Gurteen Bay Beach In Galway

Connemara’s Gurteen Bay is a striking white-sand beach formed from crushed seashells and backed by rare machair grasslands, just 2km from Roundstone.

Arguably one of the top beaches in Galway, it’s a stone’s throw from Roudstone in Connemara and it’s right next to the equally brilliant Dog’s Bay.

While parking is a nightmare come summer, a visit here during the off-season (any time outside of the summer months!) is rarely anything but memorable.

Gurteen Bay Beach

Although a visit to Gurteen Bay Beach is fairly straightforward, there are a few need-to-knows that’ll make your visit that bit more enjoyable.

1. Location

Gurteen Beach is located around 2km from the scenic Roundstone village in County Galway on the west coast of Ireland. It’s a handy 5-minute drive to Roundstone and a 1-hour and 15-minute drive from Galway City via the N59. 

2. Parking

You’ll have plenty of parking along the gravel road directly behind the beachfront (look out for the Wild Atlantic Way Discovery Point). Here’s the parking area on Google Maps.

3. Swimming

The water at Gurteen is crystal clear and it’s popular amongst swimmers. Do note that there are no lifeguards on duty here, so caution is needed and only capable swimmers should enter the water. There’s a warning sign in place the states there’s no paddling in the inlet stream.

4. Respect the dunes

There is very clear signage in place at the beach that instructs you to avoid certain sections of the dunes between the bays. This is due to the risk posed by erosion. Please respect all instructions and stick to designated pathways.

About Gurteen Bay

The first thing you’ll notice when you first arrive at Gurteen Bay Beach is the colour of the water! The turquoise shimmer of the water around Gurteen Bay resembles the Caribbean or the French Riviera and is quite an arresting sight at first. 

This is one of two beaches in Roundstone, and it lies back to back with Dog’s Bay, making it easy to explore both of them and the wider coastal area on foot. 

The sand and grassland habitats are one of the most unique features of Gurteen Bay. Most unusually, the sand on Gurteen Beach was not formed from the local limestone but rather from fragments of seashells of tiny sea creatures known as ‘foraminifera’.

It is these seashells that also give the sand a pure white colour. Oh, and the nearby grasslands, made up of machair vegetation, are considered rare and found only on the west coast of Ireland and Scotland.

Though as you’ll see there’s not just sand occupying space on Gurteen Bay, as chunky rocky sections are dotted all over the place (and are particularly handy for families with kids who love clambering over anything and everything). 

And there are few better places in Ireland to kick off your shoes and enjoy a paddle than these wonderfully clear waters! Breath in the clear air and take in some lovely views of the Connemara coast and the distant shape of Errisbeg Mountain.

Places to visit nearby

One of the beauties of Gurteen Bay Beach is that it’s a short spin away from many of the best places to visit in Connemara.

Below, you’ll find a handful of things to see and do a stone’s throw from Gurteen!

• Roundstone (5-minute drive): A picturesque fishing village with some fine places for a feed, like O’Dowd’s Seafood Bar
• Ballynahinch Castle (20-minute drive): Constructed in 1754 by the Martin family in one of Connemara’s most magnificent settings
• Clifden (30-minute drive): Home to the famous Sky Road along with plenty of great places to eat