cycle in galway or clare?
 

i'm booking a cycle trip in ireland but haven't decided whether to cycle in Galway and Connemara or County Clare and Burren. Which is the most scenic of the two places?

Any suggestions?

We didn't bike in Galway proper, although I wish we had in many ways. The stretch along the causeway there that we walked would have been much more enjoyable on a bike.

Now, choosing between Burren and Connemara. It's like choosing one's children.

We've done the Burren in a couple different directions. First time started at Lahinch, headed past Cliffs of Moher, past Dingle, out to Ballyvaughen. Second time headed straight out of Dingle, did same route to Ballyvaughen but then did Corkscrew Hill inland back to Dingle (a bit tough on the legs). Scenic coast views but headwinds and then the hill climb can be a killer.

Connemara could mean a few things. Again, we did this area twice with some variations. There's the area south of Clifden (near Ballynahinch), there's Clifden/Sky Road to Letterfrack, there's Letterfrack to Leeane,etc.

We loved it all, but even though Sky Road out of Clifden is scenic, once one gets inland to go towards Letterfrack, it's not as rewarding. I loved the Letterfrack to Leeane stretch.

Good luck in your choice.

tinybeachbum,

I believe josephina means Doolin not Dingle. You would need a magic carpet to do that. I don't envy you having to make a selection. Two wonderful areas. Good Luck, Joan

Oh Chatham, you are so right. I am absolutely embarrassed at my type.

In fact, I've never BEEN to Dingle although I've wanted so much to go. We've been warned away from biking there because of the tour buses.

Must be Freudian/Cyclist thinking!!!

Long day, Chatham. "Typo" not "type".

Egads, I'm going to have to return to Typing 101.

josephina,
Don't worry about it, very small details. You gave tinybeachbum such good info.
Regards, Joan

I don't know what company you are planning to use, but
VBT, (Vermont Bicycle Tours),(www.vbt.com), offers a tour called "Ireland: Galway and Connemara Coast 2008" that incorporates the Burren and Connemara. It looks great, and VBT is an excellent company.

Colbeck: Just an FYI about our experiences. We took Bike Vermont for our first time; we took Backroads for the second. Both covered the same general area. We loved the value of our Bike Vermont (differs from VBT) and we totally enjoyed our biking routes with them. In fact, we used some of those routes as "extras" on our Backroads trip.

The Backroads trip, however, covered the Letterfrack/Leeane leg that I raved about so much.

What both the Backroads and the Bike Vermont trips offered was staying two nights at hotels for most of the trip. It makes a difference.