Why The 2 Roundstone Beaches Are Some Of Ireland’s Finest

The two ‘Roundstone beaches’ are arguably the finest in Galway.

Dog’s Bay and Gurteen Bay may not have the most appealing names, but my God do they pack a punch.

You’ll find these two Roundstone beaches right next to each other – discover everything you need to know below!

Some quick need-to-knows about the Roundstone beaches

Although a visit to the Roundstone beaches is fairly straightforward, there are a few need-to-knows that’ll make your visit that bit more enjoyable.

1. There are two

The two main beaches in Roundstone are Dog’s Bay Beach and Gurteen Bay Beach. As you can see from the photo above, they sit back to back and boast glorious white sand and turquoise water.

2. Parking

There’s dedicated parking for each of the beaches in Roundstone. For Gurteen, there’s a nice stretch in front of the beach (here on Google Maps) and for Dog’s Bay, there’s a tiny herebit of parking near the sand ( on Google Maps).

3. Swimming

Although it’s clear that plenty of people enjoy swimming at Dog’s and Gurteen Bay, there’s no official information online to state whether or not it’s safe. There’s no lifeguards, anyway, and Gurteen has a warning sign telling people to avoid paddling in the inlet stream.

A speedy overview of each of the beaches in Roundstone

Below, you’ll find a quick overview of the two main beaches in Roundstone.

Now, keep in mind there’s a handful of little beaches and coves around the area, too, like Joicy’s Beach.

1. Gurteen Bay

One of the first things you’ll cop when you arrive up to Gurteen Bay Beach is the colour of the water – it’s like something from a land far more tropical!

The turquoise shimmer of the often chilly water around Gurteen Bay looks like something that’d be right at home in the Caribbean.

Although it can get busy during the warmer summer months, when tourist numbers are at their highest, you’ll find this place pretty quiet throughout the year.

Park up, flick off your shoes and soak up the views as you saunter along the soft sand.

2. Dog’s Bay

Dog’s Bay is arguably the better-known of the two Roundstone beaches, and it sits right next to Gurteen, which is convenient if you fancy visiting them both.

Like its neighbour, the sand along Dog’s Bay is bright white, and it has tiny fragments of seashells to thanks for its mesmerising colour.

This beach, in our experience, gets busier during the summer than Gurteen and, as the car park here is tiny, it can be next to impossible to get parking unless you arrive early.

On our last visit, there were cows in the dunes towards the far end of the beach – the sound of waves crashing and ‘moo-ing’ – a fine combo!

FAQs about the beaches in Roundstone

We’ve had a lot of questions over the years asking about everything from ‘Which is best for a paddle?’ to ‘Is the parking really a pain?’.

In the section below, we’ve popped in the most FAQs that we’ve received. If you have a question that we haven’t tackled, ask away in the comments section below.