmider/Shutterstock © Regional Senior Cartographer Mark Griffiths Cartographer Julie Sheridan Product Editor Will Allen Book Designer Katherine Marsh Assisting Editors Andrew Bain, Imogen Bannister, Nigel Chin, Carly Hall, Kellie Langdon, Lou McGregor, Rosie Nicholson, Kristin Odijk, Gabrielle Stefanos, Simon Williamson Assisting Cartographer Alison Lyall Cover Researcher Naomi Parker Thanks to Sasha Drew, Susan Paterson, Rachel Rawling, Angela Tinson OUR STORY A beat-up old car, a few dollars in the pocket and a sense of adventure. In 1972 that’s all Tony and Maureen Wheeler needed for the trip of a lifetime – across Europe and Asia overland to Australia. It took several months, and at the end – broke but inspired – they sat at their kitchen table writing and stapling together their first travel guide, Across Asia on the Cheap. Within a week they’d sold 1500 copies. Lonely Planet was born. Today, Lonely Planet has offices in Franklin, London, Melbourne, Oakland, Dublin, Beijing and Delhi, with more than 600 staff and writers. We share Tony’s belief that ‘a great guidebook should do three things: inform, educate and amuse’. 124 ©Lonely Planet Publications Pty Ltd INDEX Lackan Strand 85 St Mary’s Church 38-9 A Lacken Strand 30 Claddagh rings 62 abbeys Omey Strand 40 Clare 43-9, 92-107 Ballintubber Abbey 87 Spanish Point 20 Clarke, Harry 38 Cong Abbey 38, 76 Trawmore Beach 82-3 Cliffs of Moher 9, 46, 100-1 Kylemore Abbey 73 bicycling, see cycling climate 22 Rosserk Abbey 86 birdwatching 32, 101 Cong 38, 76-8 Sligo Abbey 88 boat travel 114 Connemara 9, 71-3 accessible travel 120-1 boat trips 76, 79, 91, 101 Connemara National Park 40 accommodation 23, 114, 115-16 border crossings 112 cooking classes 61 Achill Island 29, 81-5, 82 Boycott, Captain Charles costs 23, 116, 117 air travel 114 Cunningham 38 County Clare 43-9, 92-107 Aran Islands 24-5, 45-6, 48, budget 23, 116, 117 County Galway 52-75 64-71 Burren, the 101-2 County Mayo 27-32, 76-88 archaeological sites, see business hours 119 County Sligo 27-32, 88-91 historic sites & ruins credit cards 118 area codes 120 C currency 22 ATMs 100, 118, 120 car travel, see driving Cushlough Bay 39 Aughris Head 31-2 Castlebar 87-8 cycling castles, see forts & castles Achill Island 83 B cathedrals, see churches & Ennis 92-3 Ballina 30-1, 86-7 cathedrals Sligo Town 88 Ballinrobe 38-9 caves 38, 102-3, 107 Westport 78 Ballycastle 85 Céide Fields 85 Ballycroy National Park 29-30 cell phones 23, 120 D Ballyvaughan 45, 107 children, travel with 29 Delphi 40, 78 bathhouses 31, 32 churches & cathedrals disabilities, travellers with beaches Church of the Holy Mary 120-1 Achill Island 29, 83 of the Immaculate dolphin watching 31, 48, Easkey 31 Conception 68 96, 97-8 Enniscrone 31 Collegiate Church of St Doolin 24, 102-5 Nicholas of Myra 75 Keem Bay Beach 81 Dooney Rock 91 Ennis Cathedral 92 Downpatrick Head 85 Ennis Friary 92 000 Map pages driving 22, 109-13 Galway Cathedral 53 125 Dun Aengus 24, 64-5 Belleek Castle 86 Ballycroy National Park 30 Dun Briste 85 Doonagore Castle 103 Burren, the 101-2 DVDs 119 Dun Aengus 24, 64-5 Cliffs of Moher 100 Dún Chonchúir 67 Connemara National E Dún Dúchathair 65 Park 73 Doolin Cliff Walk 103 Easkey 31 Dún Eochla 66 Galway 55 electricity 116 Dún Fearbhaigh 67 Inishbofin 72 emergencies 22, 113 Grace O’Malley’s Castle 82 Inisheer 71 INDEX Leamaneh Castle 106-7 Ennis 18-20, 44-5, 92-5, 94 Lackan Bay 86 Enniscrone 31 Lynch’s Castle 75 E-K Loop Head 97 Ennistimon 20-1, 46, 95, O’Brien’s Castle 46 99-100 Parke’s Castle 91 Sligo Town 88 etiquette 118 fuel 22, 111-12 Westport 78 events, see festivals & events historic sites & ruins, see also forts & castles exchange rates 118-19 G Burren, the 101 galleries, see museums & Céide Fields 85 galleries F Easkey 31 Galway (County) 52-75 Father Ted 46, 66, 69, 106 Ennis 45 Galway City 9, 10-11, 18, 36, ferry travel 114 Hall of the Red Earl 53, 74 52-64, 54-5 festivals & events accommodation 11, 56-8 Inchagoill 36-7 arts & culture 40, 55, 66, drinking & nightlife 61-2 Na Seacht dTeampaill 66 84, 89 Spanish Arch 53, 74 Father Ted 66, 106 entertainment 62 festivals & events 55-6 St Mary’s Well 85-6 film 55 Teampall Chiaráin 66 food 30-1, 55, 56 food 10, 58-61 history 52 Wall of Enda 69 LGBTQI+ 56 holidays 119-20 literature 55, 89 shopping 62-3 sights 52-3, 74-5 horse racing 55-6 matchmaking 105 horse riding 72, 79, 84 music 20, 25, 84, 89, 93, 103 tourist information 63 tours 53-5 sports 55-6 I fishing 30-1,