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Ireland Westport & Hiking Bike Tour

  • Croagh Patrick and bicycle
  • Croagh Patrick with rocks
  • Ireland biking
  • Horse and colt Ireland
  • Picture of Ireland Westport & Hiking Bike Tour
  • Sheep Connemara
  • Ireland tour with mountains
  • River and bridge
  • View from the mountain
DURATION
7 Day(s)
DAILY BIKING
11 to 39 miles
TRIP DIFFICULTY
3-Intermediate
REVIEWS
STARTING FROM
$3795
SINGLES ADD FROM
$1,000

Trip Overview

This tour was revamped in 2022. The updated itinerary showcases beautiful Connemara — just like our classic tour — but it includes bonus biking in the lovely Westport region and on the Great Western Greenway. This Westport tour also gives you the option for a hike up the iconic Croagh Patrick.

Ireland is a dream for cyclists. Enjoy the winding roads, meadows dotted with sheep and cows, and mist-covered mountains. Sample local food and drink in the classic pubs. And be charmed by the architecture, traditional music and welcoming local residents along the way. Cycle scenic peninsulas with vistas of the wild north Atlantic. Visit castles, an abbey, lakes, peat bogs and more.

Included is an opportunity to hike to the top of Croagh Patrick, Ireland’s traditional “Holy Mountain.” Don’t miss the magic of Ireland on this special new itinerary.

You also have the option to add a 3-day pre-trip to Galway and the Aran Islands. This is a great way to start your adventures in Ireland, get to know a special town ... and bike on a remote island.

Read about our 3-day Galway & Aran Islands Pre-Trip Bike Tour.

Surfaces for this tour: 90% Paved and 10% Gravel.

Itinerary

From start to finish, check out the route.

DAY 1 - Arrival Day
Distance: 12 miles | Terrain: Easier to Intermediate | Abbeyglen Castle Hotel
Meet your guides at 9:30 a.m. in Galway before being transported to Clifden where you stay at the charming Abbeyglen Castle Hotel. After a bike fitting and safety meeting, you head out on an introductory ride around beautiful Errislannon Peninsula. After lunch, you have time to explore Clifden, a great shopping town with a lively music scene, before meeting for dinner at a local restaurant.
DAY 2 - Roundstone to Clifden
Distance: 28 or 34 miles | Terrain: Easier to Intermediate | Abbeyglen Castle Hotel
After breakfast, you again cycle south, but much farther this time, catching amazing views of white horses in fields with the wild north Atlantic Ocean in the distance. You pass gorgeous secluded beaches and view fishing weirs as you come into Roundstone, a village known for its unique craftsmen. Besides having a truly wonderful ceramics and pottery store, Roundstone is home to the Bodhran drum workshop of legendary musician, Malachy Kearns. You enjoy a beautiful ride along the Ballynahinch River to visit the esteemed castle there, and then return along our favorite “bog road” with stunning views of the surrounding mountains before returning to Clifden.
DAY 3 - Sky Road & Clifden Castle
Distance: 31 miles | Terrain: Intermediate. | Renvyle House Hotel & Resort
Departing Clifden, you ride along the famous Sky Road, past Clifden Castle and circumnavigate another peninsula, toward the fishing town of Cleggan as you make your way toward Letterfrack and on to Tully Cross. Your destination is the welcoming Renvyle House Hotel & Resort, where you can relax and enjoy the amenities at this historic, 4-star destination.
DAY 4 - Killary Harbor and Kylemore Abbey
Distance: 22 or 28 miles | Terrain: Easier to Intermediate | Renvyle House Hotel & Resort
You ride along Killary Harbor catching great views in the valleys of the Maamturk Mountains. After a stop at the beach made famous in John Ford’s 1951 epic movie “The Quiet Man,” continue along a breathtaking valley offering views of Lough Fee, a long freshwater lake surrounded by mountains and peat bogs. Not to be missed is a visit to beautiful Kylemore Abbey, a Benedictine monastery founded on the 1,000-acre grounds of an old castle. A highlight of the visit is a stroll through the Abbey’s 6-acre walled Victorian garden. Lunch is available in the abbey’s visitor center or in the charming tea house by the walled garden. Afterward, return to the hotel and have a group dinner.
DAY 5 - Bike - or hike Croagh Patrick
Distance: 25 or 35 miles OR hike Croagh Patrick | Terrain: Easier to Intermediate cycle; Harder hike | Westport Plaza Hotel
Depending on weather and conditions on the mountain, today’s choice is either cycling or hiking. For biking, we transit to our ride’s start near Leenaun to cycle along a breathtaking valley nestled at the foot of towering mountains as we make our way to Louisburgh and then on into Westport. Optional Hike: Walking up Croagh Patrick, Ireland’s “Holy Mountain,” is a hiker’s delight. We will take the 4.3 mile “pilgrim’s path” starting at the foot of the mountain in the town of Murrisk, and allow 4 to 5 hours for the roundtrip journey (8.6 miles total), with some time at the top to savor the accomplishment of reaching this most famous peak. The hike on the “Pilgrim’s Path” is not considered difficult though it features a 2,400-foot elevation gain. This is a hardy hike and utterly rewarding! **This hike requires sturdy hiking shoes. Our lodging for the night will be at the lovely Plaza Hotel in beautiful Westport. The hotel is downtown, within walking distance to all of Westport’s famous music locations. After dinner, don’t miss sipping a Guinness at Matt Molloy’s Pub which has live traditional music nightly. Keep an eye out for Molloy, a member of the Chieftains since 1979, as he occasionally drops into his Bridge Street pub to play the flute.
DAY 6 - Great Western Greenway
Distance: 23, 35, or 42 miles | Terrain: Easier cycle | Westport Plaza Hotel
After a brief transit to our day’s starting point, we head out on the recently created “Great Western Greenway,” a pristine cycle and walking path. Providing views around Achill Sound, the bike path links us to a portion of the Wild Atlantic Way — a series of small, lesser traveled roads that circle around the sound, returning us to Mullaranny where we rejoin the bike path and end our standard ride in lively Newport, with an option to enjoy more of the new bike path straight back to Westport. Enjoy a final night in this town full of epic musical venues. Dinner will be at a local pub.
DAY 7 - Departure Day
After a final breakfast, we offer a transfer to Westport or Galway stations for train connections.

Map

Dates & Pricing

Prices are per person based on double occupancy (2 people in one room). Single supplement for private room is listed at the top of this page. A deposit of $750 holds your reservation for most tours. For tours less than 6 days, the deposit is $500.

Start End Cost Availability

What’s Included

6 nights’ lodging, 6 breakfasts, 1 lunch, 5 dinners (you are on your own for 1 dinner), 1 optional guided hike, admission to Kylemore Abbey. Free transfer at one time on Day 1 from Galway and on the last day to either Westport train station or Galway train station. We also provide detailed maps and itineraries, experienced guides, full van support, bicycle and helmet. Airfare is not included.

Dates & Pricing

Prices are per person based on double occupancy (2 people in one room). Single supplement for private room is listed at the top of this page. A deposit of $750 holds your reservation for most tours. For tours less than 6 days, the deposit is $500.

What’s Included

6 nights’ lodging, 6 breakfasts, 1 lunch, 5 dinners (you are on your own for 1 dinner), 1 optional guided hike, admission to Kylemore Abbey. Free transfer at one time on Day 1 from Galway and on the last day to either Westport train station or Galway train station. We also provide detailed maps and itineraries, experienced guides, full van support, bicycle and helmet. Airfare is not included.

Inns

Where you stay along the way.

Abbeyglen Castle Hotel
You will notice the welcoming smiles from the moment you arrive at the magnificent 4-star Abbeyglen Castle Hotel, just outside Clifden, Co. Galway, which was built for real comfort and splendor back in 1832. Enjoy the genuine ambiance of friendliness and superior comfort that surrounds you everywhere you go in this much-loved hotel. Immerse yourself here in the stunningly beautiful landscape of Connemara.
Renvyle House Hotel and Resort
First opened as a hotel in 1883, this hotel is spectacularly located on a 150-acre estate on the shores of the Wild Atlantic Way in Connemara, Co. Galway. The grounds include a private freshwater lake for fishing and boating, a beach, woodlands, gardens and numerous activities on site including tennis, croquet, outdoor heated swimming pool, canoeing and shore angling. Enjoy this unique location, an award-winning restaurant, comfortable bedrooms and a truly uplifting break, here, the only stress is on relaxation.
Westport Plaza Hotel
Enjoy your stay at the Westport Plaza Hotel known for its 4-start elegance and a spa offering a variety of massages and other treatments.

Guests say …

Quotes from guests about this tour:


"The tour was fantastic in every way and the fact that most of the guests had participated in other Discovery Bike tours says a lot!! The guides communicated to us all the necessary details and gave us options to meet our needs and interests. They went above and beyond in everything."
— Rhonda B.

"The leaders really made this trip a memory to treasure for years to come."
— Dianne S.

"I really enjoyed the scenery, mules, sheep, cows, and flowers on the less-traveled roads."
— Sam S. 

"The guides are great. As always once I connected with the tour I could relax and just enjoy the beauty and how incredibly fortunate I am to be able to go on a tour, to begin with. The bike routes on the quiet roads and scenery were exactly what I hoped to see and experience!"
— Pam C.

Gallery

Images from this tour. Click each to see it larger.

Croagh Patrick and bicycle Croagh Patrick with rocks Ireland biking Horse and colt Ireland Picture of Ireland Westport & Hiking Bike Tour Sheep Connemara Ireland tour with mountains River and bridge View from the mountain