Holiday rentals and lettings in County Mayo

Table of Contents

• At a glance: What should you know about renting a holiday letting in County Mayo?
• Holiday lettings in County Mayo: find your perfect retreat
• Exploring County Mayo: our top recommendations
• Activities: What are the top things to do and see in County Mayo?

• Cottages, lodges and glamping: Self-catering homes across Mayo lean rustic, with turf-scented fireplaces, big gardens and windows framing Clew Bay, Lough Mask or the open Atlantic.
• Where to base yourself: Westport suits first-timers, Achill Island the beach and cliff crowd, Ballina anglers, and Louisburgh walkers heading for the Lost Valley.
• Guests rate the quiet: Top-scoring Mayo stays earn 9.5+ ratings for space, hosts who leave turf in the basket, and views nobody else is looking at.
• Best time to visit: May to September brings the longest days and swimmable water; autumn is quieter, cheaper and made for the Greenway.
• What fills the days: Croagh Patrick, Keem Bay, the Great Western Greenway, the Céide Fields and Downpatrick Head sit within an easy drive of one another.

Mayo's holiday lettings are overwhelmingly rural and self-catering: whitewashed stone cottages on quiet boreens, converted farmhouses with turf fires, modern lodges above the shoreline and a growing set of glamping cabins and pods on working farms. Compared with the rest of holiday homes across Ireland, places here sleep four to eight and come with land around them. Space, silence and a view are the local currency.

Whatever you book, a handful of features make a Mayo stay work:

• A solid fuel stove or open fire, with turf or logs left ready by the host
• A drying room, boot porch or utility for wet walking gear after Croagh Patrick
• Enclosed gardens and parking, useful on narrow coastal lanes
• Sea, bay or lough views, the single most requested feature in the county
• Hot tubs facing the water, increasingly common on the Erris and Achill coasts

Book early for August and for the Reek Sunday weekend, when Westport fills fast.

What are the best areas to stay in County Mayo?

For a first visit, Westport is hard to beat: a planned Georgian town on Clew Bay with the Greenway, restaurants and Croagh Patrick all on the doorstep. The table below details regions for specific interests:

What do our guests say?

Guests in Mayo consistently praise the same three things: hosts who go out of their way, properties with far more room than they expected, and the sheer quiet at night. Ratings of 9.5+ are common across the county, and reviewers often mention arriving for three nights and wishing they had booked a week. Star gazing gets its own mention, thanks to the dark skies over the Nephin range.

Here are our top-rated holiday lettings from the past year:

1. Ceide Glamping - 9.7+: Sea-view glamping on Mayo's north coast, minutes from the Céide Fields, with a well-equipped kitchen and hundreds of glowing reviews.
2. Belmullet Glamping - 9.6+: A terraced apartment on the remote Erris peninsula, with lake views, a washing machine and easy access to Blacksod Bay.
3. Groff Cottage - 9.6+: A six-person cottage near Castlebar with a garden and Lough Mask views, singled out by families for its space and quiet setting.

County Mayo occupies Ireland's north-western corner, where the Wild Atlantic Way threads past Clew Bay, Achill Island and the peat bogs of Erris.

✈️What is the best way to get to County Mayo?

Flying into Ireland West Airport Knock is the quickest route from Britain, though most visitors still end up hiring a car. Here are the most common ways to get to the county:

• Plane: Ireland West Airport Knock sits in the east of the county and takes direct flights from London, Manchester, Birmingham, Edinburgh, Bristol and Liverpool. Castlebar is about 45 minutes away by road, Westport an hour, Ballina 50 minutes. Dublin Airport is the alternative, roughly three hours by motorway and N5, and it has far more frequent flights if Knock timings do not suit.
• Train and car: Irish Rail runs from Dublin Heuston to Westport and to Ballina, taking around three and a half hours, with a change at Manulla Junction for the Ballina branch. Trains are comfortable and scenic, but a car is effectively essential once you arrive, since the coast road, Achill, Louisburgh and the Céide Fields are barely served by bus. Car hire is available at Knock and both rail termini.

🥗Where to eat in County Mayo?

According to Google Maps data and reviews, Dining Room is the best rated restaurant in County Mayo. Below is a table showing the top 5 highly-rated restaurants hand-picked by our travel experts.

⭐Our guests' recommendation: Our guest traveller Emma Wilson recommends the Sage Restaurant in County Mayo: a small modern European kitchen on Westport's High Street, ideal for a slow dinner after a day on the Greenway.

☀️When is the best time to visit?

Mayo is at its best from May to September, when daylight stretches past ten at night and the Atlantic is just about swimmable. June and September hit the sweet spot of long evenings without August prices, while autumn brings low golden light over Clew Bay and the quietest walking of the year.

Spring

• Best for: Walkers and cyclists who would rather have the Greenway to themselves.
• Weather: Cool and changeable, roughly 10 to 15°C, with bright spells between Atlantic showers.
• Atmosphere: Calm and local, with lambs on the hillsides and villages just waking up.

Summer

• Best for: Beach days at Keem Bay and Silver Strand, plus the Reek Sunday pilgrimage in late July.
• Weather: Mild at 16 to 20°C, with the longest evenings of the year and warm sheltered coves.
• Atmosphere: Lively, with festivals in Westport and Achill and busy pub sessions most nights.

Autumn

• Best for: Salmon fishing on the Moy, dark-sky stargazing and photographers chasing low light.
• Weather: Wetter and windier, around 9 to 14°C, with dramatic seas at Downpatrick Head.
• Atmosphere: Peaceful and unhurried, with lower rates and easy availability everywhere.

⭐Our Hosts' recommendation: Our County Mayo local expert, the host team of Ceide Glamping, recommends coming to visit the north Mayo coast rather than stopping at Westport. From their doorstep it is a short drive to the Céide Fields, where Neolithic field walls lie under the bog, and on to Downpatrick Head with its sea stack. Time it for late evening, when the cliffs turn copper and the crowds have gone. You can read more about local tips on the host team's page.

1. Climb Croagh Patrick
2. Swim at Keem Bay
3. Cycle the Great Western Greenway
4. Stand on Downpatrick Head
5. Sail out to Clare Island

1. Climb Croagh Patrick

   Mayo's pilgrimage mountain rises 764 metres straight out of Clew Bay at Murrisk, and the path up is loose scree near the summit rather than a gentle stroll. Allow three to four hours return, take proper boots and start early. On the last Sunday of July, Reek Sunday, thousands climb it, some barefoot. On any clear day the reward is the same: the whole scattered archipelago of Clew Bay laid out below, with Achill on the horizon.

2. Swim at Keem Bay

   At the far western end of Achill Island, Keem is a horseshoe of white sand between cliffs, reached by a hairpin road that is worth the drive on its own. The water is startlingly clear and sheltered enough for swimming, and basking sharks are sometimes spotted offshore in early summer. Bring everything you need, since facilities are minimal, then continue round the Atlantic Drive for the deserted village at Slievemore.

3. Cycle the Great Western Greenway

   Built on a disused railway line, this traffic-free route runs 42 kilometres from Westport through Newport and Mulranny to Achill Sound. It is flat, well surfaced and suitable for families, with bike hire and shuttle services at both ends so you can ride one way. The middle section above Clew Bay is the highlight, and Mulranny makes a natural coffee stop, whether you tackle the whole thing or just a stretch.

4. Stand on Downpatrick Head

   North of Ballycastle, the cliffs give way to Dún Briste, a sea stack marooned 80 metres offshore since the headland collapsed in 1393, its layered rock still carrying the green of the fields on top. Blowholes vent spray inland, and a wartime EIRE sign is picked out in stone nearby. Combine it with the Céide Fields a short drive west for an easy afternoon on the north coast.

5. Sail out to Clare Island

   A short ferry from Roonagh Pier near Louisburgh reaches the island that Grace O'Malley, the sixteenth-century pirate queen, ruled from a tower house above the harbour. Walk the loop to the lighthouse, visit the medieval abbey with its rare painted ceiling, or simply take a bike round the quiet lanes. If you want more coast afterwards, the shoreline continues north towards Sligo and its surf beaches.