Kylemore Abbey Bus Tours from Galway
Hours, prices and access verified by the Kylemore Abbey Tours team — last checked 2026-09-17.
Kylemore Abbey bus tours from Galway leave the city centre between 09:30 and 10:30 and give you about two hours at the estate before the drive home. What you pay turns on one question: whether your fare already includes the abbey ticket.
Bus tours from Galway to Kylemore Abbey
★★★★★ 4.7 (1,287 reviews · 7 hours 30 minutes)
Abbey ticket includedFrom Galway
Lally Tours' Leenane day with the estate ticket in the fare. You leave the HYDE Hotel, stop at Leenane and Killary, spend two hours at the abbey and garden, and break at Spiddal on the way back.
From $74 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
Badge of Excellence
★★★★★ 4.8 (1,258 reviews · 7 hours 30 minutes)
Abbey ticket includedFrom Galway
Out past Oughterard and Maam Cross to Leenane, then two hours at Kylemore with entry to the abbey and the Victorian Walled Garden paid. Ask the operator a day ahead and you can be collected from your hotel.
From $76 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
★★★★★ 4.7 (2,266 reviews · 8 hours)
Abbey ticket extraFrom Galway
The lowest fare from Galway. You leave the Kinlay Hostel at 10:00, spend up to two hours at Kylemore, then take the Lough Nafooey road to Cong. The ticket is EUR 14 cash to the driver.
From $51 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
Badge of Excellence
★★★★★ 4.7 (1,131 reviews · 8 hours)
Abbey ticket extraFrom Galway
Kylemore first, then Lough Corrib, Killary and 45 minutes between Cong village and the Royal Abbey of Cong. The abbey entrance fee is optional, and you pay it to the driver on the day.
From $52 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
Badge of Excellence
★★★★★ 4.8 (610 reviews · 9 hours)
Abbey or national parkFrom Galway
Nine hours from Merchants Road at 09:30, by Screebe, Clifden and the Sky Road. At the three-hour stop you pick Kylemore or Connemara National Park, and the driver sells abbey tickets for cash.
From $58 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
★★★★★ 4.6 (36 reviews · 9 hours)
Abbey or national parkFrom Galway
A minivan day for up to 30 from the Kinlay Hostel, by Screebe, Pine Island and the Sky Road. For three hours you choose a national park hike or Kylemore, then Lough Inagh on the way home.
From $92 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
Badge of Excellence
★★★★★ 4.9 (214 reviews · 7 hours 30 minutes)
Abbey ticket includedFrom GalwayMax 25 guests
Capped at 25, from the HYDE Hotel at 10:15. You get two hours at Kylemore and 70 minutes at Joyce Country Sheepdogs, with both entries in the fare. Hotel pickup is on request a day ahead.
From $134 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
Top rated
★★★★★ 4.9 (104 reviews · 7 hours 30 minutes)
Abbey ticket includedFrom GalwayMax 25 guests
A small group of 25 at most, leaving the HYDE Hotel at 10:30: the abbey, the walled garden and the Gothic church, Leenane's Sheep and Wool Centre, and a sheepdog demonstration, with both entries paid.
From $126 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
Two hours at the abbey, with the ticket paid
Lally Tours' Leenane day leaves the HYDE Hotel at 09:45, stops at Leenane and Killary, and puts your entry to the abbey and garden in the fare.
Check availability
What a Kylemore Abbey bus tour from Galway is
It is a full day on a shared coach or minibus, out of Galway city centre in the morning and
back in the early evening. You buy a seat, not a vehicle, so a single traveller pays the same
fare per head as a family. The driver is also your guide, and gives the commentary as you
cross Connemara.
Every day spends most of its time on the road. Kylemore is about 80 km from Galway, and the
coaches loop through Connemara rather than drive it straight, stopping at villages and
viewpoints. At the abbey you get about two hours to see the estate on your own, or up to three
on the days that make you choose between the abbey and the national park.
What separates the days is the ticket. Lally Tours puts the estate ticket in the fare. Galway
Tour Company and Wild Atlantic Way Day Tours leave it to you, and their drivers sell it for
cash. Ireland Wild Escapes does not say, so ask before you book.
Why choose a bus tour from Galway
You pay per seat
Fares run from $51 to $134 per person. For one or two people, that is a
fraction of any private car, which starts at $643 for the vehicle.
You meet at a kerb in the city centre
Lally Tours leaves from outside the HYDE Hotel on Forster Street. The others leave from the
Kinlay Hostel on Merchants Road. Lally Tours can also collect you from your hotel if you ask a
day ahead.
Nobody in your party has to drive
The N59 is narrow in places and sheep sometimes stand in the road. On a coach you watch the
Twelve Bens go by, and the driver deals with the rest.
You can have the ticket sorted before you leave
On a Lally Tours day there is nothing to buy at the gate. Where the driver sells the ticket,
you pay on the coach in euro cash and walk in with your group.
You see more than the abbey
Each route adds its own stops: Leenane and Killary, Cong and its abbey, Clifden and the Sky
Road, or a working sheepdog farm.
Bus tours vs a private car from Galway
The real alternative to a coach seat is a car and driver for your party alone. Here is how
the two compare, using each listing's own figures.
| A bus tour from Galway | A private car from Galway |
|---|
| Price basis | Per person, $51 to $134 | Per group, $643 to $878 |
| For a couple | $76 each with the ticket, on the Leenane day | About $336 each, ticket extra |
| Where you start | A city-centre kerb, 09:30 to 10:30 | Your hotel, at a time you agree |
| Group size | 25 to 61 seats | Your party only, up to 3 to 7 |
| Time at Kylemore | About 2 hours, up to 3 on the choice days | About 2 hours |
| Abbey ticket | In the fare on Lally Tours' days | Always yours to buy |
| Child seats | Not supplied on the Leenane or Cong coaches | Infant seats on Connemara Chauffeurs' cars |
| Best for | Solo travellers, couples, budgets | Families and groups of five to seven |
Check availability from $76
For one to four people, the coach is the better buy almost every time. From five people up,
the Kylemore Abbey private tours start to make sense, because you split one price and set your own pace.
What you get, and what you don't
- Included: the coach, the driver-guide and the commentary on every day. The
estate ticket on Lally Tours' days, and the sheepdog demonstration on the small-group day.
- Paid on the day: the ticket on Galway Tour Company's day, EUR 14 cash to
the driver, and on Wild Atlantic Way Day Tours' day, cash at a discount.
- Not included on any day: lunch and drinks. The Kylemore Kitchen café by
the car park needs no ticket.
- Not included: tips. Lally Tours, Galway Tour Company and Wild Atlantic Way
Day Tours all list gratuities as extra.
- Not coming inside: your driver-guide. You see the estate on your own, and
the abbey's own guides give free history talks.
The lowest fare, with Cong on the way home
Galway Tour Company's day leaves the Kinlay Hostel at 10:00, gives you up to two hours at Kylemore, and finishes in Cong. Pay the driver EUR 14 if you go inside.
Check availability
Planning a bus tour from Galway
- Budget: $51 to $134 per person for the seat. Add the ticket
where it is extra, lunch, and a tip if you want to leave one.
- Book ahead in summer: the coach days fill from June to August, so book a
few days out. Every one refunds in full if you cancel at least 24 hours before.
- Be early: Galway Tour Company asks you to check in by 09:45 for its 10:00
start, and Lally Tours' team wears blue jackets at the HYDE Hotel.
- Carry cash: euro notes, if your driver sells the ticket.
- Plan the two hours: take the shuttle to the Victorian Walled Garden first,
then the house and the church. The
Kylemore Abbey and Connemara
itinerary times it out.
- Dress for rain: the estate is mostly outdoors, and Connemara is wet in
every month. Kylemore Abbey weather has the figures.
Who should choose something else
- If anyone in your party uses a wheelchair. Of the coach days, only Ireland
Wild Escapes' minivan is sold as wheelchair accessible. Walk About Galway's private sheep-farm
day is too, and a private car lets you set the pace at the estate.
- If you travel with a baby or toddler who needs a seat. Lally Tours' Leenane
coach and Galway Tour Company's coach do not supply infant seats. Connemara Chauffeurs' private cars do.
- If you want the whole estate. The abbey suggests three to six hours, and no
coach gives you that. Drive yourself, or read
visiting Kylemore Abbey without a tour.
- If you are five to seven people. Split one car between you and you pay
$96 to $134 each for a private day, with pickup at your door.
- If you are staying in Westport or Clifden. The coaches start in Galway.
From Westport, Neal Doherty's private day is the one option here, though it sees the abbey
from outside only.
Frequently asked questions
Where do the Galway tours leave from?
Lally Tours leaves from outside the HYDE Hotel on Forster Street. Galway Tour Company, Wild Atlantic Way Day Tours and Ireland Wild Escapes leave from the Kinlay Hostel on Merchants Road. The private cars collect you where you are staying.
Can a bus tour collect me from my hotel?
On Lally Tours' days, yes, if you ask the operator at least 24 hours ahead, and the small-group sheepdog day lists hotel pickup. Galway Tour Company and Wild Atlantic Way Day Tours start only from their meeting point on Merchants Road.
Is the Kylemore Abbey ticket included in the tour price?
Only on some tours. Lally Tours' Galway days and the 8-day and 10-day tours from Dublin put the estate ticket in the fare. On the Galway Tour Company and Wild Atlantic Way Day Tours days the driver sells it for cash, and the private cars leave it to you at the gate.
How long do tours spend at Kylemore Abbey?
Most day tours from Galway give you two hours at the estate. The Wild Atlantic Way Day Tours and Ireland Wild Escapes days allow up to three hours, but you spend them either at the abbey or in Connemara National Park.
Do I need cash on a bus tour?
If your driver sells the abbey ticket, yes. Galway Tour Company's driver takes EUR 14 per person in cash, and Wild Atlantic Way Day Tours' driver sells tickets for cash. On Lally Tours' days the ticket is already paid.
How many people are on a bus tour?
It depends on the day. Lally Tours' Leenane coach takes up to 61, Galway Tour Company up to 50, Wild Atlantic Way Day Tours 37 and Ireland Wild Escapes 30. Lally Tours' small-group day stops at 25.
Does my tour guide come inside the abbey?
No. The coach driver-guides wait while you visit on your own. The abbey's own guides give the history talks in the front hall.
What is the cancellation policy?
Every day tour here refunds in full if you cancel at least 24 hours ahead. The Emerald Pullman rail tour refunds in full only up to six full days before, and half from two to six days.