Day trip ideas travel within Galway county by bus

Ella108

Hi, I recently moved to Galway city and am looking for ideas for day trip to various parts in Galway county places that can be accessible by bus and do not take long to travel from Galway city center ( maximum 2 hours, ideally one hour ) I was thinking of going to Moycullen, any tips and ideas? Any other places worthy of visit ?

thesandeman

Clifden. Capital of Connemara. 5+ busses a day. About 1½ hours. It's worth it just for the scenery on the way out.
You could even hop off in Moycullen for an hour and then carry on on the next bus if you time things right.

ronnie3585

There isn't a whole lot to see or do in Moycullen.

The Aran Islands are a great day trip if you get half decent weather.

ben.schlomo

Cliffs of Mother/Burren, Clifden, Athenry are all easily done.

Ella108

Anything to do in Oranmore?

Mars Bar

There's a food festival on in athenry today so that might be an idea

bonzodog2

Ella108 wrote: »

Anything to do in Oranmore?

Rinville is nice if you like woodland walks, but not very big, and it might take an hour to walk from Oranmore town
https://www.google.ie/maps/place/Oranmore,+Co.+Galway/@53.2477222,-8.9666856,1021m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x485b904e4107206b:0xa00c7a997321a30!8m2!3d53.2647506!4d-8.9297335?hl=en

Also Coole Park, north of Gort; you might get a bus there and a taxi from Gort.

Don't forget Merlin Park woods too!

TerrorFirmer

Ella108 wrote: »

Anything to do in Oranmore?

Renville Park is fantastic - lovely walks in the park itself but also down along the shoreline by the boat club. Some old ruins there too including a castle.

There's also Oranmore Castle which is a lovely scenic spot too on a nice day, by the pier - only open to the public at certain times though so you should check that.

The best thing to do would be head out Connemara side or the Aran Islands though.

Other nice spots are Portumna (Portumna Forest Park, Portumna Marina, Portumna Castle, etc), Kinvara, Coole Park.

thesandeman

TerrorFirmer wrote: »

Other nice spots are Portumna (Portumna Forest Park, Portumna Marina, Portumna Castle, etc), Kinvara, Coole Park.

Unless things have changed it's almost impossible to get to Portumna by bus from Galway.

Mrs OBumble

thesandeman wrote: »

Unless things have changed it's almost impossible to get to Portumna by bus from Galway.

They haven't.

I've some more suggestions. Will post later when not on the phone.

Mrs OBumble

Here's more:

Trying not to repeat any already suggested.

Barna Woods / Silverstrand. Perfectly walk-able from the farthermost point where the 402-Knocknacarra and 411 buses meet Knocknacarra Rd.

Merlin Woods - bus 402-Merlin or 409. But do take a friend or two with you.
Aunteen and Uncleen Woods. Bus 409. Smaller, but an nice walk. See if you can find the crater in the middle.

Claregalway - 15 mins away. Boring, except on the day in July when the Garden Festival is on.

Knock .. lovely big church and shrine, if you're into that sort of thing.

Limerick - 1 hr 20 mins by bus. King John's castle. Bigger shops than Galway (out in the suburbs though). Sometimes have interesting public entertainment.

Tuam - worth mentioning 'cos it has a great bus service - but I'm unsure if there's much to visit there.

Kinvara - great to go when the Cuckoo Fleadh is on.

Ennis - some historic buildings, National Fleadh Cheoil is on there in August.

Doolin - in the tourist season, you'll have no problem getting to a tour of the caves from the bus stop.

Lisdoonvarna - in September if you want to get stitched up with a lonely farmer.

Athlone - about 1 hr 40 mins. Castle / heritage centre. Good shopping too.

Clifden - if you want to people-watch the other tourists ...

Cleggan - when I went, there were some nice beaches about 1/2 an hour's walk from the bus stop. I think I've heard they were affected by the storms ... maybe someone else has updated info

Kylemore Abbey ... can't do this by scheduled bus, need to get a bus tour. Actually, don't write off the idea of bus-tours, they're a way of getting places you wouldn't otherwise. Check with the tourist office to see what's running this season. Note: Aran Islands is done as a day trip by many but IMHO it's far better to do as an overnighter.

Letterfrack - I think there are some walks in the National Park within reasonable walking distance of the bus-stop ... not 100% sure.

Oughterard - I think there are some interesting walks around there too.

Spiddal - visit the set of Ros na Rua, or the pier where some iconic shots from The Guard were filmed

Last but not least: Dublin! Not quite within 2 hours - but Dublin Zoo is 2:15 on the way up (get off the bus at Heuston Station, and it's walking distance from there).

GalwayGrrrrrl

https://www.galwaytourism.ie/event/Oughterard-Trails-Festival-23rd---25th-June-2017-n173.html
Oughterard has a walking festival this weekend - you could get the bus to oughterard (on clifden route) and then there is transport organised for the tours. Need to be booked in advance but look like good value. Maumean trip full already.
You can also do boat trips from oughterard on any summer day if weather is fair. Think the boats go to Inchagill island (excuse spelling) then on to Cong where the Quiet man was filmed.

3 the square

Thanks guys keep them coming really looking forward to the trip now..

Ella108

3 the square wrote: »

Thanks guys keep them coming really looking forward to the trip now..

I realised you asked a similar question around same time! Great idea and tips really, thanks everyone who replied and thanks Mrs OBumble for the list

Galwayguy35

Loughrea Lake is nice as well, couple of buses go there daily from the city and it's only around half an hour away.

Portumna is nice also, there's the castle and it's right beside the Shannon, not sure if public transport will get you there from the city though.

Mrs OBumble

Update:

I've just discovered that it is possible to do Kylemore as a day-trip from Galway using scheduled services. Details - http://news.galwaytransport.info/2017/07/connemara-shuttle-bus.html

(The Connemara Loop bus used to run during the tourist season before the recession, but was cancelled. Am delighted to see it back again).