Ballytoohy – Find hotels
Accommodation in Ballytoohy
If you’re looking for a hotel in Ballytoohy, start with the purpose of your trip and the criteria that matter for your stay. Compare options using the details that are important to your plans. For additional travel ideas, you can consider County Mayo as a wider travel area: its attractions range from museums and pilgrimage history to coastal landscapes and walking trails.
County Mayo as an additional travel area
Clare Island lies near Ballytoohy and can only be reached by ferry. In summer, several ferry services run from Roonagh Pier; their frequency may change. Check the latest departure information before your trip.
Museums and heritage in County Mayo
The National Museum of Ireland at Turlough Park offers workshops, talks and guided tours throughout the year. Objects, rare archival photographs and films present Ireland’s rural past. The gardens at Turlough Park are home to a diverse range of birds, flora and fauna; they are also designated as a Green Heritage site. Mayo Local Link’s Route 454 provides a daily bus service connecting the museum with Castlebar and Ballina. For a specific journey, check the current timetable.
Knock Shrine tells the story of the apparition at Knock in 1879 and the site’s development into an international pilgrimage destination. At Achill Experience, guided tours of native and exotic aquarium animals are available. Its museum presents Achill’s rich heritage through an immersive museum experience. These different attractions each have their own focus: pilgrimage history in Knock, and aquarium animals and Achill’s cultural heritage at Achill Experience.
Coasts, landscapes and wildlife
Downpatrick Head offers views of the Staggs of Broadhaven islands and DĂşn Briste, a sea stack described as a pinnacle of rock. The site also includes a former church founded by Patrick, a holy well and a stone cross. Ceann Iorrais, also known as Erris Head, is the northernmost point of the Mullet Peninsula in northwest County Mayo. The Erris Head Loop Walk offers coastal views and opportunities to experience local wildlife. Atlantic seals, harbour porpoises and bottlenose dolphins can sometimes be spotted below the steep cliffs; sightings are seasonal and not guaranteed.
Wild Nephin National Park encompasses a variety of landscapes, from the flat lowlands of Owenduff Bog to the peaks and valleys of the Nephin Beg mountain range. The region’s natural scenery thus stretches from coastal views at Erris Head to the bog and mountain landscapes of northwest County Mayo.
Walks and activities
Croagh Patrick is 764 metres high and has been a pilgrimage destination since pre-Christian times. The main summit route starts in Murrisk on the Louisburgh Road (R335) and is seven kilometres long, including the return journey. The Croagh Patrick Heritage Trail is quite different: this long-distance trail is 59.9 kilometres long, takes three days to complete, and links ancient monastic heritage with the mountain landscape of County Mayo and views of Clew Bay. The distances and duration give you two different ways to plan, without implying a walking time for the summit route.
Guided tours are available at Westport Estate, taking visitors through an 18th-century historic house built on the tribal foundations of the pirate queen Grace O’Malley. The grounds also include an outdoor adventure park and woodland walks. Westport Cruises runs a daily cruise through Clew Bay, exploring a seal colony, John Lennon’s island and the bay’s 365 islands. SurfMayo is a surf school recognised by the Irish Surfing Association. Details about the operator and its recognition may change.
Discover more destinations: Killala, Bellagarvaun, The Quay, Ballinrobe, Newport, Ballina, Cornaroya, Ballycastle.
For the wider travel overview: County Mayo.
