The Cliffs of Moher are one of those places you have to see to properly believe. Standing over 700 feet above the Atlantic along the coast of Clare, and formed some 320 million years ago, they’re part of the Burren and Cliffs of Moher UNESCO Global Geopark - and genuinely worth the journey from Dublin.
You’ll travel in a state-of-the-art Mercedes with your driver/guide, which means the journey itself is comfortable and the local knowledge keeps flowing throughout the day. The route to the west coast isn’t just about the destination either. Along the way you’ll take in coastal drives, sea views, and some well-chosen castle and monastery ruins that give you a real sense of Ireland’s Celtic, Christian and Medieval past.
Your guide can personalise the tour to suit your interests, so if there’s something specific you’d like to see or learn more about, just say the word.
Good to Know
Tour duration is 10 hours
Travel is in a private Mercedes with a driver/guide throughout
The guide can tailor stops and pace to your preferences
Free cancellation available
Local Tips
The Cliffs of Moher are best experienced in the morning before the large tour coaches arrive - your private start time from Dublin means you can aim to reach the site early and have the paths to yourselves before midday crowds build.
The wind at the cliff edge is no joke even in summer - a light waterproof and a hat that won’t blow off are worth packing regardless of the forecast.
The Burren, which your route passes through, rewards a slow pace. If your guide offers a stop among the limestone pavement, take it - it genuinely looks like nowhere else in Ireland.
Ask your guide about the castle stops en route; the Burren and mid-Clare coastline have some lesser-known tower houses that rarely make the headlines but are worth the ten-minute detour.
Liscannor is the village at the southern base of the Cliffs of Moher trail, eight kilometres south of the visitor centre. The clifftop path from Hag’s Head starts on the coast road above Liscannor - walkers who do the full cliff route end up here, not at the car park. Vaughan’s Anchor Inn on Main Street is the Michelin-recommended seafood stop for the area, run by the same family since 1979.
Doolin sits six kilometres north of the cliffs, where the coastal path ends at a working pier with ferries to the Aran Islands. The music reputation is earned - Gus O’Connor’s on Fisher Street has run trad sessions since 1832, and Homestead Cottage nearby earned a Michelin star within seven months of opening in 2023.
Ballyvaughan is the village at the northern edge of the Burren, where the limestone pavement meets Galway Bay. If your route takes in the Burren, Monk’s Pub at the harbour does chowder the village is known for, and O’Loclainn’s Whiskey Bar - seven generations of the same family, a back-room with bottles from distilleries that closed in the 1970s - opens when it opens.
Lisdoonvarna is ten minutes inland from Doolin on the R480, at the Burren edge. It’s a spa town with four naturally warm mineral springs still bubbling, and the R480 south from here down to the coast is one of the best scenic roads in the west - grey stone walls, limestone country, the cliffs thirty minutes below.
Nearby on IrelandMe
Liscannor - the back-door cliff village where the Hag’s Head trail starts; Vaughan’s Anchor Inn has been Michelin-recommended for years and still puts the best seafood in the area on a plate
Doolin - three hamlets and four pubs north of the cliffs, where Gus O’Connor’s has held trad sessions since 1832 and the ferry to Inis Oírr leaves from the pier twenty minutes away
Ballyvaughan - where the Burren meets the bay; Monk’s at the harbour for chowder, and O’Loclainn’s for a whiskey from a bottle you won’t find anywhere else
Lisdoonvarna - the Burren spa town with four warm mineral springs and the R480, one of Clare’s best scenic drives, dropping to the coast from its doorstep
