12 Things to Do at the Cliffs of Moher and Around County Clare
The Cliffs of Moher get all the postcards, and fair enough — 214 metres of black-and-ochre rock dropping straight into the Atlantic will do that — the same sheer-cliff drama that pulls travellers to Portugal's Algarve coast. But treat the cliffs as a single stop and you'll miss the whole point. This corner of County Clare packs sea stacks, prehistoric tombs, trad-music pubs, surf beaches and boat trips into a stretch of the Wild Atlantic Way you can cover from one base. Here's how to spend your time well.
1. Climb O'Brien's Tower first thing
Start your day at O'Brien's Tower, the round stone lookout built in 1835 at the cliffs' highest point. For about €4 (roughly $4.30) you climb up for the classic panorama toward the Aran Islands and Galway Bay. It's the single most photographed spot on the whole site.
Which is exactly why you go early. By 11AM this platform is shoulder-to-shoulder with coach groups. Get here for opening, get your photo, then move on before the buses land.
2. Walk out toward Hag's Head
The paved viewing platforms are the appetiser. The real cliffs are on the trail. From the visitor centre, head south along the clifftop path toward Hag's Head and the crowds evaporate within ten minutes. This is where you get the wild, undressed version — the full curve of the cliff face, the sea stacks, the wind coming off the ocean.
The full Doolin-to-Hag's-Head coastal walk runs about 8 km one way (allow 2-3 hours) and it's completely free. Wear proper shoes. And stay well back — the edge is unfenced, eroding, and unforgiving. No photo is worth stepping over a warning sign.
3. Take the puffin cruise from Doolin Pier
You can't grasp the scale of these cliffs from the top. You have to see them from the water. The Cliffs of Moher cruise from Doolin Pier (roughly €25-35, about $27-38, running March to October, around an hour) sails right under the 214-metre face and past An Branán Mór, the towering free-standing sea stack.
Come in late spring or early summer and the ledges are alive with puffins, plus razorbills and guillemots — the same North Atlantic seabird show that draws birders to the seabird cliffs of the Azores. It can get rough out there — pack a waterproof and something warm, and skip it if you're prone to seasickness on a big swell.
4. Go inside the domed Visitor Experience
It's easy to breeze past the Cliffs of Moher Visitor Experience, but the grass-roofed dome built into the hillside is worth an hour — the exhibits on the cliffs' geology and seabird colonies genuinely add to what you're looking at. Admission is about €12 ($13) per person and includes the car park and platforms.
Book a timed ticket online before you arrive. It's cheaper than paying at the gate, and aiming for before 11AM or after 4PM dodges both the crowds and the peak-price tiers.
5. Spend a night in Doolin for a trad session
Don't just day-trip the cliffs — stay the night in Doolin, ten minutes north, one of the true homes of Irish traditional music. Its three famous session pubs — Gus O'Connor's, McGann's and McDermott's — run free, informal music most nights, usually kicking off around 9PM.
Buy a drink, don't talk over the musicians, and don't request pop songs. Order the seafood chowder while you're at it (about €9, roughly $10). In summer, grab a seat by 9PM before the room fills.
6. Explore the Burren and Poulnabrone dolmen
Just inland lies the Burren, a surreal grey moonscape of cracked limestone pavement laced with rare wildflowers. It looks lunar and it's utterly free to wander. The star is Poulnabrone, a portal tomb over 5,000 years old standing alone on the bare rock — go early for photos without a crowd.
Pair it with Caherconnell Stone Fort and its working-sheepdog demonstrations (around €6-10, about $6.50-11) for a half-day loop that's a genuine highlight for all ages.
7. Duck underground at Doolin Cave
A few minutes from the village, Doolin Cave holds the Great Stalactite — over 7 metres long, one of the longest free-hanging stalactites in Europe. The guided tour runs about €15 ($16) and takes roughly an hour.
It's cool down there year-round, so bring a light jacket. And it's a smart rainy-day card to have up your sleeve, since Clare weather does what it likes.
8. Take a surf lesson at Lahinch
Lahinch, fifteen minutes south, is one of Ireland's best surf beaches — a Blue Flag strand with reliable Atlantic rollers that wouldn't feel out of place off the Canary Islands. Beginner lessons with Ben's Surf Clinic or the Lahinch Surf School run about €35 (roughly $38) including wetsuit and board.
The water is cold. It's always cold. That's part of the deal, and the après-surf coffee on the promenade hits all the better for it.
9. Ferry out to the Aran Islands
From Doolin, ferries cross to the Aran Islands. Skip the paid combo bus tours that rush you around — take the Doolin ferry to Inis Mór (about €35 return, roughly $38), hire a bike by the pier (around €15/day, about $16), and pedal to Dún Aonghasa, a 3,000-year-old stone fort perched on a 100-metre clifftop.
Short on time? The smaller Inis Oírr is a 30-minute crossing (about €25 return, $27) and holds a rusted shipwreck, a 14th-century castle ruin and a white-sand beach — a quieter, gentler island day.
10. Eat at Vaughan's Anchor Inn in Liscannor
Clare eats well, and Vaughan's Anchor Inn in Liscannor — ten minutes from the cliffs — is the seafood benchmark, the equal of any harbour kitchen you'll find up in Bergen. The chowder, the Liscannor crab claws and the daily fish special (around €15-25, about $16-27) are worth planning a meal around.
Book ahead on summer evenings; it fills fast. This is the reward-yourself dinner after a long day on the trail.
11. Find St Brigid's Well near Liscannor
For something genuinely odd, stop at St Brigid's Well near Liscannor — a tiny holy well crammed floor-to-ceiling with votive offerings, statues and faded photographs left by generations of pilgrims. It's free, it takes ten minutes, and it's the kind of only-in-Ireland curiosity you won't find on the standard tour.
12. Drive the coast to Hag's Head car park
If you'd rather not walk the full 8 km, drive to the Hag's Head car park near Liscannor and take the short path out to the ruined Moher Tower. You get a quiet view back along the entire cliff face — no crowds, no admission, just the wind and the whole cliff line laid out in front of you.
It's the best free viewpoint most visitors never hear about.
Pro Tip
Rent a car and time the cliffs for the edges of the day. The buses out of Galway and Dublin arrive mid-morning and leave by late afternoon, so book a timed online ticket for before 11AM or after 4PM — you'll pay a lower entry tier and dodge the crush. The late slot is the winner: after 4PM the coaches clear out, prices drop, and the low western light on the 214-metre cliffs is unbeatable.
A rental car (about €45-70/day, roughly $49-76 from Shannon Airport, an hour away) lets you linger for that golden hour and detour through the Burren on your own clock. Reserve an automatic early — most cars here are manual — remember Ireland drives on the left, and keep Google Maps loaded with an offline map, because signal drops out on the narrow coastal roads.
