Private chauffeur-driven day tour

Cong & Killary Fjord Tour

A full day west from Galway into some of the quietest country in Connemara, out to the village of Cong and along Killary Fjord, Ireland's only true fjord. The route runs through Joyce Country, a sweep of mountains, dark lakes and open bog along the Galway–Mayo border, taken at whatever pace suits you rather than to a fixed script.

Cong And Around

Cong sits on the narrow strip of land between Lough Corrib and Lough Mask, an estate village best known as the setting for The Quiet Man, with traces of the film still dotted around its streets. Beyond that there are the ruins of a medieval abbey by the river, an atmospheric walk through old stone and yew trees, with a little monks' fishing house perched out over the water. A working sheepdog demonstration can be built into the day too, a chance to watch a single dog answer a few whistled commands and move a whole flock across a field, turning them on a sixpence. It's a real skill, and a pleasure to watch up close.

Killary Fjord

From Cong the road runs out to Leenane, a single-street village sitting right at the head of Killary Fjord. The fjord reaches about ten miles, sixteen kilometres, inland between steep mountain walls, a deep sea inlet gouged by a glacier rather than cut by a river, which is what earns it the title of Ireland's only true fjord. Mussel rafts sit out on the still black water, and the road along the southern shore is one of the loveliest drives in the west. If you'd like to get out on the fjord itself, a cruise along it can be added to the day.

The Country In Between

For a lot of people the driving is the day. The route threads the Maam Valley and the foot of the Maumturk mountains, past small loughs and open bog with the odd whitewashed cottage, and because it's private there's no timetable to hold to. If a view stops you, we stop.