Tips for my trip to Galway

Hello,
I'm travelling on Saturday morning to Dublin, in the evening I want to take the Bus to Galway. Monday to Friday I will have english lessons (but not the whole day). I want to explore the nature of Ireland, see really great places, but unfortunately I won't have a car. I think about hiring a bike and to do some cycle tours, I also like to hike a lot. I'm not sure if a can take a bus to great places and which places are the must seen near Galway. When I have no english lessons I want to travel around Galway but it will be day trips or halp day trips. I will stay two weeks in Galway - I forgot to mention.

Perhaps you have a tour tip for me, what I must do or a tip how I get to the best locations. If I can take a bus sometimes and then hike there or if I can cycle to the wonderful locations. 


Looking forward for every advice. Thanks in advance
Greetings
Kathrin

Hi Kathrin,

It's lovely to hear that you will be over with us studying English and looking to fill your spare time with a bit of hiking and cycling!

We have a previous community post on Hiking out of Galway that has some super ideas for you to have a look at.

There is also a lovely article on Hiking and Walking on our main pages that has some good information. The Wild Atlantic Way is a super place to visit, plenty of lovely coastal walks and a trip to the Cliffs of Moher or the Aran Islands is a must.

Please also take a look at our tour operators page that has details of tour operators who will be able to provide an organised tour.

I hope this gives you lots of inspiration, and I'm sure your fellow members and some industry partners will be able to add to this list!

If you need any more help, just let me know!

Martin

Hi Kathrin, 
You can pick up a bus and boat ticket from Bus Eireann who have a ticket office at the train station in Galway.  Bus Eireann are now selling a combined bus and boat tour ticket direct to our ferry company at No 1 Doolin Pier.  More info on the timetable attached.  

Hi Martin,
thanks for your answer and your good advices. The cliffs of Moher and the Aran Islands are on my list.

Do you know where I can hire a bicycle? I wrote to three different bike stores who also hire bikes, but no one answer me up to now. I asked for a mountain bike because I have one in Germany and I like it so much :-) If there is no opportunity for a mountain bike, I also take a trekking bike ;-)

Thanks a lot for the links. I’m pretty happy that you answer me.
Perhaps you will hear from me again with a few questions ;-)
Thanks a lot
Greetings from Germany
Kathrin

Hi Bill,
thanks a lot too. It sounds good :-)
Greetings Kathrin

Hi Kathrin, 

Great that you've decided to come and see the Cliffs of Moher and the wonderful Aran Islands. I'm sure that you won't regret that decision. 

You'll be able to rent a trekking or mountain bike from this shop in the lovely city of Galway. There are also bicycle rental shops on the Aran Islands. You can expect the cost to be around 10 € per day and a 10 € deposit.

Please let us know if you have any additional questions we can help with. 

Wenn es dir einfacher fällt, in deiner Muttersprache zu schreiben, dann helfen wir dir auch gerne auf Deutsch weiter. 

Steffen

Hi Steffen,
thanks for your answer :) yesterday I was cycling until the silver strand with a coke bike - the next time I will take a better cycle but it was not really funny to cycle with the cars together on the street because the streets are not very wide. I read that the Connemara, Burren, Cliffs of Moher  and the Aran Islands would be beautiful. But unfortunately I have my english lessons from Monday to friday until 3 o'clock. I'm not sure if there is a opportunity to visit one of the places after my lessons or if there are to far away. There is the opportunity to do a guided tour with galway tour company - the school supported this. Connemara&Cong TOur, Cliffs of Moher and Burren Tour and two differnt Aran Island Tours. But I am really not sure if I should make such a guided tour or do it on my own. If I do it on my own, is cycling or hiking better and which location is the best one to see?

Can you help me with my decision? Can I visit some of the things on my list also at the afternoon/evening? If not what do you think is the must seen and do you think a guided tour is better? Where does it makes more fun to cycle or should I prefer to hike? At the moment I think I should visit the Aran Islands (but which one of the three is the best one?) and the Cliffs of Moher/Burren on the other day of the weekend. 

Thank you for the link :) Are there nice cycling tracks near Galway or do I always have to take a bus or car for great tours? I also consider to hire a car for the weekend but here I'm also unsure. I have never been driving on the left side of the road until now. 

If you also know a really good jogging route? I was jogging today along the sea in direction to salthill. 

I wrote in English because I want to improve my english. I hope you can understand everything.
Thanks a lot in advance
Many greetings
Kathrin
P.S.: I don't know to whom I should say these, but these internet site costs a bit nerves. If I wrote a text in e.g.my emailprogramm and want to paste it, this is not possible. I had written a long text to you, then an error occurred. I had to write everything once more. This is the second time I want to paste the text in it here, but I have no chance. I don't know how this is programmed, but it is not good. Sorry but this is only a good advice

Hi Kathrin,

thanks for sending us such great feedback back, and we'll gladly reply in English! :)

So regarding the guided tours: I can surely recommend them as they are very entertaining and fun, and not like how you might imagine them to be from guided tours you've done before! People usually all have a great time, and instantly recommend them to their friends and family! Out of all the options you listed, it will really come down to the places and sights you enjoy the most in your everyday life. If you like the coast and its wildlife, the Cliffs of Moher are a stunning sight to behold as well as the Aran Islands, they are very special by nature and I would highly recommend them to you. Besides, if you enjoy the rocky side of Ireland, the Burren will have you covered with some of the nicest and unique vegetation of Ireland and some stunning mountains and a deep connection to the island.

Particularly, the Aran Islands (all of them are totally stunning and I wouldn't know which one I would recommend more!) can be a lot of fun on a bicycle. Keep in mind that you would want to reserve a full day or even two for that to get the real experience, so maybe something better suited to the weekend and then use the afternoons and evenings for the tours if they fit into your time slot. We also have a fantastic article available for six amazing cycling routes in Ireland, including some cool stuff starting from Galway!

I personally think that jogging along the promenade in Salthill is already one of the best ways to take in some a fresh sea breeze while at the same time working out and getting fit! Alternatively, there is also the Galway City of Tribes Jogging Tour, but it can be quite costly for a single person and you need to pre-book and check if it's currently going on.

The error you explained is a status message that notifies you that some formatting might not carry over to our forums, but after you click it away, the text should still copy and paste just fine. I just tested this on several machines and it worked fine. Could you maybe check again and see if it works now? :)

We hope you have a great week ahead now and a most epic weekend plan and if you have any more questions, please don't hesitate to ask away!

Wishing you all the best,
Stephan

Hi Stephan, 
thanks a lot for your quick and detailed answer. 

About my problem with the paste of my copied text: If I didn't type in a word before I want to paste the text in, there comes the message "Please check the styling of your message...". When I click on the button "close", the message is closed, but my text isn't pasted in the text area. If I already typed in something than it works. Unfortunately I used it always for the complete text, so I hadn't typed in anything and the paste didn't work. Now I know how to handle it :-) But what I recognized also is that the pasted text is always copied at the beginning of the text and not at the position where the cursor stands ;-) 

Thanks a lot for the link with the cycle routes. Do you think Galway-Moycullen-Spiddal is really nice to see or should I not put it on my list? And how about the Derroura Mountain Bike Trail? Its not so easy if you have less time and want to see many really really good places ;-) 
The most important things are still the Burren, the Cliffs of Moher and the Aran Islands. Do you know if I have to reserve a bike on the Aran Islands, if I want to cycle there? Or is it better to hire the bike in Galway or an other city nearby? Is it possible to go on all three islands on one day or is this not possible because of the ferry times? Or should I ask the aran island ferries this?

The more I read about Ireland - the more nice places I discover..for example the coral beach. Is there an opportunity to hike near the coral beach or is there "only"/mainly a nice beach?

Thanks a lot for the advice with the jogging route and the effort of answering my questions. I know I have many :( 
Many Greetings
Kathrin 

Hi Kathrin,

The Galway-Moycullen-Spiddal route is indeed a lovely route. I would suggest contacting West Ireland Cycling for some advice and bike rental information.

The Derroura Mountain Bike Trail is a wonderful cycle too, a little more weather dependent but well worth the effort as the views will be stunning. Irish Trails have some more information on this route and many more including the Burren Way.

There is a bike rental on the Aran Islands, Rothaí Inis Oírr has bikes available for the day should you wish to visit this one of the islands. You may well find that it would be easier to rent a bike in Galway and travel on the ferry with it.

There is another community post of visiting the Aran Islands for the day which you would find helpful with your question. Although the 3 islands are relatively small, the ferry timings may not allow a visit to all on the same day.

The Coral beach near Carraroe is a beautiful part of the Wild Atlantic Way. Irish trails again have a lovely route planned out for hiking, the area is outstanding and again well worth the time and effort to see.

I hope this helps and that you manage to fill your leisure time after your course with more of our beautiful scenery!

Speak soon,

Martin