2-Day Western Ireland Tour from Dublin:Including Galway and Cliffs of Moher

About This Tour

The west of Ireland is something else. Stone walls running across bare hillsides, the Atlantic crashing into dramatic coastline, colourful villages, and castles at every turn - this 2-day tour from Dublin takes in the highlights of Connacht without you having to worry about driving or navigating unfamiliar roads.

You’ll overnight in Galway, visit the Cliffs of Moher, and get a real sense of what life looked and felt like here historically. It’s a part of Ireland with genuine depth to it.

What’s Included

• Air-conditioned coach with USB charging at every seat
• Free high-speed WiFi on the majority of coaches
• Professional guide
• Overnight accommodation in Galway
• Breakfast

What’s Not Included

• Drinks and food (unless specified)
• Gratuities

Good to Know

• Meeting point: Check in with the Paddywagon team inside the office at least 15 minutes before departure. Paddy’s Palace, Lower Gardiner Street, Dublin - 8:00am
• Infant seats are available
• Infants and small children can travel in a pram or stroller
• Public transport options are nearby
• Suitable for all fitness levels
• If you’d like the Economy option, confirm your preferred room type with us during or after booking
• Maximum group size of 34
• Tour runs in English

Local Tips

Your overnight stop is Galway - a city that still feels like a village in its medieval core. After check-in, the best thing to do is ditch any plan and walk. Head down to Shop Street, turn left at Quay Street, and follow the laneways. The Claddagh neighbourhood is a short walk from the centre - the fishing village that gave the world the Claddagh ring (hands holding a crowned heart, a symbol that’s now in every gift shop in Ireland but started in a place where boats went out and people waited for them to come back).

If you’re looking for dinner, Ard Bia at Nimmo on Quay Street has a locally-led menu that changes with what the market has. For something quicker, the Gourmet Tart Company does hand pies and coffee with queues that move fast. The Dough Bros does sourdough pizza without reservations - eat at the counter and watch the dough rise.

Galway has trad sessions most nights of the week. Tigh Coili on Mainguard Street is the most serious - Irish language pub, high-standard sessions nightly, players who are there because they want to play. The Crane Bar on Sea Road has three floors and the session happens whether there’s an audience or not. Both are better later in the evening, from around ten.

The Cliffs of Moher are a set-piece but the approach and the walk along the clifftop is the real experience. The wind at the edge can be fierce at any time of year - keep the good camera strap on. The Visitor Centre is included in the tour.

If you have any free time near the cliffs, Liscannor is the village 8km south of the visitor centre where the Hag’s Head end of the cliff walk begins. Vaughan’s Anchor Inn on Main Street has been run by the same family since 1979 - it’s the default lunch stop in the village, with a kitchen the Michelin guide has noticed. Doolin is 15 minutes north on the same coast road. If there’s a free evening anywhere on this tour, Gus O’Connor’s pub on Fisher Street has been running trad sessions since 1832 - get there before nine for a seat near the players.

Nearby on IrelandMe

• Galway - A medieval city that still thinks it’s a village underneath, with trad sessions most nights, the Aran Islands a ferry ride west, and enough laneways to get genuinely lost in.
• Liscannor - The working village at the back door of the Cliffs of Moher, where the Hag’s Head cliff walk starts with no car park fee and fewer crowds than the visitor centre end.
• Doolin - Three hamlets, four pubs, and trad music most nights. Gus O’Connor’s has been running sessions since 1832, and the walk south from the harbour reaches the same cliff edge for nothing.