Stay in the most beautiful hotels in Connemara, as you start the tour with a night in the magnificent Ashford Castle Hotel and you finish this short trip with a night in Ballynahinch Castle Hotel.
Even in the short space of 3 cycling days, you will see the most beautiful areas such as Killary Harbour, the Connemara National Park, Kylemore Abbey, and the Sky Road.
You will be collected from Galway and brought to the spectacular Ashford Castle, a 19th c. castle and former home of the Guinness family. We fit you to your bike before your warm up ride around the village of Cong, where you can stop and admire the imposing ruins of the medieval Cong Abbey.
Enjoy dinner in the George V Room, where luxurious period furnishings offer a perfect setting in which to enjoy the traditional art of elegant dining.
Biking on back lanes, past green fields with sheep peacefully gracing and beautiful lakes you arrive at Killary Harbour, Ireland’s only fjord and the village of Leenane. From there it is a short ride to Letterfrack village and your hotel (Rosleague Manor House Hotel).
(58km/36mls climb 547m)
The town of Clifden, often labeled the metropole of Connemara is today’s target for lunch. Cycle past Cleggan and Aughrusbeg and its beautiful beaches. Don’t miss the cycle around the Sky Road, offering wonderful views over the Atlantic and the islands lying in it. From Clifden the route will bring you across a beautiful stretch of bog, been given the status of nature reserve due to its outstanding beauty and myriad of lakes. Finish with a cycle along Ballynahinch river a famed fly-fishing water. Stay the night in Ballynahinch Castle Hotel (or alternatively Zetland House Hotel if Ballynahinch not available). (39km/25mls climb: 360m or 58km/36mls climb: 493m)
Breakfast, followed by farewell and departure (by taxi back to Galway for extension or the train to Dublin) for your onward journey.
You are opting for a luxury bicycling tour in Ireland and your hotels at the end of each day are handpicked to represent the most luxurious, welcoming, comfortable, and authentic accommodation in castles or manor houses. Each one has character, charm, a magnificent setting and excellent standards of service. Their spas offer the pinnacle of relaxation and care, the perfect way to be pampered after a rewarding bicycle ride. And their restaurants are home to award-winning chefs, sophisticated dining rooms, and well-stocked cellars, all ready to provide you with gourmet meals using the best of local produce.
The magnificent five star Ashford Castle is set in 350 acres, on the picturesque shores of Lough Corrib. Dating back to 1228, the castle now enters a new chapter in its history, as part of The Red Carnation Hotel Collection. With 82 guest rooms, a wealth of activities and thoughtful touches, enjoy acclaimed Irish hospitality on a grand scale.
Ashford Castle has been named the 12th Best Hotel in the World on Condé Nasts Gold List
This beautiful Castle Hotel has been home to the Martyn family of Galway before being owned by a Maharajah, and then becoming a hotel. The hotel owns the rights to the river and fly-fishing for salmon and sea-trout is very popular. It has won many awards for the cuisine, the service and is just simply stunning, yet still very relaxed.
