Plan Your Visit to Kylemore Abbey

The abbey sells one estate ticket, and it covers the house, the church, the walks and the walled garden. If you are pricing Kylemore Abbey tickets through a tour, check first whether your fare already pays for it. Then plan the hours, the road and the weather.

Opening hours

The estate opens every day of the year except three. From early March to late October you can walk in from 10:00 until the last admission at 17:00. In winter the day is an hour shorter. The Victorian Walled Garden keeps its own hours, and they matter if you arrive late in the afternoon.

What your estate ticket covers

One ticket opens everything inside the paid area, for as long as the estate is open that day. You can leave the house, walk to the garden and come back without paying twice.

• The Abbey: the restored rooms on the ground floor, seen at your own pace. The upper floors are closed, because the Benedictine community still lives here.
• The Neo-Gothic Church, open during its current repairs, and the small brick Mausoleum on the avenue beyond it.
• The woodland and lakeshore walks along Pollacappul Lough.
• The Victorian Walled Garden, with the shuttle bus there and back.
• Guided garden tours in June, July and August, and performances in the church when they are scheduled.

The free history talks in the front hall are part of the day too. The rooms, the church and the walks are described one by one on things to see at Kylemore Abbey.

Buying the ticket, and which tours include it

You can buy the ticket at the visitor centre on the day, or on the abbey's own website. Booking ahead is not necessary, though the abbey says it speeds up your entry. Children under 18 must come with an adult; ask at the desk about child, family and student tickets.

On a tour, what you pay at the gate depends on the fare you booked. Some tours put the ticket in the price, some have the driver sell it in cash, and the private cars leave it to you.

Galway Tour Company's own listing puts the fee at EUR 14 per person, payable to the driver. Wild Atlantic Way Day Tours' driver sells tickets at a discount, cash only. So if your tour leaves the ticket out, carry euro in cash.

How long to allow

The abbey suggests three to six hours for the whole estate. Most day tours from Galway give you two, which is enough for the rooms, the church and the garden if you use the shuttle bus. The Wild Atlantic Way Day Tours and Ireland Wild Escapes days give you up to three hours, but you spend them either here or in Connemara National Park, which begins across the lough.

On a two-hour stop, ride the shuttle out to the garden first. You then see the abbey on your way back, and finish near the café and the car park when your time is up.

Getting here and parking

The abbey stands on the N59 between Clifden and Westport, about 3 km beyond Letterfrack on the Westport road. The visitor car park is free, and it takes cars, bikes, campervans and buses.

Bus Éireann runs regional services that stop at Kylemore itself, and Citylink reaches Letterfrack and Clifden. The nearest railway stations are Galway and Westport. Routes, the tour meeting points in Galway and the drive itself are on how to get to Kylemore Abbey, and the layout of the estate is on the Kylemore Abbey map.

Access, dogs and children

• Wheelchairs: six of the nine open rooms are accessible, and so are the shuttle bus, the shop, the café and most garden paths. The church is not, and steep paths and steps close off parts of the garden. You can borrow a wheelchair or hire a mobility scooter, and there are accessible toilets.
• Carers: wheelchair users, disabled visitors and carers pay a reduced rate. Ask at the visitor centre.
• Dogs are welcome on a lead outdoors. They cannot go into the buildings or ride the shuttle bus.
• Children get a History Hunter map, a Wild Play area by the Garden Tea House, the pony paddock and the Kune Kune pigs.

Eating on the estate

The Kylemore Kitchen café, the craft and design shop and the car park sit outside the paid area, so you can eat there without a ticket. The café serves half-price children's portions. The Garden Tea House, open 11:00 to 16:00, is inside the paid area. No day tour here includes lunch, so plan to eat on the estate or bring your own.

Frequently asked before you go