Best coffee in Connemara: Top 6 spots
Wondering where to find the best coffee in Connemara? The Real Adventures team love our daily coffee fix, and we love that we have such a fantastic array of cafés that serve rich, smooth, and tasty specialty coffee.
Is there anything better than a Connemara road trip taking in all the local views, climbing our famous mountains, walking around the villages and towns and perusing the menus of the many award winning restaurants? Is there anything better than doing this while topping up our caffeine reserves with the best coffee in Connemara along the way?
The coffee scene has blossomed nicely over the past few years, and it is a fantastic addition to the area and a welcome bonus for us coffee lovers.
When we are trip planning, we like to mark out the best coffee shops that we will pass along the way, and take a pit-stop between our adventuring, eating, site-seeing – so we have made a Connemara coffee guide for you. Save for your next west coast adventure!
Here is a coffee route for your next Connemara visit:
Kabo in Letterfrack
Drive through Inagh Valley (if coming from the Galway direction). This is a must-do – the views of the mountains that line the valley are incredible, the reflections of the mountains on the lake when the sun shines is a great photo opportunity and be sure to drive slowly to allow the cute little sheep to safely pass and graze! There are plenty of spots to safely pull in and allow yourself to breathe and take in just how beautiful this part of the country is. When you get to the end of the road leading you out of Inagh Valley, turn left and head towards Letterfrack for your first coffee stop in Kabo.
Fuel yourself with Sunday Collab coffee before visiting Connemara National Park and perhaps make the spectacular and rewarding Diamond Hill climb
12 Pins in Clifden
You will likely spend many hours exploring Clifden – with an array of boutique clothes and gift stores, an art gallery, bookshops and plenty of artisan shops where you can stock up on all the locally made products.
A coffee stop will be very much needed, so be sure to visit 12 Pins Coffee who source and roast their own coffee beans to create the perfect cup of joe. If you want to take home a Connemara memento in the form of coffee beans, you can purchase one of several varieties of their specialty blends (including their signature Connemara blend). The perfect pick-me-up before our sunset kayaking session that starts just 10 mins outside Clifden behind the Connemara Sands hotel. – click HERE to book in.
These guys are also about to open an indoor market 12 Pins Market looking out on Ballinakill bay – food trucks, coffee and market stalls…winning combo!
Sweet Nothings of Ballyconneely
As you head into Ballyconneely for a surf or coasteering session with us, you’ll be able to fuel up with a coffee, and a selection of INCREDIBLE home-made cakes at Sweet Nothings cafe. This is a regular spot for our instructors and the surf/coasteering groups to grab a filling and healthy lunch before or after our sessions on the water. Try the Cheat’ken burger or the holy guacamole – so good!
Good Stuff in Roundstone
As you head past Ballyconneely and make your way towards the charm and joy that is a visit to Roundstone for a climbing session, your coffee stop here will be at the Good Stuff food truck with Calendar Coffee. However, you may not want to stop at just a coffee here – once you get sight of their melty, gooey, crispy toasted sandwiches, hunger may strike! They even have a vegan toastie option. We love this spot and it is a real treat to grab a coffee and a quick bite to enjoy as you take in the lovely Roundstone views and people-watching.
Misunderstood Heron on Killary Fjord
This original Connemara food truck is an essential pit-stop for its Cloud Picker coffee – and besides this, you will have epic views across Killary Fjord – it might just be the coffee shop with the best views in Ireland? You’ll also have an excellent variety of home-made and freshly baked pastries and sweet treats, or if you need something more substantial they have fantastic lunch options. Definitely add this to your Connemara road trip itinerary, it is worth the trip.
Purple Door in Leenane
Making your way towards the village of Leenane, the Purple Door café will be your go-to coffee stop.
Serving local Bean West coffee, coffee roasters based in nearby Westport- you can guarantee that your daily cup will be a good one here. We also love that the Purple Door coffee are taking part in Bean West’s new initiative to deliver their coffee beans in large reusable tubs, to reduce the amount of single use plastic/paper packaging when delivering smaller bags of coffee beans. That is pretty cool!
Leenane is a picturesque village that bridges the border between Galway and Mayo, it has views of the neighboring mountains and is located at the head of Killary harbour. There is something really special about this village that is quite different to other Connemara villages – we always love our visits here and make the time to drive here regularly, as the drive alone is truly impressive.
Make the effort to visit this area and perhaps end (or start) your Connemara staycation here, enjoying the surroundings with a coffee in hand before making a trip to the nearby Aasleagh Falls for some more nature therapy.
We hope you have an incredible coffee-fueled adventure to Connemara. We really do love our local cafes and the people who run them, and the community they create.
If you want to add some outdoor adventures to your coffee expedition, come and join us for a session on the water: surfing, coasteering, SUP or on a kayak. If you are more into the mountains and climbing, join us for a day of hiking or rock-climbing.
Check out all our activities here.
