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There are loads of coach tours taking adventurers from cities all around the island of Ireland out into the wilds of Connemara. In Galway city, a well-known family-run company called Lally Tours has been showing people this beautiful part of the world since 1988.

Their coach will collect you just 300 metres from Eyre Square – a landmark square in the heart of Galway – and take you on a full-day trip from Galway to Connemara with entrance to Kylemore Abbey and the Walled Garden included in the fare. There’s also the option to be picked up from your hotel if you arrange this in advance.

Your guide will introduce themselves and get the conversation started in your group. You’ll quickly realise that inciteful commentary, witty jokes and interesting anecdotes on the world outside the window are your guide’s speciality as you swap bustling city streets for countryside paths, rolling hills and silver lakes such as Ballycuirke Lough and Lough Corrib, both of which are great fishing spots.

You’ll pass through Oughterard – known as the gateway to Connemara – and drive by a section of Ireland’s primeval oak forest which locals say was once so dense that a squirrel could travel across the island without touching the ground! The coach stops every 30 minutes or so allowing you to get out, stretch your legs and take pictures of the sights – a favourite being the waters of Lough Bofin with cottages speckled on its shore.