This private 12-hour tour takes you west from Dublin in a luxury Mercedes, with your guide-driver tailoring the route to fit your time and interests. You’ll pass through some of the west’s most famous landmarks en route to the Cliffs of Moher - and then, rather than just viewing the cliffs from above, you set out from Doolin pier on a boat to see them from the water.
That’s a different experience entirely. The scale of the cliffs only really hits you when you’re looking up from the Atlantic.
Along the way there are options to explore the Burren’s famous “lunar landscape” of limestone, Galway city, Doolin village, and the River Shannon. Ancient boglands, medieval castles, and proper Irish pubs are in the mix too. Liberty Irish Tours keep the motto simple: love Ireland as they do.
This is a fully private tour, so the itinerary bends around you.
Cliffs of Moher experience - Entry to the Cliffs of Moher Experience and time to walk the clifftop paths before heading to the pier. (90 min)
Cliffs of Moher by boat - From Doolin village pier, you set sail for a close-up view of the cliffs from the Atlantic. Seeing them from sea level is a completely different perspective to standing on top. (50 min)
This is a private tour conducted in English. Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller, and specialised infant seats are available. Service animals are welcome. The tour is suitable for all fitness levels. Public transport options are available nearby.
Book a seat at the pubs before you head to the pier. Doolin has four pubs - Gus O’Connor’s (founded 1832), McGann’s, McDermott’s, and Fitzpatrick’s at Hotel Doolin - and sessions run most nights. If you want to catch some trad after the boat trip, get there before nine to find a seat near the players.
The boat departs from a working pier. Doolin pier isn’t a tourist jetty - it’s also the departure point for Aran Islands ferries. The cliff cruise shows you the cliffs from sea level, which locals call Aill na Searrach. The scale of the rock face landing from the water is a different thing entirely from the clifftop path.
If you have time before the boat, eat in the village. Homestead Cottage in Doolin earned a Michelin star within seven months of opening in 2023 - book well ahead if you want a tasting menu. For something simpler, Gus O’Connor’s kitchen does a chowder that earns its reputation, and Doolin Cafe does brown bread the way Ireland intended.
The coastal walk is there if you want it. The path south from the harbour toward Hag’s Head follows the cliff edge with no car park and no turnstile - just the wind and the Atlantic. It’s 14 km return and takes 4-5 hours, so it’s for a different day unless the itinerary has flexibility built in. Liscannor is at the southern end of this path - if the itinerary allows a stop, Vaughan’s Anchor Inn (Michelin-recommended, third-generation kitchen) is on the main street and does seafood off the local boats.
The Burren between the Cliffs and the road home: The tour description lists the Burren as an optional stop. Ballyvaughan is the most practical Burren village to break the journey - it’s on Galway Bay, with Monk’s Pub right on the harbour for a bowl of chowder, and the Burren limestone climbing away to the south within two minutes of the pier.
If the itinerary includes Galway: The tour description lists Galway city as a possible stop on the tailor-made route. If your driver takes you in, the Salthill Promenade walk is 2 km along the bay and flat - a good stretch of the legs before or after a meal. For trad in the evening, Tigh Coili on Mainguard Street runs a session from 9:30pm and the players are the real thing.
What the boat trip passes: The cliff cruise from Doolin goes past Aill na Searrach - the same offshore break that big-wave surfers know. Looking north from the boat you can see the Aran Islands on the horizon. The boat also passes Doolin Cave above you - beneath the limestone two kilometres from the village is the longest free-hanging stalactite in the northern hemisphere, 7.3 metres, found by cavers in 1952.