Traditionally smoked wild and organic Atlantic salmon and tuna
Food
Connemara Smokehouse
Connemara's oldest smokehouse at Bunowen Pier, traditional beechwood smoked fish.
Known for: Traditionally smoked wild and organic Atlantic salmon and tuna
Plan Your Visit
Everything you need to know before you head out: weather, what to pack, the best seasons, and useful links.
Looking for a day plan?
Half-day highlights, full-day explorer, rainy day plan, and weekend escape: all mapped out step by step.
Weather & What to Bring
Weather
Clifden sits on the Atlantic edge of Connemara, in a temperate oceanic climate that is mild, wet and changeable, with weather coming straight in off the ocean from the west. Summers are cool and green, July averaging around 15°C, and winters are soft rather than hard, January averaging about 6°C, with snow rare at sea level but frequent on the Twelve Bens. Being exposed on the coast under the mountains, the town gets sudden showers, strong Atlantic wind and cloud dragging across the Bens, and bright spells and rain in the same afternoon are normal.
Packing Checklist
- ✓Waterproof jacket (essential year-round)
- ✓Layers: temperature can change quickly
- ✓Comfortable walking shoes
- ✓Camera: the views are worth it
- ✓Sunscreen: yes, even in Ireland
Bring Something Home
Local producers, markets, and makers worth a stop before you leave Clifden.
Irish farmhouse cheese, cured meats and Connemara produce
Food
The Connemara Hamper
Award-winning Clifden deli and food shop, Irish cheese and local produce.
Known for: Irish farmhouse cheese, cured meats and Connemara produce
Craft breads, cakes and pastries
Food
Walsh's Bakery
Family craft bakery on Market Street since 1953.
Known for: Craft breads, cakes and pastries
Hours: Mon-Sat 8:30-17:00, Sun 9:00-17:00
Best Time to Visit
Spring
March - May
The quiet window before summer. Long light on the Sky Road and the bog walks without the crowds.
Spring is a good time to have Connemara to yourself. The Sky Road loop is at its best on a clear spring evening, with the light long over Clifden Bay and the islands, and you can walk out to the ruined D'Arcy castle or around the Derrygimlagh bog without meeting many people. The Twelve Bens still carry snow on the tops into March some years, which makes them photograph beautifully from the town. Most of the hotels, restaurants and pony-trekking centres are open by Easter, and rooms are easier to get and cheaper than they will be from June. The weather is changeable, so treat a bright morning as a window to get out in rather than a promise, and remember the days are stretching out, with light into the evening by late April.
Summer
June - August
Peak season, and the build-up to the Pony Show. The town is busiest in August; book rooms early.
Summer is when Clifden is busiest and at its liveliest. The Sky Road fills with cars and cyclists, the boat trips out of the harbour run most days, and the beaches at Eyrephort and the coral strand near Ballyconneely come into their own on a warm day. Omey Island is a summer favourite, but the crossing is tide-gated, so check the tide times before you drive out across the strand. The single biggest week is the Connemara Pony Show in mid-August, when the town fills well beyond its size, so book accommodation months ahead for that week. If you want the Sky Road or the bog walks without the crowds, head out early in the day or in the evening, and expect the main street to be busy through the middle of the day.
Autumn
September - November
The Arts Festival in September, then the bog at its most colourful. The best light of the year.
Autumn is one of the best times to come west. The Clifden Arts Festival, billed as Ireland's longest-running community arts festival, takes over the town for most of September with music, poetry, talks and street events across the venues, and it is a genuine local fixture rather than a tourist confection. The bog turns gold and rust through October, the heather fades on the Bens, and the low autumn light on the Sky Road and over Clifden Bay is the best of the year for photography. The crowds thin once the Pony Show and the festival are over, the restaurants are easier to get into, and a wet Connemara evening is exactly what the trad pubs on Main Street are for. The beaches and the boat trips wind down through October as the Atlantic weather sets in.
Winter
December - February
A small Atlantic town in the off-season. Storms, short days and the pubs at their best.
Winter strips Clifden back to a small Atlantic town getting on with itself. Some tourism services scale back from November, so check ahead before relying on a boat trip or a heritage centre being open, but the hotels, pubs and main restaurants stay open through the year. The Connemara light in winter is dramatic between the storms, with the Bens dark against fast skies and the bog roads empty, and the Sky Road on a clear cold day is as good as it gets. The days are short, so plan the drives and the walks for the middle of the day, and keep the long evenings for the fire and the music in Lowry's or Guy's. This is the season for the slow lunch, the empty beach and a town that belongs to the people who live in it.