Explore Connemara National Park - 1-Day Self Guided Tour from Galway

The day starts in Galway city, where you will take a public bus from the New Coach Station in central Galway at 8.30am (transportation is included in this package). The bus will take you to the quaint village of Letterfrack in Connemara, at the base of the Connemara National Park. In the park there are a variety of walks and nature trails to choose from, ranging from 0.5 kms to 3.7kms.

You will arrive in Letterfrack village at approximately 11:05am. We suggest exploring this tiny village a bit before making your way to the National Park. At the visitor centre in the Connemara National Park, you have the opportunity to view a fascinating exhibition on the Connemara landscape (multi-lingual). You can then choose which nature trails and walks you would like to take.

With this package you get a voucher to have lunch at the Connemara National Park Tea Room, situated in the park. The lunch consists of a delicious homemade Soup of the Day, served with homemade brown bread, plus a freshly made sandwich (plain or toasted), with 2 fillings of your choice and tea or coffee.

After lunch, walking up Diamond Hill is suggested. The hike takes approximately 3 hours, so please do not start later than 3:00pm. On the various walks you can discover the parks fauna and flora.Western blanket bog and heath land are the predominant vegetation types to be found in the Park. Heather covers the mountain sides, with ling, cross-leaved heath and bell heather all very prevalent. Insectivorous plants form an integral part of the bog community. Sundews and butterworts trap and digest insects with their leaves to gain nutrients, which are in short supply in the bogs. Rare plant species from the colder areas of Europe and the Arctic may be found high up in the mountains, such as roseroot, purple and starry saxifrages, lesser twayblade, and mountain sorrel..

The birdlife of the Park is varied and includes Meadow pipits, skylarks, stonechats, chaffinches, robins and wrens. Birds of prey are sometimes seen, usually kestrel and sparrowhawk, with merlin and peregrine falcon making occasional visits. Wild Red deer can be seen occasionally too. Rabbits, foxes, stoats, shrews, and bats are often observed at night. The largest mammal in the Park is the Connemara Pony. Although a domestic animal this pony is very much part of the Connemara countryside.

When you reach the top of the Diamond Hill you will witness stunning views across the National Park across to the 12 Bens mountain range, the village Letterfrack and the many islands in the Atlantic Ocean. Before ending the route, take your time to appreciate this unique area and breathe in the purest air of the wild west of Ireland.

The bus departs Letterfrack bus stop at 6.05pm, back to central Galway city, where you will arrive at 8:00pm.