2 day connemara and galway bay tour from dublin by train

This 2-day guided trip by rail and comfortable coach includes an overnight stay in a 4-star hotel plus breakfast – a wonderful way to experience Ireland!

Upon check-in at Dublin Heuston Station for your 1:25pm train departure, meet your host and head to your first destination – Galway Bay. As you move through Ireland's midlands, your journey takes you past an interesting landscape of peat bogs before crossing over the Shannon River at Athlone.

When you arrive in Galway, transfer by coach to your hotel, conveniently located close to the train station. If you’d like, spend your evening exploring Galway at your leisure.

Enjoy breakfast in the company of your tour group before pickup from your hotel. Aboard your comfortable coach, take in the magnificent scenery as you drive through the region known as Connemara (meaning, ‘inlets of the sea’).

First, stop in the fishing village of Leenane for a visit to the world-famous Kylemore Abbey. Explore the visitor center and learn about the Benedictine monastery as well as the Kylemore Castle, built in the late 19th century.

If you wish, visit the 6-acre (2-hectare) Walled Victorian Garden -- the only one of its kind, built over bogland. Stroll past a mountain stream to see flowers, the kitchen garden and the beautifully restored Victorian glass houses. (Discounted entrance fees to the Kylemore visitor center and Victorian Garden are at your own expense.)

You'll have the opportunity to purchase lunch before re-boarding the coach. Then, enjoy scenic views of the Irish countryside – including lovely lakes, stone walls and the charming thatched cottages of Connemara. Pass the mountain ranges of the Twelve Bens and Maumturks, continuing along the northern shores of Galway to the train station. From there, board your return train to Dublin, arriving around 9:45pm.