This 11-hour private day trip takes you from Dublin to three of County Clare’s biggest draws - Bunratty Castle, the market town of Ennis, and the Cliffs of Moher - with private transport and an official guide throughout. All the main entrance fees are included, so there’s no queueing at ticket desks midway through a long day.
The westbound run on the M7 breaks at Barack Obama Plaza in Moneygall, where a visitor centre covers the story of Falmouth Kearney - Obama’s ancestor - who emigrated from this Tipperary village to the US in 1850. A practical twenty-minute stop before the day’s main sites begin.
You finish at the Cliffs of Moher - 214 metres of Atlantic cliff face at their highest, with three hours to walk the clifftop path and take in the Visitor Centre and O’Brien’s Tower.
What’s Included
Private transportation with an official guide throughout
Entrance to Bunratty Castle
Entrance to the Cliffs of Moher Visitor Centre and O’Brien’s Tower
Guided walking tour of Ennis town centre
What’s Not Included
Food and drinks
Itinerary
Barack Obama Plaza, Moneygall - Rest stop on the M7 with a visitor centre on Obama’s Moneygall connection and a coffee before the day begins. (20 min)
Bunratty Castle - Built around 1425 by the MacNamara clan and later the seat of the O’Brien chieftains. One of Ireland’s best-preserved medieval tower houses, with entrance included and the thirty-acre Folk Park on the grounds. (90 min)
Ennis - A guided walk through County Clare’s main market town, followed by free time to find lunch in one of the traditional pubs. (120 min)
Cliffs of Moher - Three hours at the clifftop with entrance to the Visitor Centre and O’Brien’s Tower included. The cliffs reach 214 metres at their highest point, above the Atlantic. (180 min)
Good to Know
Suitable for all fitness levels
Infants and small children can travel in a pram or stroller; infants must sit on an adult’s lap during transit
Service animals are welcome
Arrive 15 minutes before departure - the guide can’t hold for late arrivals given the day’s schedule
Tour available in English and Spanish
Maximum group size of 50
Local Tips
Get to Bunratty before the coaches. The castle and its thirty-acre Folk Park - reconstructed 19th-century cottages, a working forge, a village street relocated stone by stone from sites across Clare and Limerick - reward a slower pace than the midday crowd allows.
In Ennis, find the friary before lunch. Ennis Friary dates to around 1241, when the O’Brien dynasty founded it. It’s roofless now, but the 15th-century tracery windows, the carved limestone sculptures, and an O’Brien tomb inside are extraordinary for what survived the Reformation. Takes ten minutes and sets the medieval context of the town well.
At the cliffs, split your time. O’Brien’s Tower (built 1835 by Sir Cornelius O’Brien) sits at the highest point of the walk - on a clear day you can see the Aran Islands from it. But the clifftop path north and south of the Visitor Centre gives you angles the tower doesn’t, so don’t spend all three hours at the main platform.
Know about Doolin if you’re staying a night in Clare. It’s 8km north of the Visitor Centre - three hamlets, the Aran Islands ferry pier, and traditional music sessions most nights at Gus O’Connor’s, McGann’s and McDermott’s.
Nearby on IrelandMe
Bunratty - A 15th-century tower house, a thirty-acre folk park built from relocated historic buildings, and Durty Nelly’s pub in the shadow of the keep - five minutes from Shannon Airport.
Ennis - County Clare’s market town with medieval lanes, a Franciscan friary at its centre, and traditional music running in pubs most nights.
Doolin - Three hamlets north of the cliffs with the Aran Islands ferry pier and sessions at Gus O’Connor’s - the north end of the same coastal walk this tour follows.
