Active Pursuits

Endlessly popular with college-aged backpackers, school groups, and families with kids, the Delphi Adventure Centre, Leenane, County Galway (tel. 095/42307; www.delphiadventureholidays.ie), is all about activity. Whether it's watersports or mountaineering, pony trekking, tennis, or archery, people here are constantly on the go. You don't have to stay here to take advantage of the activities, but if you choose to, you'll be assigned a bright, simply furnished single or dorm-style room. Weekend prices for room, full board, and activities begin at €185 ($240) for an adult. The nonresidential activities fee for 1 full day is €45 ($59).

Bicycling -- Bicycles can be rented year-round from Mannion Cycles, Bridge Street, Clifden, County Galway (tel. 095/21160). The rate for a regular touring bike in high season starts at around €9 ($12) per day. Mountain bikes can be hired from May through October at the Little Killary Adventure Company, Leenane, County Galway (tel. 095/43411; www.killary.com). They go for €20 ($26) per day, and road bikes for €14 ($18) per day. If you'd like to plan a holiday around cycling in this part of the country, Irish Cycling Tours (tel. 095/42302; www.irishcyclingtours.com) offers guided and self-guided bike tours.

Diving -- You can rent equipment and receive instruction at Scubadive West, Renvyle, County Galway (tel. 095/43922; fax 095/43923; www.scubadivewest.com).

Fishing -- Lough Corrib is renowned for brown-trout and salmon fishing. Brown-trout fishing is usually good from the middle of February, and salmon is best from the end of May. The mayfly fishing begins around the middle of May and continues for up to 3 weeks.

Angling on Lough Corrib is free, but a state license is required for salmon. For expert advice and rental equipment, contact the Cloonnabinnia Angling Centre, Moycullen, County Galway (tel. 091/555555).

For salmon and sea trout, the Ballynahinch Castle Fishery at Ballynahinch, Recess, County Galway (tel. 095/31006), is an angler's paradise. State fishing licenses, tackle hire and sales, maps, and advice are available at the hotel.

At Portarra Lodge, Tullykyne, Moycullen, County Galway (tel. 091/555-051; fax 091/555-052; www.portarralodge.com), packages are available, including B&B accommodations in a modern guesthouse on the shores of Lough Corrib, dinners, and boats and tackle. Michael Canney is an avid angler and a great guide to this part of Galway. A double room with full breakfast is €70 ($91) per night. Weekly packages that include half-board, boat, and ghillie (guide) are also available.

Golf -- Visitors are welcome at the 18-hole, par-72 championship seaside course of the Connemara Golf Club, Ballyconneely, Clifden, County Galway (tel. 095/23502; www.connemaragolflinks.com), nestled in the heart of Connemara and overlooking the Atlantic. Greens fees from May to September are €50 ($65) weekdays, €55 ($72) weekends; October to April, €40 ($50) weekdays, €45 ($59) weekends.

The Oughterard Golf Club, Oughterard, County Galway (tel. 091/552131), is an 18-hole, par-70 inland course. Greens fees are €35 ($46).

Horseback Riding -- See the beaches of Connemara from horseback on a trek with the Cleggan Riding Centre, Clegan, County Galway (tel. 095/44746; www.clegganridingcentre.com). The center offers beach and mountain treks, and the most popular is a 3-hour ride to Omey Island at low tide. Prices start at €50 ($65). Or explore with Connemara and Coast Trails, Loughrea, County Galway (tel. 091/841216; www.connemara-trails.com). Rides are for experienced and beginning riders alike. Riding starts at €20 ($26) per person per hour.

Walking -- If you feel like stretching your legs, head to the town of Leenane, which is the start of any number of exhilarating walks. One of the best takes you to the picturesque Aasleagh Waterfall (Eas Liath) east of the Killary Harbor. Another walk around that harbor, Ireland's only fiord, follows the Green Road. It was once the primary route from the Rinvyle Peninsula to Leenane, and is now largely a sheep track. The path passes a ghost town (an abandoned prefamine village) on the far side of the harbor, where the fields rise at a devilishly steep slope from the ruined cottages clustered at the water's edge. There are excellent walking trails in the Connemara National Park, some of which lead up the sides of the Twelve Bens. You can get maps at the park's visitor center.

Lough Inagh & the Walk to Maum Ean Oratory -- Lough Inagh, nestled between the Maumturk and the Twelve Bens mountains in the heart of Connemara, is in a spectacularly beautiful valley, where mountain slopes rise precipitously from the valley floor and small streams cascade into the lake in a series of sparkling waterfalls. The R344 cuts through the valley, linking Recess to the south and Kylemore Lake to the north.

The Western Way, a walking route that traverses the high country of Galway and Mayo, follows a quiet country road above the R344 through the Lough Inagh Valley. To reach the beginning of the walk, drive north on the R344, turning right on a side road -- the sign for Maum Ean -- about 200m (656 ft.) before the Lough Inagh Lodge Hotel. Continue on this side road for about 6km (3 3/4 miles) to a large gravel parking lot on the left. Park here, and follow the well-worn trail 2km (1 1/4 miles) to the top of the pass, through glorious mountain scenery.

This short (4km/2 1/2-mile) walk follows the Western Way to the top of a mountain pass that has long been associated with St. Patrick and is now the site of a small oratory, a hollow in the rock known as Patrick's Bed, a life-size statue of the saint, and a series of cairns marking the Stations of the Cross. Together, these monuments make a striking ensemble, strangely eerie when the mists descend and conceal the far slopes in their shifting haze. On a clear day, there are great views, with the Atlantic Ocean and Bertraghboy Bay to the southwest and another range of mountains to the northeast. The round-trip walking time is about 1 hour.

Watersports -- Hobie Cat sailing and sailboarding can be arranged at the Little Killary Adventure Company, Leenane, County Galway (tel. 095/43411; www.killary.com). Rates start at around €60 ($78) per day (two sessions), which entitles you to use the watersports equipment and participate in all the center's supervised sporting activities, including kayaking, water-skiing, hill and coastal walking, rock climbing, archery, and more.