Half of this list rings Clew Bay. Westport was laid out to a competition-winning plan in 1767, which is why the Malls, the octagon and the river still line up so neatly, and boats run from its quay out among the drumlin islands. Murrisk sits at the foot of Croagh Patrick, where thousands set off up the Reek on the last Sunday of July; Louisburgh, gridded in 1795, holds the western end of the bay under the Sheeffry and Mweelrea mountains; Rosmoney Pier, about 8km west of Westport, is where Mayo Sailing Club keeps its moorings.
The rest are further out. The Great Western Greenway runs traffic-free for 42km from Westport through Mulranny, where it uses an 1889 railway causeway, to Achill Sound and its swing-bridge. North-west of that lies Erris, a 900 sq km barony of blanket bog and Atlantic cliffs with Belmullet as its Gaeltacht base and Ireland’s first Dark Sky Park at Wild Nephin. Ballina stands apart on the other side of the county, where the Moy meets Killala Bay.
Two are inland and southern: Tourmakeady between Lough Mask and the Partry Mountains, and The Neale north of Cong, where the Browne follies stand and the word ‘boycott’ entered the language in 1880. Both want a drive.
Laid out to a 1767 competition plan, and the practical base for Clew Bay, the Great Western Greenway and Croagh Patrick alike.
The village of around 260 people on the channel to Achill Island, its main service centre and the way onto the Corraun Peninsula.
Ireland's Salmon Capital, where the Moy meets Killala Bay, with angling, greenway cycling and free entry to the Jackie Clarke Collection.
A Gaeltacht town on the neck of the Mullet, with Carter's Canal, Blue Flag beaches, Carne golf links and boats to the Inishkeas.
A 900 sq km barony of bog and Atlantic cliff holding four lighthouses, a Dark Sky Park and loop walks at Erris and Benwee Heads.
11 of 11 shown — tap a pin for the place.
Westport, mayo
Westport was laid out to a competition-winning plan in 1767, which is why the Malls, the octagon and the river line up so neatly. From the quay, boats run out into Clew Bay and its scatter of drumlin islands; from town, the traffic-free Great Western Greenway rolls 42km to Achill. Croagh Patrick, the cone-shaped pilgrim mountain, rises straight off the coast 8km west.
Achill Sound, mayo
Achill Sound (Gob an Choire) is a village of around 260 people on the channel between Achill Island and the mainland, joined by the Michael Davitt swing-bridge. It is the island's main service centre and the gateway to the Corraun Peninsula, with two hills over 450 m, fourteen glacial lakes, a Spanish Armada wreck site and the Atlantic Drive.
Ballina, mayo
Where the River Moy meets Killala Bay, Ballina lives up to its title as Ireland’s Salmon Capital. The town blends active angling and greenway cycling with free entry to the Jackie Clarke Collection, guided whiskey distillery tours and a strong transatlantic heritage.
Belmullet, mayo
A Gaeltacht town on the neck of the Mullet Peninsula, where Carter’s Canal cuts from Blacksod Bay to Broadhaven Bay in a five-minute walk. It’s the base for Erris – the barony The Irish Times voted the best place in Ireland to go wild – with Blue Flag beaches, Carne golf links and boats to the deserted Inishkea Islands within reach.
North-west County Mayo, mayo
Erris is a 900 sq km barony on Mayo's north-west edge, where blanket bog meets Atlantic cliffs and thousands still speak Irish as a first language. It holds four lighthouses, Ireland's first Dark Sky Park at Wild Nephin, and coastal loop walks around Erris Head and Benwee Head. The Irish Times voted it the best place to go wild in Ireland.
Louisburgh, mayo
Louisburgh was laid out on a grid in 1795, where the Bunowen River reaches the beaches of Clew Bay beneath the Sheeffry and Mweelrea mountains. It's a small town but a well-placed one – Blue Flag and surf strands on the doorstep, the Grace O'Malley heritage centre in the middle of it, and Croagh Patrick and the Clare Island ferry both a short drive off.
Mulranny, mayo
Mulranny sits on the neck of land between Clew Bay and Bellacragher Bay, where a rare machair grassland grows Mediterranean heather found almost nowhere else in Ireland. Its 1889 railway causeway now carries the Great Western Greenway, and its south-facing beach won a Blue Flag in 2024.
Murrisk, mayo
Murrisk is the village at the foot of Croagh Patrick, and on the last Sunday of July thousands set off up the Reek from here, some of them barefoot. Opposite the car park stands John Behan's National Famine Memorial, a bronze coffin ship with skeletal figures in the rigging, and a five-minute drive west brings you to the Blue Flag sands of Bertra.
Cong, mayo
The Neale is a quiet village on a limestone plateau north of Cong, where the Browne family, Barons of Kilmaine, scattered their old demesne with follies – a 30-foot stepped pyramid, a roofless Doric temple, and a carved stone shrine to 'the Gods of The Neale' that gave the village its name. It's also where, in 1880, tenants' organised shunning of the land agent Charles Boycott put a new word into the language.
Tourmakeady, mayo
Tourmakeady is the one Irish-speaking village in south Mayo, sitting between Lough Mask and the Partry Mountains. Its Millennium Forest hides a multi-step waterfall reached by an easy loop walk from the community centre, and Lough Mask draws anglers for some of the best wild brown trout fishing in the country.
Rosmoney, mayo
← All things to do in County Mayo
Book tours & tickets
We may earn a commission if you book through this link, at no extra cost to you.
Book tours, skip-the-line tickets and day trips with GetYourGuide. Free cancellation on most experiences.
See tours & tickets in County Mayo →