City Tours✻Galway✻5 hostels✻Handpicked✻Real reviews✻City Tours✻Galway✻5 hostels✻Handpicked✻Real reviews✻City Tours✻Galway✻5 hostels✻Handpicked✻Real reviews✻

Galway City ToursRanked guide

Best Hostels for City Tours & Day Trips in Galway

Galway is a two-minutes-end-to-end walking city, so the 'city tour' that matters here is the day trip out: Cliffs of Moher (90 minutes south), Aran Islands (ferry from Rossaveel, shuttle bus included), Connemara (north into the Twelve Bens). All five of Galway's social hostels have in-house tour desks that book Galway Tour Company or Lally Tours departures at no markup over walk-up, and some (Kinlay, Dawson) negotiate morning pickups directly from the hostel door. The five picks below differ more on which operator they partner with, which tour desks are staffed 24/7, and how quickly they'll re-book you if the weather closes the Cliffs.

◉ Ranking · 5 picks

01Galway City Hostel€26
02Kinlay Hostel Eyre Square€28
03Snoozles Galway City Centre€27
04The Dawson Hostel Galway€25
05The Woodquay Hostel€23

§ 01 — Traveler's take

“I did three Cliffs of Moher trips out of three different Galway hostels across two different years — Kinlay in October, Galway City Hostel in June, and The Woodquay in March. Same tour operator (Galway Tour Company), same €32 price, identical full-day itinerary, but three different pre-trip experiences. Kinlay booked me at the 24-hour reception at 23:00 the night before, handed me a printed voucher and a free breakfast muffin at 08:30. Galway City Hostel booked me at 21:00 the evening before, the ten-minute walk to the Eyre Square pickup was the same. The Woodquay booked me at reception at 19:00, recommended the alternative Lally tour (€30, smaller group, same cliffs) and that was a better call. All three delivered. Pick by price-and-proximity; all five picks below get you on the 9:30 bus.”

§ 02 — The ranked list

Our Top 5 Picks

★ 9.01,385 reviews€26/night

Galway City Hostel

Galway City Hostel is the highest-rated hostel in the city on Booking — 9.0 across 1,385 reviews, tucked on Frenchville Lane between Eyre Square and Ceannt Station. Beds from around €26, private rooms from €80. Small, staff-run, and visibly cared for.

15 rooms across four floors of a small Georgian — no lift, no corridors wider than a meter
90-second walk to Ceannt Station (bus + train), 2 min to Shop Street pubs
Ground-floor tour desk (Galway Tour Co + Lally Tours) books Cliffs of Moher departures next-day
Free continental breakfast with brown bread and proper Irish black tea, 7:30am–10am

See the hostel

★ 8.93,804 reviews€28/night

Kinlay Hostel Eyre Square

Kinlay Hostel is the biggest hostel in Galway and winner of Ireland's best hostel (Irish Hostelling International 2025) — 8.9 rating across 3,804 reviews, €28 dorms on Merchants Road at Eyre Square. Pool table, in-house bar, tour desk, and a lot of private rooms for groups.

Corner building on Merchants Road directly at Eyre Square, opposite the Skeff Bar
24-hour reception, lift to upper floors (rare in Galway hostels)
Ground-floor bar and café with pool table lounge
Room types from 4-bed female dorms to 8-bed en-suite group privates

See the hostel

★ 8.71,918 reviews€27/night

Snoozles Galway City Centre

Snoozles Galway is the repeat-booker's hostel on Forster Street — 8.7 across 1,918 reviews, €27 dorms with an included continental breakfast, 2 min walk to Eyre Square on the quieter side. Long-running family-owned operation with a high return-guest rate.

Georgian townhouse expanded rearwards to ~80 beds on Forster Street
Ground-floor lounge with book-swap shelf and evening social hub
Included continental breakfast 7:30am–10am with homemade weekend scones
Tour desk for Galway Tour Company and Lally Cliffs of Moher departures

See the hostel

★ 8.12,981 reviews€25/night

The Dawson Hostel Galway

The Dawson Hostel (formerly Sleepzone Galway City) is the refurbished 100-bed property on Bothar na mBan — 8.1 across 2,981 reviews, dorms from €25, included continental breakfast, a ground-floor outdoor terrace, and 5 min walk to Eyre Square. The best value for money hostel in Galway per return bookers.

Three linked buildings on Bothar na mBan, north side of the Corrib near the Salmon Weir Bridge
Ground-floor outdoor terrace with picnic benches (partial roof for rain)
Self-catering kitchen open 24/7, shared across all three buildings
Included continental breakfast 7:30am–10am (eggs on weekends)

See the hostel

★ 7.92,792 reviews€23/night

The Woodquay Hostel

The Woodquay Hostel is the budget pick on the quieter north side of the River Corrib — 7.9 across 2,792 reviews, dorms from €23, 6 min walk to Eyre Square. Two-building setup, big kitchen, West End trad pubs on the doorstep.

Two Victorian townhouses joined at 23 and 24 Woodquay on the north bank
Big ground-floor shared kitchen with free Friday-night community dinner
Mixed and female-only dorms up to 8 beds, small privates with shared bathrooms
8 min walk to Ceannt bus/train station, 4 min to Crane Bar trad sessions

See the hostel

§ 03 — Tips

Tips for Choosing a Hostel with City Tours in Galway

Tip Nº 01

Book the Cliffs of Moher tour the night before at reception, not walk-up morning-of — you get emailed confirmation and you skip the 9:15am Eyre Square queue in the rain.

Tip Nº 02

The Galway Tour Company 9:30am Cliffs departure costs €32 and takes 8 hours. The Lally Tours version costs €30, runs in a smaller group, and gets you back 30 minutes earlier. If both are available, Lally is the better value.

Tip Nº 03

Aran Islands day-trip is ferry-only access via Rossaveel — the €45 combo from Dawson includes the shuttle bus, ferry, and bike rental on Inis Mór. Book 48 hours out in summer; ferries sell out.

Tip Nº 04

Connemara day tour (O'Neachtain, €35) covers Kylemore Abbey + Killary Fjord and is the right call if you've already done Cliffs. Not every hostel stocks these brochures — Dawson and Kinlay do; check the tour desk.

Tip Nº 05

If the weather closes the Cliffs (October–April risk, 30% probability on any given day in winter), all five hostels will re-book you for the next open day at no fee. Keep one flex day in your Galway itinerary.

§ 04 — Other vibes