The City Council considers our beaches to be one of the most valuable recreational facilities available to residents and visitors of Galway City.
There are four main beaches in the Galway City area:
The beach at Salthill is actually several small beaches separated by outcrops. Some of the beaches are sandy and some pebbly. It is located in Galway city and on Galway Bay, a Special Area of Conservation. When in the city follow the signs for Salthill. Buses also regularly frequent the beach. The beach is lifeguarded from mid-May to end of September 11-7.
Silverstrand has a safe, shallow, sandy beach of approximately 0.25km bounded on one side by a cliff and the other by rocks. It is particularly popular with and suitable for young families. It faces directly into Galway Bay giving spectacular views. There is a promenade with parking capacity for about 60 vehicles. It is suitable for swimming at low tide but the beach is largely covered during high tides. It is lifeguarded daily from mid-May to end of September from 11-7pm.
From Galway city head west on the R336. you will be barely on outskirts of Galway city when you will see a sign for Trá na gCeann, this is the Irish name for Silverstrand.