Connemara and Galway City Day Tour from Dublin
Dublin, Ireland
- 12 hours (approx.)
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
Explore our promoted experiences
Overview
Visiting Connemara and Galway from Dublin can be difficult without renting a car, but this day tour takes out the hassle of planning and driving. Explore the best of Ireland’s beautiful countryside as you visit a family farm and underground mine at Glengowla before enjoying a drive through the wilderness of Connemara. Head to Galway, where you can enjoy a couple of hours exploring the traditional city at your leisure.
- Enjoy a day away from the hustle and bustle of Dublin
- Stay comfortable aboard an air-conditioned coach with Wi-Fi
- Pickup from a centrally located meeting point is included
- Hear about Irish history and culture from your tour guide
What's Included
- All taxes, fees and handling charges
- Professional guide
- Live commentary on board
- Air-conditioned vehicle
- WiFi on board
- USB Ports at every Seat
- Gratuities
- Food and Drink
Meeting and Pickup
Meeting point
- Gardiner Street Lwr, stop 1171North City, Dublin 1, Co. Dublin, Ireland
Meet at Bus Stop 1171, Lower Gardiner Street (at street number 42, beside Trinity Church)
End point
This activity ends back at the meeting point.Operating hours.8:00 am
Itinerary
Paddywagon Tours (Pass By)
1
Glengowla Mines & Family Farm Experience
1 hour • Admission Ticket Included
2
Connemara
2 hours • Admission Ticket Free
3
Galway
2 hours • Admission Ticket Free
Paddy's Palace (Pass By)
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Infant seats available
- Children must be accompanied by an adult
- Operates in all weather conditions, please dress appropriately
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Bookings made through Viator will automatically be signed up for the pickup point and collection time specified in the booking.
- Stroller accessible
- Near public transportation
- Most travelers can participate
- If you wish to change your reservation to one of the other pick-up locations offered by Paddywagon Tours, you will need to contact us by telephone or email not later than 17:00 the evening prior so that we can guarantee the change. Please note that changes are only guaranteed once confirmed in writing by us.
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 50 travelers
Supplied by
Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Featured review
Jennifer_P
Beautiful scenery, fast paced, great side stops. Wear good shoes, bring an umbrella. Bring water. The weather changes fast. Be prepared for anything. JJ was the best guide ever. Informative and knowledgeable. Funny. He took the extra time to show us the beautiful coast and mountains. Thank you.
Reviews
3.1
based on 103 reviews
Jennifer_P, Feb 2026
Beautiful scenery, fast paced, great side stops. Wear good shoes, bring an umbrella. Bring water. The weather changes fast. Be prepared for anything. JJ was the best guide ever. Informative and knowledgeable. Funny. He took the extra time to show us the beautiful coast and mountains. Thank you.
Gary_S, Oct 2025
Too much time on the van and too little time seeing things. We spent 1 hour and 30 minutes visiting the mine and 1 hour and 30 minutes in Galway and 5 hours in a van. It was a waste of time and money.
Abhishek_M, May 2025
I have taken over 50 day tours in Europe and Asia and this was the most disappointing of all. There were just 2 stops: a 45 minute stop in cong and 2 hours in Galway. An underground mine tour was listed in the itinerary but was skipped and no explanation provided. The drive in connemara was good but only 2 give minute stops were given for photography. There could have been more stops for exploring connemara. Overall, it seemed a very expensive return bus ride to Galway.
Robert_B, Nov 2024
This is not a tour you should take unless you like spending %80 on the bus. We had 30 mins Cong and 2hrs in Galway, the rest of the time on the bus. Several items mentioned in the tour that we didn't do. The Quiet Man in Cong was good, but the museum was closed. Very unhappy with this tour, I've taken quite a few tours with Viator and never has an experience as bad as this one. These are the items that were advertised that we didn't do: Glengowla Mines & Family Farm Experience, I feel the right thing to do would be to refund my tour since it wasn't even close to being what it was advertised
William_B, Oct 2024
seeing the sheep was the highlight of the day and the dog was so excited for us to be together and we owner was very proud of him
Camille_A, Jul 2024
Very good lake and the chauffeur was really nice , he didn't talk to much and not not enough so it was perfect
JeanP_P, Apr 2024
The stop at the Lead/Silver mine and watching the sheep dog in action at this country property was very interesting. Galway was busy but maybe could have had more time to explore. Long time in the bus. Our tour guide, Dominic, was very good
Thomas_B, Sep 2023
What a terrible experience from beginning to end. Mass confusion at Paddywagon pick-up point. Once on the bus we discovered we were with 1, 2, and 3-day travelers. It became obvious our driver, Alex, was not interested in the one-day Dublin to Galway to Dublin group. Very little, sometimes condescending commentary from Alex. No advice or maps from our "professional (not) guide" on what to see in Galway. Once in town the day-trippers were kicked-out at Eyre Square, and told "see you in 2.5 hours...I will be back with a bus to get you back to Dublin." At meeting time we all arrived as scheduled, and Alex seemed incredulous that our Paddy Wagon return bus was not there. He then walked us 2 blocks, got on his phone, and then walked us another 2 blocks to the City Bus Station -- and right to the staging slot of the inner-city public bus to Dublin/Dublin airport -- 3 minutes before its departure for Dublin. No time for a rest stop, no time to pick up a snack. Couples were "on your own" to find a seat together (they could not), and families with children were split-up.
Note: this bus maneuver was all planned, as I saw Alex show our electronic bus tickets to the dispatcher as we boarded. Of course, the 2+ hour drive back had no commentary, no restroom breaks, and did not even get us back to where we started.
Paddywagon: shame on you!
Viator: we have booked dozens of tours/experiences with you in the past 10 years. All have been 4 or 5 star. This was a "ZERO"... I expect a full refund. Now!
Sherry_W, Jun 2023
We enjoyed Galway and the sheep dog demo. The scenery was lovely. Our driver was very knowledgeable about the area and was very friendly.
Krystina_G, Jun 2023
It was a very cool experience, wish we had more time to stop and see things
We did a local mining stop run by a family which was wonderful
eileen_j, Apr 2023
I have lodged a complaint and expect a refund for a complete change to itinerary with no notice or information.
Nora_D, Jan 2023
I don’t recommend the tour .
There was no guide . It was only the driver.
the caoch didn’t stop at Connemara lake .
It’´s ridiculous to spend much Time on service station .
I ask for refund .
Deborah_J, Aug 2022
Overall, this was a very poor experience. It began poorly by being so disorganized with multiple tours leaving from the same location and no way to distinguish between groups. If they just had some simple signs on sticks The groups could easily have been separated. Instead, as each bus pulled up, the entire crowd surged to determine if it was their tour. To make it worse for us ,our bus arrived about 20 minutes late.
This tour was less a “tour” than just transportation. We were taken by bus to Cong, given some commentary enroute. But when we arrived there was no walking tour and we weren’t informed that this was the only plausible lunch stop. Interestingly, most restaurants in the town didn’t open until 15 minutes before we were due back at the bus. On the way to Galway there was one photo stop. As we drove into Galway our driver/guide pointed out several sites but sitting mid-bus his narrative was difficult to follow. The bus then pulled up to a downtown side street and we were told that he would pick us up there in 2 hours. No walking tour; not even a city map. If we hadn’t been using the map on a phone we would have gotten lost and not been back on time.
To make things even worse our driver/guide informed us that he wouldn’t be returning with us, but rather that at a rest stop on the way back he would meet another driver and they would exchange buses. When we got to the stop, we then waited for the other driver for 45 minutes. The second driver, JJ, was very nice and explained that he was late because this hadn’t been on his schedule for the day. He received a late afternoon phone call from his office asking him to reroute to meet our bus. He was not even given time for a break all day. We acknowledged that it wasn’t his fault but the entire mess was caused by VERY poor management by the Paddywagon company.
Carla_K, Aug 2022
Our tour guide, I forget his name but he hailed from Portugal, was very entertaining. His talk was informative and filled with humor. The drive through Connemara National Park was the highlight of the tour.
Tina_L, Jul 2022
Truly an amazing experience! Would definitely recommend this to all my friends and family! Gorgeous scenery, tour guide (Danny) was great. Learnt a lot and had so much fun. Thank you
Ralph_W, Jul 2022
Not worth the time or money. Guide just dropped you off and indicate the direction you were to go. On the way back he showed prior shows of Father Ted, rather than relaxing Irish history or myth.
Grace_M, Jul 2022
When the driver drops you off in Galway and gives you a ticket to find your way back to Dublin….very unprofessional and disappointing. Many could not speak English and had no idea where to go. Driver was only concerned with those staying 2-3 nights.
Melissa_R, May 2022
Very disappointing overall. Driver was entertaining but the tour itself was a bust. Spent hours getting to Cong to be told we had to be back at the bus in less than hour. Then took backroads to Galway, dropped off at a bus stop and told what time to get on City Link bus, which was less than 2 hours later, for a ride back to Dublin. We did not get a tour of Galway and not nearly enough time to explore on our own. It was the only reason I booked the trip. The tour bus did not even have wifi.
Tracy_K, Mar 2020
Excellent day trip. We were so lucky to have Darren as our tour guide. He made sure we saw every bit of the countryside and introduced us to locals along the way. He was so much fun and knowledgable! Paddywagon is always the way to go!
cmontebello63, Feb 2020
Had a fantastic day....Alex the coach driver was very informative and had a great sence of humour, which made the long drive seem shorter.
JeanFranois_M, Mar 2019
Dan the driver was good.
About Connemara it was a little disappointing : lot of road,no place to park
Stephanie K, Jan 2018
If you don't know the Galway Girl song yet, you will by the end of this tour. What beautiful countryside along the wild atlantic way! And if your tour guide pulls to the side of the road in the middle of nowhere to see who dares run across the rickety bridge, just do it - you will be sad to miss what is on the other side of the hill.
Diana F, Dec 2017
Best part of this tour was the stop made in Cong--wish I just could have spent a day there.
Marla_E, Oct 2017
I enjoyed the stop we made in Cong where The Quiet Man was filmed. Such a beautiful little town. Next time I will definitely do the 2 day tour because the stop in Galway was nice but just time for lunch and the a bit of shopping. The music in most pubs doesn't start until evening that that's what Galway is known for. All in all, it was a nice day trip away from Dublin for a bit.
Dawn H, Aug 2016
I would recommend this tour its such a great day our guide was terrific lots of fun and a lot of knowledge he made the day so interesting. There is so much to see and it's all so beautiful
Mary V, Jul 2016
Ashford Castle was stunning, but not much time devoted to that long walk, and felt rushed. Galway was a lovely place and you cannot miss the scenic ride along the way with happy cows/sheep, etc. Tour guide was perfect, entertaining and informative.
Peter F, Jul 2016
Good tour, but slightly disappointed that the bus had no microphone and no information about the history/area we were visiting. We would have liked more time to explore Cong, and spent less time Galway but well worth the money anyway to get a flavor of Ireland.
Leesa H, Jul 2016
This tour was awful and did not do the description in the itinerary. For example, the tour was supposed to include a walking tour of Galway, it did not. The driver dropped us off in the main square and told us to meet the bus at the stop in two hours. Do not do this tour.
helen_w, Jun 2016
too much riding and too little information about what we were seeing. the village of cong was interesting. enjoyed the impromptu tour by the highway man. too little time in galway. some confusion
about changing buses and spent an hour waiting in the gas station for the 2nd bus to show up to take us to dublin.
Anna_S, Jun 2016
Enjoyed the scenery but spent more time on the bus than expected. Winding roads - request to sit in the front of the bus if you are prone to car sickness.
From $89.60
per personup to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)
Compare Similar Experiences
Current
Connemara and Galway City Day Tour from Dublin
103
12 hours
Free Cancellation
From
$89.60
Customers Who Bought This Tour Also Bought
Attractions in Dublin, Ireland
- River Liffey Tours & Tickets
- The Book of Kells Tours & Tickets
- Epic the Irish Emigration Museum (EPIC) Tours & Tickets
- Giant's Causeway Tours & Tickets
- Wolfe Tone Statue Tours & Tickets
- National Museum of Ireland - Decorative Arts & History Tours & Tickets
- St. Audoen's Church Tours & Tickets
- James Joyce Tower & Museum Tours & Tickets
- Guinness Storehouse Tours & Tickets
- Irish Museum of Modern Art (IMMA) Tours & Tickets
- Irish Whiskey Museum Tours & Tickets
- Hugh Lane Gallery Tours & Tickets
- Dublin City Hall Tours & Tickets
- Blarney Castle & Gardens Tours & Tickets
- Cliffs of Moher Tours & Tickets
- Little Museum of Dublin Tours & Tickets
- Glasnevin Cemetery Museum Tours & Tickets
- National Gallery of Ireland Tours & Tickets