Faherty Tours
Faherty Tours
5
Historical & Heritage ToursHop-On Hop-Off ToursSightseeing ToursPrivate ToursBus Tours
08:00 - 21:00
Monday
08:00 - 21:00
Tuesday
08:00 - 21:00
Wednesday
08:00 - 21:00
Thursday
08:00 - 21:00
Friday
08:00 - 21:00
Saturday
08:00 - 21:00
Sunday
08:00 - 21:00
Full view

About
Aran Islands Tour Departs Galway New Coach station at 0900am once you board our coach we travel 45 minutes journey west alongside Galway Bay Connemara Irelands Wild Atlantic Way to Rossaveal Harbour with an informative guide where then awaits a 45 minute ferry journey capable of carrying 300 passengers Comfortably with scenic views to the biggest and most scenic Aran islands (Inishmore)18km long and 5km wide. Helping you explore the Island with native guides and coaches we will be visiting Dun Aonghasa 1500bc fort 300ft cliffs Overlooking Inis meain Inis oirr and Cliffs of Moher and as far away as Kerry . A 2hr stop at Kilmurvey craft village and sweater markets Restaurants / Seven churches monastic settlement 7th- 8th Century / fishing villages / Man of Aran cottage kilmurvey blue flag beach Aran Seal Colony / Kilronan village you have the freedom to turn this island experience into whatever you would like there are so many optional things you can do on your own
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5.0
745 reviews
Excellent
694
Very good
29
Average
7
Poor
9
Terrible
5
Christine A
2 contributions
Oct 2023 • Family
This was my first trip to Ireland and I went with my husband and sister. Near the end of our touring we decided to go to the Aaran Islands. Michael is no longer out of Galway but we just finished the BEST tour we have ever had ! Michael met us at Inishmore Pier from the Doolin Ferry. Not only is he a local with excellent knowledge of anything Irish or especially Aaran, but his charm and humor made this tour the highlight of our trip and unforgettable. It is well worth the nominal cost. Inishmore is beautiful, but it would have been just another outstanding Irish landscape without Michael’s compelling and witty commentary. If you are only in Inishmore for the day, choose Faherty Aaran Island tours over a bike rental. Otherwise, tour with Michael for the first day, then go off on your own to re- explore.
Written 21 October 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Lisa A
Albany, NY1 contribution
Oct 2023 • Family
One of the highlights of my trip to Ireland was not only the tour of the Aran Islands, but our tour guide Michael Faherty! He is a knowledgeable historian, a safe driver on those narrow Irish roads and an entertainer and a comedian. Our group thought that perhaps while we were off the bus and hiking that Michael was performing elsewhere. The tour is well worth the small price that you pay. I would encourage travelers to incorporate this tour and this guide into your trip.
Written 25 October 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Michelle p
Hastings, New Zealand10 contributions
Aug 2015 • Couples
Wow - booked this tour not really sure where we were going, but are we glad this was the choice we made. The best €100 per couple spent on our month long European holiday. Michael is the best tour guide we have had. Hilarious, knowledgeable and friendly! There is no greater guide than a native and he has a story about everything from start to finish. From the time we got picked up at our hotel in Galway to the ferry, the island and back again we were totally enthralled. And the scenery at the fort on Inis Mohr - breathtaking. This is definitely a bucket list tour!
Thanks Michael for giving us these memories of a lifetime.
Thanks Michael for giving us these memories of a lifetime.
Written 27 August 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
David
Houston, United States6 contributions
Jun 2015 • Couples
Like many travelers, my wife and I dreamed of taking a trip to Ireland. We contacted a travel agent who found Faherty Tours for a visit to the Aran Islands and booked our passage. We received all the information regarding their tour boat, which explicitly states their boats leave at 9:30 and 9:45am from Galway. My wife even reviewed their website from the hotel the night before because this was part of the trip she was exceptionally excited about. Our travel agent gave us directions and the meeting address in our paperwork.
The tour does NOT leave at 9:30 and 9:45am from Galway, the meeting location is a bus terminal. Their website even says "Faherty Tours departure point 9.30m,9.45am Galway New Coach station". That is a complete lie and, in my opinion, intended to cheat passengers out of money.
My wife and I arrived at the prescribed location early, 9:25am by her watch, only to learn that the bus left at 9:20am. Why? When your website clearly states you leave at 9:30am ..... and then again at 9:45am.
We were directed to a tourist office who called the company and told them they left early and two passengers behind. The company's response, "tough, ask if they want to come back tomorrow." Real great customer service, you leave early, haven't yet left the dock, and blatantly tell your customer's to shove off.
We demanded our money back because we had an itinerary to follow, which we got most of back; however, we're fighting over the $5 difference in the exchange rate from the time of purchase to the time of refund.
So the company lies on their website, is rude and unaccommodating when they leave customers behind, don't care that people have paid thousands of dollars to visit Ireland and their boat is part of a vacation, and then refuse to refund the full amount of money they took when they lied and took your money months earlier.
The tour does NOT leave at 9:30 and 9:45am from Galway, the meeting location is a bus terminal. Their website even says "Faherty Tours departure point 9.30m,9.45am Galway New Coach station". That is a complete lie and, in my opinion, intended to cheat passengers out of money.
My wife and I arrived at the prescribed location early, 9:25am by her watch, only to learn that the bus left at 9:20am. Why? When your website clearly states you leave at 9:30am ..... and then again at 9:45am.
We were directed to a tourist office who called the company and told them they left early and two passengers behind. The company's response, "tough, ask if they want to come back tomorrow." Real great customer service, you leave early, haven't yet left the dock, and blatantly tell your customer's to shove off.
We demanded our money back because we had an itinerary to follow, which we got most of back; however, we're fighting over the $5 difference in the exchange rate from the time of purchase to the time of refund.
So the company lies on their website, is rude and unaccommodating when they leave customers behind, don't care that people have paid thousands of dollars to visit Ireland and their boat is part of a vacation, and then refuse to refund the full amount of money they took when they lied and took your money months earlier.
Written 14 July 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
2012sunilmumbai
Mumbai, India871 contributions
Jul 2014 • Solo
We went to Aran islands. Full coach load. No identification system for the pax! At Aran, we went on a medium size coach so on arrival near the Fort, whilst other mini bus pax went right upto the shops and starting point, we had to walk 500 metres. Faherty should have been pro active and got smaller buses. Then, when it rained, no attempt made to help any pax who had to walk back to the beach where his bus was parked.
On return journey, due to a puncture, some of us were dropped at Aran Sweater Market. Other pax soon came. It was raining with strong wind and no coach or any staffer came to advise us on what to do. We hung around for an hour and then, really upsetting, we had to walk in the driving rain and wind from the Aran shop to the pier!
The guide did not have much knowledge and stumbled in her text. She should have been better prepared.
On return journey, due to a puncture, some of us were dropped at Aran Sweater Market. Other pax soon came. It was raining with strong wind and no coach or any staffer came to advise us on what to do. We hung around for an hour and then, really upsetting, we had to walk in the driving rain and wind from the Aran shop to the pier!
The guide did not have much knowledge and stumbled in her text. She should have been better prepared.
Written 11 July 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
geoffreygoines
5 contributions
Jul 2013
I turned up to the bus station at Galway at 9:25 only to find that the bus had left. The website says the departure time says 9:30. Would have loved to have gone but lost out :(
Written 11 July 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
BakerManDan
Arlington, VA7 contributions
Mar 2011
I will allow for the possibility that our tour guide was distracted by the impending birth of a child, though I have no idea if that's what the issue was. Whatever it was, however, he was on his iPhone texting and calling for half of the tour, and what we were given on this particular day was not, in my opinion, even close to what other reviewers have glowed about in the past. Maybe it's 2011, and he's getting bored with the whole operation; it certainly felt that way. Even paying for the trip--upon arriving at the bus station I was told they don't take credit cards because their website isn't set up for it yet--was an ordeal that didn't have to be. Instead of sending me all over town trying to finding an ATM, he could have started with the fact that I could walk across the street and use a credit card at the tourist office. He only offered that option 10 minutes before the tour left, and we just made it.
The tour itself started out promising enough, with our guide telling us that he could spend 2 weeks showing us the island of Inishmore, and he'd still have more to show. "Great," I thought--we're going to get a day chock full of interesting stuff. And the ride on the tram (in which the seats made my friend and me feel like we were sardines in a vehicle clearly built for school children, not adults) was peppered with interesting commentary about Galway and Connemara.
Getting on the ferry was confusing, and it was all downhill from there. Arriving on Inishmore, we were put on a more comfortable tram, and our guide took a seat with the rest of us to begin his iPhone communication, while our new driver gave us the tour, such as it was. The tour consisted of very basic information from the brochure, watching natives greet each other everywhere--which is actually, truly wonderful to see, because it's so rare that people in cities greet each other--and long stops where we just got out with little or no direction and wandered around to take pictures.
The lunch break was a two-hour drop-off at a tourist trap with a very nice small restaurant and lots of sweaters and typical souveniers to be had. By the time we'd finished our lunch and wandered around a little bit, we realized that there was really nothing else to do but wait for our tram to return. Where had it gone? "I think he went for a beer," said our original guide. It turns out he'd gone to pick up another group to give the same tour to, and he arrived 15 minutes late. Which didn't really matter, because there was almost nothing left to the tour.
Back on the tram, a quick stop to see some seals in the distance, and then back to the harbor where we had another hour on our own to buy more sweaters.
Looking at other reviews, clearly I'm in the minority here, although I notice there are no reviews from 2011 yet. Inishmore is beautiful, and the few places we stopped were interesting to explore. But a tour guide should guide you, not just drive you places. I would have loved to have seen the place described with such excitement in the brochure.
The tour itself started out promising enough, with our guide telling us that he could spend 2 weeks showing us the island of Inishmore, and he'd still have more to show. "Great," I thought--we're going to get a day chock full of interesting stuff. And the ride on the tram (in which the seats made my friend and me feel like we were sardines in a vehicle clearly built for school children, not adults) was peppered with interesting commentary about Galway and Connemara.
Getting on the ferry was confusing, and it was all downhill from there. Arriving on Inishmore, we were put on a more comfortable tram, and our guide took a seat with the rest of us to begin his iPhone communication, while our new driver gave us the tour, such as it was. The tour consisted of very basic information from the brochure, watching natives greet each other everywhere--which is actually, truly wonderful to see, because it's so rare that people in cities greet each other--and long stops where we just got out with little or no direction and wandered around to take pictures.
The lunch break was a two-hour drop-off at a tourist trap with a very nice small restaurant and lots of sweaters and typical souveniers to be had. By the time we'd finished our lunch and wandered around a little bit, we realized that there was really nothing else to do but wait for our tram to return. Where had it gone? "I think he went for a beer," said our original guide. It turns out he'd gone to pick up another group to give the same tour to, and he arrived 15 minutes late. Which didn't really matter, because there was almost nothing left to the tour.
Back on the tram, a quick stop to see some seals in the distance, and then back to the harbor where we had another hour on our own to buy more sweaters.
Looking at other reviews, clearly I'm in the minority here, although I notice there are no reviews from 2011 yet. Inishmore is beautiful, and the few places we stopped were interesting to explore. But a tour guide should guide you, not just drive you places. I would have loved to have seen the place described with such excitement in the brochure.
Written 27 March 2011
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
860lynned
Boston, MA34 contributions
Jul 2016 • Family
What else can you say? Booked an Inishmore tour based on all the great reviews months in advance and we were left stranded at the pier in Inishmore. Ruined the day. Finally got in contact with Michael and admitted the mistake and sent some poor gentleman to take us on a tour. Poor guy did a nice job but we were late and all aggrevated....a disaster.
Written 27 July 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Diana B
Bergen, Norway80 contributions
Jul 2015 • Family
Michael Faherty not only was knowledgeable, courteous and full of historical facts as well as anecdotes, he took great care and pride in presenting his heritage and home island so that the day trip was memorable. He made us feel welcome and did us the honors of being his guests.
We travelled by coach, ferry and small bus and remember to bring walking shoes.
I sincerely recommend this trip and tour.
We travelled by coach, ferry and small bus and remember to bring walking shoes.
I sincerely recommend this trip and tour.
Written 18 July 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Maria E
County Waterford, Ireland3 contributions
Jul 2015
Day tour to Inishmore - Aran Islands. Michael was a great host and very knowledgeable. Good service to and from Galway CBD.
Written 15 July 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Do they accept major credit cards for payment?
Written 18 May 2019
Do you offer 1/2 day tours to the Aran Islands
Written 12 September 2018
No, they don't. The trip from Galway is about 45 minutes, then you have to board the ferry and wait, and then the ferry trip is another 40-45 minutes. Just doing those things round trip would be half a day.
Written 24 September 2018
Do you offer 1/2 day tours to the Aran Islands
Written 12 September 2018
lindamayala
Killeen, Texas
Hello, I plan on visiting with a Friend in July. I’ve read all the reviews and this is an absolute for me! Can you tell me the cost of the one-Day tour?
Written 28 May 2018
I think it's 50 euros, per person, for the whole day (includes the return ferry).
Written 31 May 2018
Hi, I will be visiting Galway 26th July until 6th Aug - can you accommodate a solo traveler on a day tour? thanks
Written 16 May 2018
In my opinion the best day tour of Inis Mor, departing from Galway, is Michael Faherty's Tour. He's a 7th generation islander and we've taken his tour three times. That's how good it is! To answer your question, the most expedient way to book, particularly if you have questions, is to call Colleen in his office at +353 (91) 442 913.
When you get to the island you have the option of taking his small bus tour, a pony & trap, or renting a bicycle yourself. As a first-time, solo traveler, I would definitely encourage you to opt for his small bus tour for three reasons: He has so much information/ interesting stories to offer; he knows how to traverse the island so that you get the most out of your time there; and the small group size will enable you to meet some nice people if you so choose.
Written 16 May 2018
My girlfriend & I will be in Galway end of August and we would like to spend a day in Dublin. Do you have any tours going from Galway to Dublin
Written 26 April 2018
We will visit in mid-March, so I'm interested to know how colder weather (and rain) effect the Aran Island experience. We are picturing getting very cold and we on the trip--is that unfounded---I hope?
Written 5 March 2018
I am trying to book the Aran Islands tour online but can't get to the payment screen. I keep getting an error message. What are my other options for booking ahead?
Written 30 April 2017
Can you email us directly and we will forward you a link
Written 20 March 2018
Hi,
I would like to take this tour around mid October 2017. I can get some bad motion sickness if the sea is very rough. What is the weather like around that time of the year. Can you give me some idea.
There would be 2 of us. We will be staying in Salthill. Do you pick up from accommodation or do we have to come into Galway city to a particular location. Also what time does the tour start and what time does it get back to Galway.
Thank you.
Written 10 April 2017
We were picked up at our B&B (we stayed in Salthill). However, when making your reservations, I would ask to be sure this is still an option. It's an all day event. We were picked up for 8:30 sharp and if memory serves correctly, our return time to the Faherty's about 5:00 - 5:30 that afternoon. As for the weather, it's unpredictable. We went to the Aran Islands and I was surprised the ferry provided such a smooth ride, considering it was a rainy day. The folk's at Faherty's are truly great and quilt accommodating. I suggest contacting them with your questions for more definitive information. More than likely you will be chatting with the owner himself!
Written 14 April 2017
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*Likely to sell out: Based on Viator’s booking data and information from the provider from the past 30 days, it seems likely this experience will sell out through Viator, a Tripadvisor company.