About us

Experience the Wild Atlantic Way with Connemara Adventure Tours

The seascapes, coastline, mountains and valleys of Ireland’s Wild Atlantic Way have drawn poets, writers, painters and dreamers for centuries. The way of life and traditions of warm hospitality and welcome have never been lost. You just have to come and experience this paradise for yourself.

/upload/pictures/hiking-croagh-patrick-clew-bay-co-mayo-master.jpg

Experience, Knowledge & Passion

We’ve been organising cycling, hiking and self-drive tours in Ireland for more than 40 years. This is not just our job, it’s our passion. We’ve tried and tested everything ourselves and devoted our knowledge, time and energy into making our tours the best they can be. We firmly believe that it’s the little things that count and put much effort into getting them right.

You’ll always be treated as a valued guest coming to our home, and we want to share it with you at its very best. Don’t just take our word for it! Read what our customers say about us, and you’ll see that we consistently deliver the highest levels of customer service and a second to none experience.

Irish, Local & Personal

We are local. We’re based in the village of Leenane surrounded by the most enchanting of landscapes. We’re always searching out new routes, attractions and hidden gems to share with you, which make our tours very special.

We’re a small, friendly team, so you’ll deal with the same people from your first enquiry to the very last day of your tour. We’re on hand throughout your stay, looking after all the details so that you can relax and enjoy every moment of your Irish adventure.

Our story

This is the story of a family, a team, a small village and the belief, energy and adventurous spirit that created Connemara Adventure Tours.

01

Connemara Adventure Tours was created more than 40 years ago by Mary and Jamie Young who came to visit what was then a remote part of the west of Ireland, saw the immense beauty of it, and decided to stay.

Theirs was a life of travel, adventure and discovery and they brought this strong interest and experience to their new business. Jamie had participated in the 1976 single-handed race to America and was joined by Mary when they spent their honeymoon sailing from Ireland to America in a 26ft boat designed for single-handed sailing!

02

Ireland in the 1980s was in the grip of a recession but this did not halt their far-reaching vision. They created a home here in wildest Connemara, had three children and learned how to be self-sufficient and work with the environment around them in a respectful way.

All three children spent years travelling and experiencing far-flung corners of the world, in between study and work, but have returned to Connemara to live, work and raise their families - what better testimony to the power of this place. Ciara and Shane are directors of the Killary Adventure Group of companies and Kim owns the award-winning local catering company The Misunderstood Heron.

03

Connemara Adventure Tours was founded with a spirit of adventure and that spirit continues today with team members from all over the world adding their own chapter to this story. Our Tours Manager Irmi joined us in 2022 drawn here from her native Germany by the authentic Connemara way of living.

We look forward to welcoming you to see for yourself the place where the Wild Atlantic Way combines mountain, seashore and island and where a warm Irish welcome will always await you. Connemara Adventure Tours is part of the Killary Adventure Group.

Our team

With years of experience in hospitality and adventure, our team is at the ready to help create your trip of a lifetime in Ireland.

IRMI MARTIN

Tours Manager

Originally from Bavaria, Germany, Irmi loves the hospitality of the Irish, the deep connection with nature, culture, music and the incredible sense of humor! With years of experience in the travel industry, she now shares her insider tips and knowledge to help to create unforgettable experiences for those who come to visit us on the Emerald Isle. Irmi enjoys exploring Connemara with her kids in their campervan. When she’s not in Ireland you’ll find her travelling around the world and doing yoga.

MARY YOUNG

Founder & Director

Mary has lived the adventure, sailing to America for her honeymoon, working on an ocean racing yacht sailing 30,000 miles around the world, before starting up Killary Adventure Company with husband Jamie in 1980. She has travelled the world extensively by boat, bicycle and foot but has yet to find anywhere better to live and work than Connemara.

CIARA YOUNG

Director

Ciara grew up in Connemara, immersed in the outdoor lifestyle and stories of grand adventures. At 18 she headed off to explore the world visiting Australia, New Zealand, South America, Central America, Africa and Asia. On her return to Ireland, she completed a degree in Marketing and Events Management and returned to Connemara where she is now a Director at the Killary Adventure Group. Ciara lives here in Leenane with her husband and their three children. Most days she can often be found running in the hills of Connemara on her lunch break.

SHANE YOUNG

Director

Born and raised in Connemara, Shane has been playing outdoors since he was born, fostering a love of wild places and great adventures. He’s lived in New Zealand and Argentina and made numerous trips across the world in search of out of the way places, including Georgia, Central America and Greenland on expedition with his father Jamie. Shane now manages Killary Adventure Centre and spends every free moment training for and planning his next extreme outdoor adventure challenge, when he’s not running around after his two small children!

JAMIE YOUNG

Founder & Director

Jamie is the real adventurer of the company. He has sailed the world, sea kayaked around Cape Horn and the islands off Guinea Bissau, reenacted Shakleton’s small boat voyage from Elephant Island to South Georgia, and more recently led sailing, climbing and sea kayaking expeditions to Greenland. And as he says himself, he’s not finished exploring yet!

Our environment

We have always been committed to sustainable and responsible tourism. By choosing our tours, you are opting to tread lightly in this beautiful place, so that future generations can experience all the magic the Wild Atlantic Way has to offer.

01

Sustainable Business Practices

Our Connemara base is built and powered by sustainable technologies. We have an onsite biomass boiler using logs sourced in our local forest less than 3 km away. We run a 6kW wind turbine and have a 32kW solar farm on-site and solar panels installed on our main buildings.

02

Recycling

We have an on-site recycling centre used by our own businesses and the local community, and we recycle 50% of our waste. We compost 100% of our food waste on-site, supporting our local biodiversity and tree planting initiatives - turning waste into growth. We have installed water restrictors on all taps and showers to conserve water and continue to upgrade and retrofit our buildings and site with new environmental technologies.

03

Environmental Stewardship

Our cycling, e-bike, hiking and day tours are designed to keep environmental impact to an absolute minimum. We power our electric bikes with clean energy from our main solar farm and wind turbine. We prioritise eco-friendly products and support local Irish suppliers, ensuring our day-to-day operations are as green as possible. Our choice of tourism and accommodation partners is heavily influenced by their sustainability and community credentials.

04

Community Engagement

We're from Connemara, we live here every day and want you to feel at home in our community. We're committed to supporting and promoting our local culture and economy, from employing local people to supporting traditional-style B&B accommodation that's been at the heart of our local economy for decades. All our tour activities are carefully chosen to support as many local businesses as possible.

05

Employee Wellbeing

We're more than just a team - we're a family. Making sure our crew has excellent working conditions and meaningful benefits is important to us, and it's a big part of what B Corp values too. Our team members have either grown up in Connemara or chosen to make it their home, which makes our work even more tightly knit and community focused. When you meet us, you'll see that our friendly team is the most important part of our business.

06

Transparency and Accountability

We're dedicated to being clear and upfront about our environmental and social impacts both internally and within the community. We're always eager to hear new ideas on how we can better our sustainability efforts from our workers and the community around us. Sustainability is something that we passionately believe in and continue to work to improve in everything that we do.

Our Awards

Along with our B Corporation Certification, we are proud to have received a number of awards over the years. These are a wonderful recognition of our ongoing sustainability programmes which continue to evolve through much trial and error, with successes and adjustments along the way!