Ireland · County Mayo
Westport
A planned Georgian town under a pilgrimage mountain, with a rail-trail west to the Atlantic cliffs.
Westport is a planned Georgian town in County Mayo, laid out around a tree-lined mall along a canalised river, and one of the few places in Ireland designed on paper rather than grown by accident. Croagh Patrick, the conical holy mountain climbed by pilgrims for well over a thousand years, stands directly across Clew Bay, and a disused railway has become a greenway running west to the cliffs of Achill. It is a serious traditional music town that has kept its own character despite doing very well out of visitors.
Suggested stay
2–3 days
Language
English, Irish
Currency
EUR
Timezone
UTC+1
Why you'll love Westport
Croagh Patrick a near-perfect cone above the bay, climbed for over a millennium and still a hard, rewarding hour and a half up
The Greenway a disused railway turned traffic-free path running west through bog and coast to Achill Island
Clew Bay a drowned drumlin field of hundreds of small green islands, best seen from halfway up the mountain
The music a genuine trad town where the sessions are for the locals first and the visitors incidentally
Best time to visit
May-Jun, Sep
15-17° days
53.800° N, 9.520° W
UTC+1 · Europe/Dublin
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Weather & when to go to Westport
Month by month: typical highs and lows, rainfall and rain days.
✓ Best May-Jun, Sep
Hiking prime May-Jun, Sep
Activity seasons none fair good prime
Cards tinted by calculated verdict · big number = typical daily high, small = low · hover for conditions
When to avoid Westport
Mayo weather is Atlantic weather and the wet season is long, running from autumn deep into spring with gales, short days and the mountain in cloud. High summer is busier without being noticeably drier here: early summer and the start of autumn are the better windows. The mountain in poor visibility is genuinely unpleasant, and the loose scree on the upper cone is worse when wet.
Top things to do in Westport
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Croagh Patrick
hiking 👍 PopularA quartzite cone above Clew Bay, climbed as a pilgrimage for well over a thousand years and by everyone else for the view. Steep, loose scree near the top, and an annual pilgrimage when thousands go up, some of them barefoot.
-
The Great Western Greenway
nature wildlife ⭐ Highly recommendedForty-odd kilometres of disused railway turned traffic-free path, running from the town along the bay to Newport, Mulranny and the bridge onto Achill.
-
Westport House and estate
historyA Georgian house on the river above the quay, built by the descendants of the pirate queen Grace O'Malley on the site of her castle, with parkland and a lake around it.
-
Trad sessions on Bridge Street
nightlife music 👍 PopularThe town has an outsized reputation for traditional music, with sessions most nights of the week in several pubs and a standard of playing that draws musicians from across the county.
-
Achill Island
scenic ⭐ Highly recommendedReached by bridge, with Ireland's highest sea cliffs, a curving beach at Keem in a green bowl, and a deserted village of stone foundations on the mountainside above.
-
The Octagon and the Mall
historyThe planned town's set pieces: an octagonal market square with a column at the centre, and a river channelled between stone walls and lime trees with bridges across it.
-
Clew Bay by boat
nature wildlifeTrips out among the drumlin islands from the quay, past seals, oyster beds and the island where a shipping magnate once kept a private estate.
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Clare Island
off beaten pathA ferry ride out to the mouth of the bay, where Grace O'Malley's tower and abbey stand and a single road loops beneath a cliff-backed mountain.
-
Westport Quay
foodThe old harbour a mile downhill from the town, with warehouses converted to bars and restaurants and the bay opening out in front of them.
Best areas to stay in Westport
$ Budget $$ Mid-range $$$ Premium
Westport town
First-time visitors $$Georgian mall, pubs and music
Explore hotels in Westport town →
Westport Quay
By the water $$Old harbour, converted warehouses, water
Explore hotels in Westport Quay →
Louisburgh & the south bay
Quiet coast $Quiet coast under the mountain
Explore hotels in Louisburgh & the south bay →
Achill Island
Wild coast $Cliffs, beaches and open bog
Explore hotels in Achill Island →
Live nightly prices from Booking.com, Agoda and others, centred on Westport
Getting to & around Westport
Getting there
Fly into Ireland West at Knock, or take the direct train from Dublin
Flight
Ireland West, Knock (NOC)
Fifty-five km northeast, a small regional airport with UK and European routes. There is no direct public transport, so the practical options are a hire car, a pre-booked transfer or a taxi, taking around fifty minutes.
Train
Westport station
Direct trains from Dublin Heuston take around three and a half hours and terminate a short walk from the centre
Coach
Westport
Buses from Galway take about two hours along the western seaboard, with services on to Achill and Ballina
Drive
Westport
About an hour and a half from Galway and four from Dublin, and the sensible arrival if you want Achill and the coast
Getting around
Walking
The town is small and the mall makes it pleasant; the quay is a mile downhill and an easy walk each way
Free
Bicycle
Hire shops in town serve the greenway, which is flat, traffic-free and the main reason many people come
TBC
Hire car
The practical choice for Achill, Louisburgh and the Doolough valley, which the buses reach rarely
TBC
Bus
Local routes run to the mountain, Louisburgh and out along the Achill road, a few times a day
TBC
Ferry
Boats to Clare Island and Inishturk leave from Roonagh pier west of Louisburgh
TBC
Day trips from Westport
Achill Island
Full dayCliffs & beaches
Keem Bay in its green bowl, the deserted village on the slope above, and sea cliffs among the highest in Europe on the northern shore.
Getting there
car | bus
1 hr by car or bus west
Croagh Patrick
Half dayHoly mountain
Ninety minutes up and rather less down, over loose scree on the upper cone, with Clew Bay and its islands spread out the whole way.
Getting there
car | bus
15 min by car or bus west
Clare Island
Full dayIsland in the bay
Grace O'Malley's tower and abbey, a looped road under the cliffs, and a population small enough that the ferry timetable is the day's structure.
Getting there
car | ferry
40 min by road to Roonagh, then ferry
Doolough valley
Half dayMountain pass
A dark lake between steep slopes on an empty road, carrying a famine memorial to a forced march that killed those who attempted it.
Getting there
car
45 min by car southwest
Ceide Fields
Full dayNeolithic farmland
Stone field walls preserved under blanket bog for five thousand years, the oldest known enclosed farm landscape anywhere, above cliffs on the north Mayo coast.
Getting there
car
1 hr 30 min by car north
A little history of Westport
Clew Bay was O'Malley country, and Grace O'Malley, the 16th-century chieftain and sea captain who negotiated with Elizabeth I as an equal, held castles around it. Her descendants, the Brownes, built Westport House on the site of one of them and then did something unusual: in the 1780s they cleared the old village and commissioned a wholly planned town, with the river channelled between stone walls and lime trees along a mall.
Mayo was devastated by the Famine, and the county's population has never recovered to its pre-1845 level; the Doolough valley south of town carries a memorial to a forced march that killed hundreds. Croagh Patrick has been climbed as a pilgrimage since long before Christianity attached Saint Patrick's name to it. The railway arrived in 1866 and closed west of the town in 1937, and its trackbed reopened as the greenway in 2011.
Grace O'Malley holds Clew Bay from castles on its shores and islands
The Brownes clear the old village and build a planned Georgian town
The Doolough tragedy, when a forced march through the mountain pass kills hundreds during the Famine
The railway reaches Westport, and later runs on toward Achill
The line west of the town closes, leaving the trackbed that becomes the greenway
The Great Western Greenway opens along the old railway to Achill
Know before you go
Payment
Cards everywhere
English
Everywhere
Wifi
Workable
Power
Type G
230 V, 50 Hz
Dialing
+353
FAQs about Westport
▸ How hard is Croagh Patrick?
Harder than its size suggests. Around ninety minutes up, on a rough track that becomes loose scree on the final cone, where many people slow to a scramble. Boots matter, and so does visibility: in cloud the summit is a featureless slope.
▸ How many days do you need in Westport?
Two nights covers the town, the mountain and a stretch of the greenway. A third is worth it for Achill, which deserves a full day rather than an afternoon.
▸ Do you need a car in Westport?
Not for the town, the greenway or the mountain, which are all reachable on foot, by bike or on a local bus. For Achill, Louisburgh and the Doolough valley a car makes a large difference.
▸ Is the greenway suitable for families?
Yes, and it is one of the best family cycles in the country: flat, traffic-free and broken into stages with villages between them. Hire shops in town will shuttle you and the bikes to a start point.
▸ Is Westport a good base for Mayo?
The best one. It has the train, the restaurants and the music, and Achill, Clare Island, the Doolough valley and the north Mayo coast are all day trips from it.
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