← All Clare tours via Viator · From €130 · 13 hours 
From Dublin: Cliffs of Moher, Boat Tour & Ailwee Caves
Free cancellation 18 traveller reviews Booked securely via Viator
Check availability & prices →
From €130 per person
Most people see the Cliffs of Moher from the top. This trip gives you both perspectives - a full hour on the water at the base of the cliffs, looking up at 214 metres of sheer rock face, followed by a walk along the clifftop paths with views out over the wild Atlantic.
You’ll travel from Dublin in a comfortable air-conditioned coach with a professional driver-guide, taking a scenic route that includes a photo stop at Dunguaire Castle on the way to the Burren. First up is Ailwee Caves - Ireland’s premier cave system in the heart of the Burren, with a spectacular guided tour through stalactites, stalagmites, and underground formations that will genuinely surprise you. After a lunch stop at Fanore Village (not included), you board the boat for a 45-minute cruise along the base of the cliffs. Then it’s up top for an hour at the Cliffs of Moher, including entry to the interpretive centre.
The cliffs stretch for 8 kilometres along the Clare coast and reach 214 metres at their highest point - once thought to be the edge of the world.
Meeting point: Molly Malone Statue, Suffolk Street, Dublin. Please be there 10 minutes before your scheduled departure.
The Fanore lunch stop has one option. Fanore is a very small coastal village - population under 200 - sitting at the edge of the Burren where the limestone meets the sea. O’Donoghue’s Bar is the single pub, used by walkers, surfers, and farmers alike. It’s genuinely good in the way that a single pub in a small place has to be. There’s no café or restaurant alternative, so if O’Donoghue’s is your plan, settle in rather than looking for something else.
Ailwee Caves are at the foot of Corkscrew Hill in Ballyvaughan. The cave stays at around 10°C year-round - dress in layers you can add back on after the tour. The Burren plateau above the cave is breezy in any season; sturdy footwear is sensible if you want to walk any of the limestone pavement nearby. Ballyvaughan itself is tiny but the harbour and Monk’s Pub are ten minutes’ drive down the hill if you had more time - the chowder and bay views make it worth knowing about for a future trip.
The boat gives you scale the clifftop doesn’t. From the top of the cliffs you look out over the ocean. From the water you look up at 214 metres of sheer rock with seabirds circling the face - razorbills, guillemots, and puffins in season. The two perspectives are genuinely different experiences, which is what makes this version of the tour worth the extra cost over a standard cliff visit.
The boat tour is weather-dependent. The coast below the Cliffs of Moher is exposed Atlantic water. The boat tour runs when conditions allow, but swell and wind can cancel it. Check with your guide on departure day if the weather looks uncertain. The tour’s strong rating suggests the operators cancel responsibly rather than going out in poor conditions.
Liscannor is the village at the southern end of the cliff range. The tour doesn’t stop there, but it’s worth knowing: the coastal path from the car park north of the village runs out to Hag’s Head - the far end of the same cliffs you’ll see from the boat and the clifftop. No entry fee, fewer crowds, and Vaughan’s Anchor Inn has been serving seafood from local boats since 1979. If you come back to Clare, start there rather than the visitor centre.
Doolin is six kilometres north of the Cliffs of Moher visitor centre. The tour doesn’t visit it, but the village is the northern end of the coastal cliff walk and worth knowing as an overnight base if you want more time on this coastline. Gus O’Connor’s pub has been running trad sessions since 1832, and the ferry pier connects to the Aran Islands - Inis Oírr in twenty minutes.