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Private Chauffeur Cliffs of Moher Tour & Galway from Dublin
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From €1350 per person
The Cliffs of Moher are one of those places that genuinely lives up to its reputation. Rising from the Atlantic to over 700 feet at O’Brien’s Tower and running for almost 14 kilometres (8 miles) along the Clare coast, they’re part of the Burren and Cliffs of Moher UNESCO Global Geopark and home to around 20 species of seabirds. The cliffs have appeared in Harry Potter, The Princess Bride, Leap Year, and other films - but they’re more impressive in person than on any screen.
This private chauffeur tour departs Dublin early (starting at 8am or earlier, depending on the season and daylight) and covers the Cliffs of Moher, the surrounding Burren landscape, Doolin village, a stop for lunch, and the coastal route around Galway on the return. On the way back, there’s a quick stop at Seán’s Bar in Athlone - the oldest pub in Europe, dating to AD 900.
The full day runs 8 to 9 hours. Galway city can be added as an optional extra at €100 per hour for 2 to 3 additional hours.
The Cliffs of Moher admission is €15 per adult (€7 if booked online the day before) - this is not included in the tour price.
Dublin to the Cliffs of Moher (3 hours 15 minutes) - An early start from Dublin heading west into County Clare.
The Cliffs of Moher (1 hour) - Walk the safe, paved pathways along the cliff edge. The cliffs were formed over 320 million years ago, built from layers of sandstone, siltstone, and shale. At O’Brien’s Tower they rise to over 700 feet, looking out over the open Atlantic. The Cliffs run for nearly 14 kilometres and form part of the Burren UNESCO Global Geopark.
Lunch and the Doolin area (approximately 1 hour) - Doolin is a good lunch stop and sits close to several interesting spots. Doolin Cave (also known as Pól an Ionáin) features the Great Stalactite - the largest free-hanging stalactite in Europe and the third largest in the world, formed over 350 million years. There’s a guided underground tour and a farmland nature trail above ground. Nearby attractions include Fanore Blue Flag Beach, the spa town of Lisdoonvarna, the coastal resort of Lahinch, and various Burren monuments.
The Galway coastal route (1 hour) - The tour follows the coast around the edge of Galway, passing through countryside that takes in mountains, rivers, lakes, dry stone walls, castle ruins, and Atlantic shoreline. Galway city itself can be added as an optional extra at €100 per hour.
Seán’s Bar, Athlone (15 minutes) - A quick stop at the oldest pub in Europe, dating to AD 900. Seán’s Bar is listed in both Lonely Planet’s “25 of the Most Incredible Bars in the World” and “50 Bars to Blow Your Mind”. You can still see the wattle and wicker walls on display, and there’s live music most nights.
Return to Dublin (1 hour 20 minutes) - Back to Dublin in the early evening.
Book the Cliffs of Moher admission online the day before. The admission drops from €15 to €7 per adult if you book online in advance. On a busy summer day the car parks fill quickly - your chauffeur will handle parking logistics, but pre-booking your ticket means you walk straight to the cliff paths rather than queuing at the ticket desk.
Doolin lunch: the pubs are the right call. Doolin is three hamlets - the Harbour, Fisher Street, and Roadford - and all four of its pubs serve food. Gus O’Connor’s on Fisher Street (running since 1832) does a seafood chowder worth stopping for, and it sits close enough to the cliff walk that you can combine lunch with the view. The session pub tradition in Doolin is real - the Russell brothers kept the local trad style alive here through the lean decades, and the music reputation is earned. If your schedule allows a slightly longer lunch break, Doolin is the place to take it.
Lisdoonvarna is worth a ten-minute detour. Ten minutes inland from Doolin, Lisdoonvarna is a Victorian spa town built around four naturally warm mineral springs that still bubble up today. It’s quiet on most days (September is the exception, when the Matchmaking Festival brings the whole town to organised chaos). The road south from Lisdoonvarna to Doolin on the R480 is one of the best scenic drives in the west - grey limestone walls, sparse fields, goats - and is the kind of road that makes the Burren make sense.
Fanore is a quieter cliff alternative. If your chauffeur is flexible about routing and the Cliffs of Moher visitor centre feels busy, Fanore beach is 15 minutes north of Doolin where the Burren meets the sea. It’s a Blue Flag beach backed by limestone pavement, quiet most of the year, with the kind of Atlantic exposure the Burren is famous for. It works well as a brief stop on the route north toward Galway.
At Seán’s Bar in Athlone, the 15 minutes is real. Athlone is a full river town with Michelin-recognised restaurants (Thyme has held its Bib Gourmand for eight years running) and a Norman castle, but this tour stops for 15 minutes. Use it at Seán’s Bar - Guinness World Records confirmed it the oldest pub in Ireland in 2004, and you can see the wattle-and-wicker section of the original wall behind glass. Order a pint, look at the wall, get back in the car. That’s the Athlone version of this day.