Galway to Wild Connemara: Ireland's Breathtaking Escape

For our trip to Galway we wanted to be able to explore without having to rent a car. Found Lally tours on Trip Advisor with great reviews and booked a day trip to Connemara National Park. The tour picked up and dropped off at the Hyde Hotel where we were staying which was incredible. Our guide Shane was awesome! Super cool to learn about what we were seeing and a lot of Irish history. Getting to hear not just a generic tour script but actually getting local information, perspective, and friendly chat made it more like traveling with friends than a tour. There were only 6 people total at our booking time, so we had a nice cozy small bus that still left plenty of room for everyone. And because the group was small, Shane was great about customizing the stop times to what everyone needed or wanted to do. The couple of short stops (first in Leenane on the way and Spiddal on the way back) were perfect for using the bathroom or grabbing a snack. Four people had booked to go to Kylemore Abbey so we dropped them off and we were also able to pop off the bus to get some pictures. Shane then dropped us off at the National Park which was only a few minutes away. He was kind to offer us a change in itinerary since the weather was not great but we were happy to see what we could and had packed appropriate rain gear (glad we did!). If you’re considering a trip - do it! Yes the weather in December is rolling the dice, but even with rainy/windy/chilly the trip was awesome and we absolutely do it again!

Had a great tour with Michael. Great value and beautiful views! We went on a very windy day and Michael said if it was too windy, he could come back to get us early, which was much appreciated. Would definitely recommend booking.

Such a lovely tour with our driver/guide Michael! Guide was knowledgeable about the area and history. The hike was beautiful, and tea at the local pub was perfect.

Sean was a great guide, we saw much of Connemara, making many stops in spots with breathtaking views. There was enough time to enjoy everything and the tour was very well structured. Sean told us many interesting stories, sometimes a bit timidly, but always well. 10/10 would recommend

Seamus was a great driver while also regaling us with stories and information along the way! He was thoughtful to give us tips on climbing Diamond Hill safely, returned to find Kylemore Abbey visitors who had missed the bus, and took time to help another traveler find her dropped cellphone on the beach. Really a mother hen and attentive to everyone’s needs! Great music to go with the scenery. Overall very happy with our day in Connemara!

This was such a great tour! We opted to do the hike at Diamond Hill which I highly recommend. Absolutely gorgeous. Our tour guide was fantastic too!

Fantastic experience. On this tour we got to see some amazing country as well as experience an amazing hike in the Connemara national park. We did the blue route which took about 1 hour total and was very peaceful and left plenty of time after before catching the bus. Seamus was an outstanding driver and even better tour guide. Highly recommend this— it was an incredible tour. Thank you Seamus!

This tour was one of our favorite activities in Ireland. We had so much fun seeing and learning about the Connemara region with our tour guide. He was the perfect balance of entertaining and informative. I got my “bog time” and got to bounce on the bog. We had a great hike in the national park and experience views for miles around the rugged countryside. We left with lots of suggestions on where to go for more history and entertainment, like the story behind The Kings Head pub. We even learned a bit of the Irish language. 10/10 ⭐️ would do it again!

Our driver/guide was very knowledgeable as well as entertaining. We learned a lot about Ireland’s history.

We did the Lally Tours day trip trip to Connemara National Park, and Seamus was out driver. The van was clean and comfortable. This was a great tour for someone that enjoys hiking, and Seamus gave us captivating stories and historical insights about the area. He also provided tips on things to see, as we drove to and from Connemara. It was easy to hear and understand. He played some Irish music at times when he was not speaking, and it was at the perfect loudness. He was prompt and even gave us some pointers on good places to eat in Galway that were "reasonable" and not too touristy (where the locals go) - and we enjoyed all of the ones we went to. This is a tour I would definitely do again if I were to come back to Ireland.