Walking

• Quiet Walks from Dolphin Beach front door

  • Clifden Castle Walk: Via Clifden Castle Ruins and Beach Rd. 4 miles

  • Sky Road Loop: High & Low Sky Road and Aerphort Beach. 5 1/2 miles.

  • Fahy, Kingstown, Streamstown,Clifden and Lower Sky Road. 10 miles.
    
    
• Connemara Walking Centre
  Local archaeologist and walk leader Michael Gibbons provides some fascinating insights and leads enjoyable walks for all levels of fitness. Waks inlude The Twelve Bens and the Western Way.
  Tel: +353 (0)95 21379
  Web: www.walkingireland.com
  
  
• Connemara National Park, with its walking trails and mountain climbing, is 20 mins drive from Dolphin Beach House. Diamond Mountain, located within the National Park, has a trail to the top.
  
  
• Hiking in the 12 Bens and Maumturk Mountains rewards walkers with stunning mountain vistas against Connemara skies. Dolphin Beach House is an ideal base for these walks and we would be happy to recommend a guide for your walks.
  
• The 'Connemarathon' takes places for walkers and runners alike in March each year. For more details, see www.connemarathon.com

Horse Shows, Fairs & Horse-Riding

• A calendar highlight for those fond of the resilient Connemara ponies, the Clifden Connemara Pony Show takes place in Clifden on the 3rd Thursday of August with pony sales taking place the following day. In fact Connemara pony shows take place right across the country every Sunday in June, July and August.

• The Maamcross Horse Fair takes place end-October each year.

• The tidal island of Omey is a beautiful setting for galloping along sandy beaches. Omey Island, just off the village of Cleggan, is only 15 mins drive from Dolphin Beach House. The famous Omey Beach Races take place in August each year.

• Cleggan Riding Centre (for beach-riding)
  Tel: (095) 44746

• The Point Pony Trekking & Horse Riding Centre (for beach-riding and trekking)
  Tel: (095) 23685

• Errislannan Riding School (for hill trekking)
  Tel: (095) 21134
  

Golf

The spectacular coastal scenery of our local Connemara's Golf Club provides the perfect setting for a challenging round of golf. 18 hole courses and a 27 hole championship links.

• Connemara Golf Club
  Tel : (095) 23502
  Web: www.connemaragolflinks.com

• Oughterard Golf Club
  Tel : (091) 552131

• Connemara Isles Golf Club
  Tel: (091) 572498
  

• Bearna Golf Club
  Web: www.bearnagolfclub.com
  

Fishing, Sailing, Diving

• Deep Sea Shark, Reef Fishing, Sea Angling, Fresh Water Fishing and Private Boat Charter are all available within the environs of Dolphin Beach House and we are happy to arrange these for you prior to your arrival.
  

• Sea Week takes places in Letterfrack at the end of October and lasts for 10 days, with a mix of artistic, cultural and sporting events for both children and adults, all wrapped up in the best of traditional music from world class players.

• Scuba Diving can be arranged through Dolphin Beach House.

Connemara Landscapes

• Killary Fjord, Ireland's only fjord, and the spectacular landscape that that affords, lies 40 mins drive from Dolphin Beach House.

• Maam Valley, Inagh Valley, and the beauty of the Twelve Bens mountains are a site to behold and allow for memorable day trips from Dolphin Beach House.

• The little village of Leenane is situated in the heart of Connemara, surrounded by the Mweelrea and Maamturk moutain ranges.

Island Scenery

• Inishmore, Inishmaan & Inisheer are the Aran Islands and are accessed by a ferry which runs from Rossaveel, one hours drive from Dolphin Beach House. You can also take 15 mins flight to the Aran Islands with Aer Arann from Connemara Regional Airport. Call Aer Arann Islands Tel: 091 593034

• The ferry to Inishbofin Island and Inishturk Island depart regularly from the village of Cleggan. This departure point is a 15 mins drive from Dolphin Beach House.
  

Towns & Villages

• Clifden, only 3 miles away from Dolphin Beach House, is the capital of Connemara. It enjoys an authentic social scene with quality restaurants and quaint pubs where traditional Irish music sessions add to a lively atmosphere. For a more contemporary vibe, Mullarkeys' pub has live jazz and blues. Web: www.clifdenchamber.ie

• Located just three miles south of Clifden is the crash landing site of the first transatlantic flight of Alcock & Brown (1919) and the monument to this historic achievement. Also nearby is the site of the first radio transmitter station from which Marconi exchanged the first transatlantic radio messages with a station in Nova Scotia in 1907.

• Clifden Arts Week takes places end-September - for details see www.clifdenartsweek.ie

• Roundstone is a beautiful Connemara coastal village, 30 mins drive from Dolphin Beach. Dogs Bay, Gurteen Beach and the Roundstone Blanket Bog Road Drive are all worth a visit.

• Letterfrack is home to Connemara National Park with beautiful walking trails. Letterfrack Woodwork & Furniture College is located in the village where students design innovative and quality handcrafted furniture.

• Kylemore Abbey is a girls boarding school run by Benedictine order of nuns. The six acre Victorian Walled Gardens, recently restored by the nuns, are open to visitors, as is the Gothic Church on the grounds. The Kylemore Abbey Craft Shop sells homemade brown bread, jams and preserves all made by the nuns in the kitchens of Kylemore Abbey. Kylemore is a 30 mins drive Dolphin Beach House.

• Ballyconneely plays host to the Ballyconnelly Oyster Festival each July and enjoys horse-racing on the beautiful Aillbrack beach in August.
  

Local Links

• Roundstone Musical Instruments

• Ireland Images Photography

• Discover Ireland (Connemara)

• Faoin Tuath Outdoor Shop
  

Useful Links

• Met Eireann, the Irish weather service
  
  

"This is a truly special destination in itself”

Frommer's Guide Ireland 2006