Welcome To the e-travelguide to Hotels, guest houses and attractions in County Mayo

Make the most of your time in County Mayo, use the information provided on this web site by clicking on the links above to plan your visit.

Mayo is a county of understated beauty, from its sublime coastal vistas to its stunning mountain scenery. Quieter and less well travelled than its more exuberant neighbour Galway to the south east, County Mayo offers visitors a taste of the real Ireland in its meandering county roads, picturesque villages and rolling green hills. The county is famous as one of the quietest in Ireland, largely as a result of the great famine. The Potato Famine took a terrible toll on County Mayo, decimating the population and forcing thousands to emigrate to American and Australia. As a result, today County Mayo is one of the most sparsely populated in the whole country, lending it a peaceful, if melancholy ambience. However, this abundance of wide, open land has made it a favourite destination for all manner of outdoor activities and leisure pursuits. The River Moy, Lough Mask and Lough Conn provide some of Europe’s best fishing waters, while there also a number of fantastic hiking trails and several leading golf courses, including the Westport championship course.

But while County Mayo may be one of the least populated in Ireland, it nevertheless boasts many vibrant towns and villages where a lively welcome can be guaranteed. The charming town of Westport is filled with traditional pubs alive with the sound of Irish music, while the busy market town of Ballina is a carnival of colour and activity that belies its small size. In terms of international tourist attractions, however, County Mayo is not up there with Dublin or County Antrim. The pyramid mountain of Croagh Patrick is believed to be the site where St Patrick banished all snakes from Ireland, one of the defining moments in Irish Christian folklore. The county also formed the backdrop of the 1951 John Wayne film The Quiet Man. However, today little remains of the stone cottage used in the film, as generations of tourists have flocked to the site and dismantled it piece by piece, taking a little part of County Mayo to the four corners of the world.

Contact: 0118 971 4700