County Galway

Grattan Road Beach

Grattan Road Beach is one of the waters the EPA tests and grades in County Galway, 2 km south-west of Galway. The Environmental Protection Agency classified it sufficient for water quality for the 2025 season. The register records a lifeguard, toilets, parking, bins, recycling, a lifebuoy, first aid and an information board.

Sufficient

water quality, 2025

Blue Flag

Yes

lifeguard

2 km

from Galway

Water quality: Sufficient, 2025
Seasons before: 2024 Good, 2023 Good, 2022 Good
Water testing: Tested by the EPA sampled through the season and given a water quality grade
Season restriction: None in place
Pollution after rain: Prone to short term pollution, closed 29 days last season
Awards: None
County: County Galway
Managed by: Galway City Council
Nearest town: Galway, 2 km south-west of it, in a straight line
From that town: 2.3 km by road, about 4 min drivingor 2.2 km on foot, about 27 minutes at 4.8 km/h
Lifeguard: Yes: Life Guard hut marked on beach map and is yellow & red in colour. Lifeguarded Zone is between yellow and red flags. Do not swim if all red flags are flying. Refer to www.Galwaycity.ie for lifeguard times.
Toilets: Portaloo toilet facility available.
Parking: Parking on roadside along adjacent promenade and Toft Park car park (750m)
Access: Access ramps available
Dogs: Refer to beach code of conduct and dog control bye-laws 2008. Dogs allowed on beach during restricted hours.
Cars on the beach: No
Public transport: Bus stop located in close proximity
First aid: First aid available from lifeguard hut
Protected area: Recorded as a natural sensitive area
Position: 53.2593° N, 9.0660° W
Record changed: 2026-04-08

Whitestrand Road, Lower Salthill, Galway City·P L Chadwick, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Whitestrand Road, Lower Salthill, Galway City·P L Chadwick, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Salthil,Galway Bay,Ireland·Geyo John, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Salthil,Galway Bay,Ireland·Geyo John, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

What the EPA says about it

Grattan Road Beach is a shallow, sandy beach facing directly out to Galway Bay and boasts breath-taking views stretching for miles across the bay to County Clare and the Aran Islands. It is approx. 250m in length.

Grattan Road Beach is classified as achieving Sufficient Water Quality in 2025 based on the assessment of bacteriological results for the period 2022 to 2025. Grattan Road Beach achieved a Good Water Quality rating in 2024, 2023 and 2022. Annual water quality ratings are generally calculated using monitoring results over a four-year period and are assessed against stringent bacterial limits to protect bather health.

The EPA’s own beach profile

Where it is

Grattan Road 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 Grattan Road Beach

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

Grattan Road Beach is in Galway, 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 Galway, 2 km south-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.

Get directions

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Stops near it

The nearest scheduled stop is Atlantaquaria (13468), 550 m away in a straight line. Use the planner to check walking connections for your journey.

Atlantaquaria 550 m
bus 525
Scheduled departures from this stop
Day
Lenaboy Pk 590 m
buses 401 and 410
Scheduled departures from this stop
Day
Salthill Upr 620 m
buses 401 and 410
Scheduled departures from this stop
Day
Devon Park 750 m
buses 401 and 410
Scheduled departures from this stop
Day
Salthill Road Lwr 860 m
buses 401 and 410
Scheduled departures from this stop
Day

Getting to Galway covers the journeys into the town itself.

Other places to swim in County Galway

Questions people ask

Is the water clean at Grattan Road Beach?

The EPA classified it Sufficient for the 2025 season, which is worked out from four years of samples. Grattan Road Beach is classified as achieving Sufficient Water Quality in 2025 based on the assessment of bacteriological results for the period 2022 to 2025. Grattan Road Beach achieved a Good Water Quality rating in 2024, 2023 and 2022. Annual water quality ratings are generally calculated using monitoring results over a four-year period and are assessed against stringent bacterial limits to protect bather health. A classification is a record of seasons that have finished; it is not a reading of the water today.

Is swimming restricted at Grattan Road Beach?

The register records no season-long restriction. That is about the season, not about today: a short notice after heavy rain would not appear here, and this water is recorded as prone to short term pollution. Check with Galway City Council before swimming.

Does Grattan Road 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 Grattan Road Beach?

The register records one, Life Guard hut marked on beach map and is yellow & red in colour. Lifeguarded Zone is between yellow and red flags. Do not swim if all red flags are flying. Refer to www.Galwaycity.ie for lifeguard times.. Outside those hours nobody is watching the water.

How do you get to Grattan Road Beach without a car?

The nearest stop in the national timetable is Atlantaquaria, 550 metres from the beach in a straight line, and bus 525 call there, run by Island Ferries Teoranta. 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 2026-04-08. 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