Galway Mini Guide
Galway is known as the City of the Tribes due to the many ruling Irish families who used to live there. Situated at the gateway to western Ireland, Galway in the province of Connaught has more than 70,000 inhabitants and is Ireland’s fourth largest city.
It is also Ireland’s fastest growing city. To get there you have to fly to Carnmore Airport with Aer Arann and the airport has connections with cities across the entire
United Kingdom as well as
Amsterdam and Brittany.
You will need to have a car in this part of the world as the airport is approximately a 10 minute drive from Galway and there is no decent public transportation with bus routes being intermittent to say the least.
Not only does having a car work out cheaply in the long run but it gives you the freedom to explore western Ireland as Galway is a particularly good base from which to do so. Rhino car hire representatives can meet you at the airport and show you to your vehicle so that you can be on your way as soon as possible. Alternatively you can fly into
Shannon Airport where we can also get you set up with a vehicle to make the rest of the journey.
The region is one of the most beautiful and rugged in Ireland and that's saying something in a beautiful and rgged country. Plenty of opportunities to get out of your Galway hire car and smell the sea air that's blown all the way across the Atlantic.
If you are driving to Dublin take the N6 heading northwards then follow the N4 road eastwards and stay on that road. Once you get to Dublin you might want to park up and walk to save yourself getting caught in traffic. Be prepared to pay quite a bit for parking though there are some money saving long term options as well as some pay and display areas which let you leave the car there overnight.
Galway Airport has low cost flights with companies like Manx2 and you can also book low cost car hire at Galway Airport with a wide selection of vehicles to choose from.
In terms of going out for a drink or a meal there are many pubs in Galway such as the Cookes Thatch Pub which has been around for hundreds of years. The city also has plenty of fast food joints as well as some good seafood restaurants.
A nice place to take children for an educational and informative day out in Galway is the Galway Atlantaquaria, to be found at Seapoint Promenade in Salthill. This is a hands-on introduction to the marine life of the Irish coast and children can get the chance to pat flounders or hold giant crabs. This well set up aquarium will be of interest to all wildlife enthusiasts.