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County Galway

Clifden Beach

Clifden Beach is on the EPA's list of places people swim, though not one of the waters it tests in County Galway, 1.8 km west of Clifden. The State does not test the water here, so there is no grade. The register records toilets, parking and an information board. It leaves 2 of the questions on this page unanswered, and those are shown as not recorded rather than as a no.

No
Blue Flag
No
lifeguard
1.8 km
from Clifden
Water quality
Not monitored for a classification
Water testing
Not tested by the EPA on its list, but not sampled for a grade
Season restriction
Not recorded
Pollution after rain
Not recorded
Awards
None
County
County Galway
Managed by
Galway County Council
Nearest town
Clifden, 1.8 km west of it, in a straight line
From that town
2.1 km by road, about 3 min drivingor 2.1 km on foot, about 26 minutes at 4.8 km/h
Lifeguard
No
Toilets
Yes
Parking
Yes
Access
No
Dogs
Allowed on a lead
Cars on the beach
No
Public transport
No
Protected area
Recorded as a natural sensitive area
Position
53.4851° N, 10.0476° W
Record changed
2022-03-01
RNLI Inshore Lifeboat Station at Clifden, County Galway, Sept 2026
RNLI Inshore Lifeboat Station at Clifden, County Galway, Sept 2026·Jennifer Faulkner, CC BY 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
RNLI Inshore Lifeboat Station at Clifden, County Galway, Sept 2026·Jennifer Faulkner, CC BY 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Clifden Bay - 1982
Clifden Bay - 1982·Helmut Zozmann, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Clifden Bay - 1982·Helmut Zozmann, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

What the EPA says about it

Clifden Beach is a small sheltered sandy beach located close to Clifden Town, 78kms to the west of Galway City on the shores of Clifden Bay. The bathing area is located down a narrow road called “The Beach Road” beside Clifden Boat Club and the RNLI Station. It is divided from a rocky shore and a mooring facility by a small grassy headland. There is a small seating area overlooking the rocky shore.Clifden Beach had been an identified/regulated bathing water and was monitored and managed under the terms of the 2008 Bathing Water Quality Regulations. Clifden Beach was declassified in 2021 due to Poor water quality - it had been classified as Poor for five consecutive years (2016 to 2020). Clifden Beach is no longer an identified/regulated bathing water, but continues to be monitored by Galway County Council as an other monitored water.

Where it is

Clifden Beach, and the other places to swim in County Galway. Share your position and the map will show how far each one is from you.

Getting to Clifden Beach

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About these directions

Public transport times come from National Transport Authority. Timetables cover 2026-09-18 to 2027-09-19. These are scheduled services; check with the operator for cancellations and changes before travelling.

Walking and driving times are estimates. A town search starts at its centre; choose your location or a point on the map for a more precise starting point. Eircode search is not available.

How journey planning works
Destination, access and nearby stops

Clifden Beach is in Clifden, County Galway. Routes here end at the point the map records for this place. The entrance has not been verified, so the last few metres are for you to judge.

The nearest settlement is Clifden, 1.8 km west of the beach. The register records parking here. Getting to the town is not getting to the beach, so the journey below is worked out to the beach itself and the last stretch on foot is measured rather than left out.
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Stops near it

The nearest scheduled stop is Clifden (635401), 1.8 km away in a straight line. Use the planner to check walking connections for your journey.

  • Clifden 1.8 km
    buses 423, 419, 432 and 923
    Scheduled departures from this stop
  • Clifden East 2.3 km
    bus 923
    Scheduled departures from this stop

Getting to Clifden covers the journeys into the town itself.

Other places to swim in County Galway

Questions people ask

Is the water clean at Clifden Beach?
Clifden Beach is on the EPA's list but is not one of the waters it tests, so the State works out no grade for it and none exists. Nothing here says the water is clean or dirty, because nobody has published either.
Is swimming restricted at Clifden Beach?
The register leaves this blank for Clifden Beach, which it does for the 89 waters it does not monitor. A blank is not a no. Check with Galway County Council.
Does Clifden Beach have a Blue Flag?
No. A beach without one can still have excellent water: the Blue Flag also asks for facilities, lifeguards and information boards, which a quiet strand may not have.
Is there a lifeguard at Clifden Beach?
No. The register records no lifeguard here, so nobody is watching the water.
How do you get to Clifden Beach without a car?
The nearest stop in the national timetable is Clifden, 1.8 km from the beach in a straight line, and buses 423, 419, 432 and 923 call there, run by Bus Éireann and TFI Local Link Galway. The planner on this page works out the walk from that stop over real footways, and the whole journey from wherever you are starting, for the day and time you pick. Where no footway joins the stop to the beach it says so rather than making a number up.
Where does this come from?
The Environmental Protection Agency's list of places people swim, which it calls the bathing water register, read on 2026-09-20, where this record was last changed on 2022-03-01. Water quality, awards, lifeguards and facilities are the EPA's own fields, and a field it leaves blank is shown as not recorded rather than as a no. The distance to the nearest town is this site's own measurement, in a straight line.

Water quality, awards, lifeguards, toilets, parking and access are the Environmental Protection Agency’s own fields, from its bathing water register, read 2026-09-20. The classification covers four years of sampling and is not a reading for today: after heavy rain the water can be worse than the classification suggests, and the EPA and the local authority post notices when it is. Positions are the EPA’s grid references, projected to latitude and longitude. Journeys are the National Transport Authority’s published timetable.

Beaches and bathing waters in Ireland·Beaches in County Galway