Clifden
Clifden is the main town in the Connemara region of Co Galway a base for many coming out west to visit this beautiful and wild area.
Popular summer destination with tourist and locals to see the unique landscape. Home to a lot great hikes, views and a huge amount of history.
Known for some great traditional Irish pubs, traditional music and a region in Ireland where you would still hear the Irish language.
Location
Clifden in Co Galway is located in Ireland’s way out west in the Connemara region.
Getting There
From Galway City to Clifden: Take the N59 road signposted to Clifden. Distance 80km.
From Dublin to Clifden: When coming from Dublin, take the M4 & M6 routes to Galway City. When you reach Galway City, take the N59 road signposted to Clifden.
From Shannon Airport to Clifden: When travelling from Limerick and Shannon use the M18 & N18 routes to Galway City. When you reach Galway City, take the N59 road signposted to Clifden.
From Knock Airport to Clifden: When leaving Knock Airport, take the N5 to Westport. When in Westport, take the N59 road signposted to Clifden.
Diamond Hill
Don’t be fooled by its nice name its a tough hike to the summit of Diamond Hill. But it well worth the final assault to see the views of the Connemara National Park and Valley, including the Twelve Bens and Kylemore Abbey. Clifden and the surrounding areas are known for being the best areas to hike in Co Galway.
Never fear though there are 3 other tracks for the less experienced hikers and even a track which is friendly for young children.
Be prepared wear comfortable appropriate shoes and check ahead for wind conditions. It gets very windy up Diamond Hill and especially with its location on the Wild Atlantic Way.
Kylemore Abbey
One of the jewels in the Connemara region is Kylemore Abbey. One of the most picturesque and striking Manor Houses in Ireland.
See the house, take the walks and enjoy there extensive walled gardens.
Such a grand building and is known to be one of Irelands most photographic buildings.
Take note as we found out Kylemore Abbey closes January and February, so maybe check ahead if travelling off season.
Sky Road
A beautiful scenic drive along the Wild Atlantic Way. Catch some glorious views, and view some stunning coastal properties.
The route is a circular route, with a distance of 16km from Clifden, onto the Kingstown peninsula, and back into Clifden.
It’s on this scenic drive where you will find the Clifden Castle ruins and Abbeyglen Castle Hotel. (See below)
Clifden Castle Ruins
The Clifden Castle ruins is a old Manor House/Castle built in 1818 nestled in the hills of the Wild Atlantic Way.
Enjoy the 1km windy walk through the countryside with great ocean views and rugged landscape before hitting the castle itself.
As far as ruins go the Clifden Castle structure is very much in tact. See the towers and what use to and the huge courtyard at the back.
Live Music Lowry’s Bar
Lowry’s bar on the main street of Clifden is known for its great live music scene and has become an award winning pub in that category. Add to this the bars impressive selection of Gin’s and Whiskey’s it makes for a interesting night.
We settled in on a friday for a night of music and drinks and had ample fun. A little clip below shows the music on offer.
Bog Walk
A bog Walk you may ask ? Well the story behind it is a interesting one.
This particular bog land is where pilots John Alcock and Arthur Whitten Brown crashed-landed in the bog in 1919 after completing the world’s first transatlantic flight.
They landed close to a wireless telegraphy station which had been set up 14 years earlier by Italian inventor, Guglielmo Marconi. Today this bog location is home to a memorial dedicated to the pair.
With it 5km walk its an area of beauty and a great look at the rugged Connemara landscape.
Abbeyglen Castle Hotel
Situated 2 minutes drive from the centre of Clifden is a 4 star rated converted castle and manor house one of many castle hotels in Co Galway. Abbeyglen Castle Hotel was built in 1832 by John d’Arcy the builder of Clifden Castle and founder of Clifden in 1812.
Following the death d’Arcy, his son Mitchen sold the property 1854, during the famine the castle laid derelict until 1969 when the castle was bought and the Abbeyglen Castle Hotel was formed.
Today the hotel is known to be top getaway in the region with romantic breaks, weekend getaways with great food and full of history.
Visit The Boutique Shops
The two main streets of Clifden are lined with a variety of boutique shops. From gifts, art galleries, wine,books and local hand made products its a boutique shoppers dream. With no big chain shops in Clifden you really get amongst the Clifden locals in these places.
Where To Stay In Clifden
The Station House Hotel, situated just off the main streets in town. A hotel steeped on history as it used to be the old steam railway station.
Facilities include bar, restaurant, pool, spa, wellness center, cinema and a museum of the old Clifden steam railway which was once the sight of this hotel. (Note this museum is closed January and February)
As well as well catered modern, stylish rooms. Well maintained, clean and comfortable.
Add to all above its reasonable pricing and great location its the perfect location for any getaway.
Grab A Coffee In Clifden
12 Pins Coffee at the church end of the main street is a little boutique coffee shop with a great selection of small chocolate treats from the cabinet which you can see below.
Although 12 pins is not a dine in venue it’s great for a good quality grab and go.
A Great Lunch
Guys restaurant on the main street is a great spot to enjoy a wholesome lunch.
We enjoyed locally caught fish and handcut chips with fresh tartare sauce.
A further selection of great lunches large or small are available you can View there menu to see for yourself
A Laidbacked Dinner
The Signal Bar located in the Station House Hotel is a relaxed dining experience and one we had the pleasure of enjoying.
You can find out our review of the Signal Bar Here
And Finally
Check out more of our Wild Atlantic Way trips with our road trip to Doolin or our day out to Killala. With more to come soon so stay tuned.
You could also head on over to the Wild Atlantic Way website for some more options on these areas.
Clifden is 1hr 15 minutes from Galway city centre
No it doesn’t Clifden is accessed by road
It is and the biggest town in the Connemara region
26 replies on “The Best Things To Do In Clifden Co Galway”
An excellent review of the area and I’ve long wished to visit Kylemore Abbey.
Its such a beautiful area and a must visit. Beware as we found out with some research that Kylemore was closed from January to March. Bare that in mind when booking.
There’s so much more to Ireland than one can imagine! Clifden looks stunning at every turn and corner, and the delicious meal at the end rounds off a successful day of hiking and exploring everything there is to be seen. 🙂
A delicious meal is certainly needed after all that hiking we worked up a good appetite
Clifden looks lovely and a great base with such gorgeous scenery and a wide variety of things to do in the region. We were based in Galway when we visited, so we did manage to drive out to the area but our visit was very rushed. I think we will have to return and explore at a more leisurely pace. Lowry’s bar looked great!
I wish I had done the Sky Road when we were there but we wanted to get back to explore more of Galway. In hindsight, we made the wrong choice!
The sky Road is lovely some great views and a couple of castles to take in
Looks like a beautiful area. Kylemore abbey looks like something out of a fairy tale. Is it for sale LOL?
Connemara is a beautiful region. I would love to walk up the Diamond Hill, visit Kylemore Abbey again (we’ve been there a very long time ago), check out the castle ruins and finish the day at Lowry’s bar !
Dome great choices I can certainly highly recommend Diamond Hill on a clear day the views are unbelievable
A castle hotel is exactly my kind of hotel. Throw in a bog walk and a pub and I’m ready to go!
Who doesn’t like a Castle and when it’s a hotel well that’s just a winner
Clifden is so beautiful and charming! And so many cool things to do…I want to experience every single one. Adding this magical place to my list!
Fair play to for sticking with it even through grey skies it’s so well worth it especially in such beautiful corners of Ireland. We love 12 pins coffee always get some when we’re there. Aaaah you’re making me miss home!!
The Kylemore Abbey is gorgeous and your food choices look delicious! One day I want to do a month long road trip in Ireland and see some of the places around Clifden!
I can tell you it is well worth it
Great post! So much of Ireland I still need to explore – I never knew anything about this area but it looks lovely.
A beautiful area to visit maybe check weather it can get wild out there
I’ve never heard of Clifden before, but it’s so beautiful! I’d love to see Kylemore Abbey and hear live music at the pub, they make me want to revisit Ireland again.
Revisiting Ireland is a great idea and definitely add Clifden to that list
What a great little town with so much to see and do in the area. Sounds like some good stories might come out of that pub!
I would say so many stories come out of there including our own
The hike up Diamond Hill would be right up my alley, Richard. Kylemore Abbey looks stunning. I remember a couple of venues from your other posts. You seem to have found the right places to stay at and dine and enjoy a good drink.
You would enjoy that hike Stefan the views are out of this world
That’s a beautiful area to explore and Kylemore Abbey seems a real jewel.
[…] Way, Ireland’s best drive. We have had a few other trips along this route like our stay n Clifden, where we visited such places like Clifden Castle and hiked Diamond Hill. Further down the coast we […]