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11hr Cliffs of Moher & Galway Bay or Galway city only private
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From €1250 per person
You’ve got two options on this private day trip from Dublin. Head west to the Cliffs of Moher - 700 feet above the Atlantic, one of those views that genuinely stops you in your tracks - and take in the Wild Atlantic Way through County Clare along the way. Or, if you’d rather spend the day in the city, swap the cliffs for a full day in Galway, exploring its famous pubs, local shops, and streets that are often full of live music.
Your guide, Eamonn, runs what he calls the original authentic locals private tour from Dublin to the west. The route through County Clare passes old pre-famine Irish homesteads and the signature dry stone walls of the Burren. You’ll hear about Gaelic culture and Irish ancestry, stop to meet a pair of local donkeys, and if you’re that way inclined, you can duck into an artisan chocolate factory perched on a Burren mountain. There’s a lunch stop in Lisdoonvarna - home of the famous September matchmaking festival - and the scenic Galway Bay coastal drive rounds out the return journey.
Along the way, Eamonn shares Irish history through traditional song, so you pick up a real sense of the place rather than just the sights.
The castle you pass at Kinvara is Dunguaire, built around 1520 on a stone promontory into Kinvara Bay - the red stone and the morning light across Galway Bay make it worth a good look as you drive past. It’s the sort of thing that catches you off guard. Spend the afternoon at Kinvara if you’re ever out this way independently.
Lunch in Lisdoonvarna: the Roadside Tavern on the main street is the local’s choice for a quick lunch, and the Burren Smokehouse nearby does oak-smoked salmon that travels well. The village’s matchmaking festival has been running every September since 1857 - the tradition started when bachelor farmers came here after the harvest to take the spa waters and meet someone. Explore more at Lisdoonvarna.
At the Cliffs: the approach from Doolin gives you the cliff path from the north, which is quieter than the main visitor centre entrance. The walk along the cliff edge is where the scale really lands - 200 metres of nothing, with the Atlantic working away below. If you’re short on time, even twenty minutes along the path beats the car park view.
The Fanore coastal drive back toward Ballyvaughan passes through some of the most unusual coastline in Ireland - the Burren limestone running right down to the sea, with a sandy beach (Fanore beach) tucked in where it shouldn’t be geologically. The big-wave break at Aillemore offshore is one the Irish surf community talks about quietly. A quick stop at Fanore or Ballyvaughan on the return is worth it if timing allows - Monk’s Pub in Ballyvaughan does a chowder that’s worth the stop.