When in Ireland, you’re sure to want to visit the beautiful county of Galway in the west of Ireland. Galway is a top destination for visitors to Ireland and has recently been chosen in a Trip Advior survey as one of the top 100 destinations to visit in the world!

Galway really has to be seen to be believed - it’s blessed with spectacular scenery, a diverse landscape dotted with attractions, blanket bogs, mountains, lakes, green fields and a dramatic island studded coastline. It also home to the renowned Galway city, which is famed the world over for its culture, shopping and nightlife.

Galway is Ireland’s 2nd largest county and can be found in the west of Ireland in the province of Connaught. If you’re flying into Shannon you should have no problem getting here. Depending on traffic you should reach Galway city in about 1.5 hours - just get onto the N18 northbound once you leave the airport.

County Galway is located directly across the county from Dublin, so if you’re driving from Dublin city to Galway it should take you about 3.5hrs. Exit Dublin on the M4 and then take the N6 west, bypassing Athlone town, through Ballinasloe, Loughrea and onto Galway city.

You could also get a direct train from Dublin Hueston Station to Galway in just under 3 hours. Or if you want to travel by bus you can pick one up at Busáras in Dublin city or at Dublin Airport, which will take you to Galway in about 3.5 hours.

Another increasingly popular way of getting to Galway nowadays is to fly to Galway Airport. It’s located 9km east of Galway city and is served by Aer Arann. A flight from Dublin to here should only take about 45 minutes.

To find out more about County Galway read our Explore Galway blog article

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Have you been to Galway? What was the highlight in Galway for you? Stories, advice or comments all welcome in the box below.