How To Visit The Cliffs Of Moher From Galway (& Actually See Them!)

If visiting the Cliffs of Moher in Ireland is top on your list of things to do, you should ultimately reconsider your decision…

But, after that if, you still want to see them, then here are some tips for visiting.

Like how, and why, you should visit the Cliffs of Moher from Galway (or a nearby town or city) so you increase your chances of actually seeing them!

Psst! This blog post contains affiliate links in it which sends me a bit of extra money if you use them… at no extra cost to you!

Why You Should Reconsider Visiting The Cliffs Of Moher..

Don’t hate me for saying this, but at the end of the day, the Cliffs of Moher are really just cliffs (and not even the tallest in the world, Europe, or even in Ireland!).

They’re also weather dependant, and just all around not the easiest to get to from Dublin. Plus, there isn’t that much there other than the main viewpoint of the cliffs.

But I won’t go into too much detail, you can read more about why I skipped the Cliffs my first time in Ireland here (and had zero regrets!) in my post here.

If You Still Want To Visit The Cliffs, Do It Properly…

There are a few things you can do so that you raise your chances of actually seeing the cliffs.

Be Flexible On When You Can Visit

Your flexibility is THE MOST important factor in being able to see the Cliffs of Moher on a nice day.

Don’t book anything you can’t cancel or reschedule in case of the weather.

And it’s important to have a few days in your schedule that you can move around so you’ll be able to visit them on the best one.

Stay In A Closer City / Town (Other Than Dublin)

The Ciffs of Moher are pretty far from Dublin – about a 3 hour drive.

So you really want to stay as close to the cliffs as possible. This makes your life while travelling a lot easier…

You’ll Have Less Driving In One Day

By staying in a nearby town or city, you avoid driving potentially 6 hours in one day… which is what it would be from Dublin to the Cliffs of Moher in one day.

And to make matters worse, the driving conditions are not what you might be used to in North America.

You’ll Have More Time At The Cliffs Rather Than On The Road

If you’re going from Dublin to Cliffs of Moher, most of your time is spent on the road rather than actually at the cliffs.

Not that you need that long at the Cliffs, but you also don’t want to spend an entire day in the car.

So, the closer you stay to the Cliffs, the longer you can actually spend at the Cliffs instead of on the road driving.

Gives You Even More Flexibility When You Can Visit

Another perk of staying closer to the cliffs is that you can actually visit at off peak times (early in the morning, or later in the evening).

That means less people will be there!! And less people anywhere always leads to a better experience!

Plus, depending on how close you’re staying to the Cliffs, you might even be able to stay for sunset. If the weather permits, these will be some of the best views of Ireland the Cliffs of Moher!

And, now you can also be more flexible based on the weather. The weather changes so quickly in Ireland, from hour to hour. This way, you aren’t attached to visiting at a certain time of day.

You can wake up, see what the weather is like and then change your plans if you need to. Whereas if you’re visiting the Cliffs of Moher from Dublin, you’re driving and hoping for the best when you arrive.

Where Can You Stay That’s Close To The Cliffs Of Moher?

There are a few nearby towns and cities that are A LOT closer than Dublin to the Cliffs of Moher.

If you’re able to, you can stay right next to the cliffs in Doolin. One of the top places to stay with an ocean view is at the Atlantic View House, see availability on Booking.com here.

These will have limited options and be the first to book up.

The Cliffs Of Moher From Galway Or Limerick

Galway and Limerick are the closest cities to the Cliffs of Moher. They’re an hour and a half and an hour and 15 minutes away from the Cliffs, respectively.

Both cities are a bit larger so you’ll have no problems finding food or hotel options. Plus, if you do have to rearrange your plans you’ll have some things to do in the city itself.

We opted to stay in Galway because it cuts the drive to the Cliffs in half from Dublin and figured there was a bit more to do there.

To be honest though, it was also the only place we were able to find a reasonable hotel (we stayed at the Harbour Hotel in Galway – and would recommend it, see it on Booking.com here).

We rather enjoyed staying in Galway, it was on our list of places to visit in Irealnd, so it all worked out. We didn’t feel like we had to go too much out of the way to see the Cliffs.

Another benefit of staying in Galway is that there are organized tours to Cliffs of Moher tours from Galway (like this one on Viator), as well as direct shuttles if you aren’t renting a car. (And there are also direct buses to Galway from Dublin – see Citylink here.)

There are also organized tours from Limerick to the Cliffs of Moher as well – check them out here.

What To See On The Drive From Galway To The Cliffs Of Moher

Another benefit of seeing the Cliffs of Moher from Galway is that there are some stops you can check out on the way.

First, the road to the Cliffs of Moher from Galway is the Wild Atlantic Way – which is a top thing to do in Ireland. The road takes you through different towns along the coast.

You’ll also pass by some ruins on the drove, most notably, Dunguaire Castle which is open to tour. Find out more here.

Before actually making it to the Cliffs of Moher, you’ll pass through the village of Doolin which is home to the Doolin Caves. Go underground to see Europe largest stalactite! Find out more here.

Book An Organized Tour To Visit Ireland The Cliffs Of Moher

If you aren’t renting a car in Ireland (which I recommend not renting one if you don’t have to), then you can book organized tours to the cliffs.

If you’re coming from Dublin, Galway or Limerick, as I said, there are organized tours that leave from every city.

The only caveat with booking an organized tour is that you should try to book them with cancellation in case of bad weather.

Just in case, you want to be able to change your dates when you can see the weather forecast. Or just accept that there’s a chance of you’ll be visiting in bad weather.

Do You Need A Ticket To See The Cliffs?

Technically, you don’t actually need a ticket to see the Cliffs of Moher.

The cliffs are open to the public, it’s parking that isn’t. So, what you’re really paying for is parking at the visitors centre.

And as it turns out, the visitors centre is conveniently located at the main viewpoint of the cliffs. It’s also the safest place to see the cliffs, and so there’s really no point in going anywhere else.

Should You Book Your Ticket In Advance?

It’s cheaper if you book your ticket online in advance, but you also risk having to change the date and buying another pass for another day if the weather turns out to be bad…

From what I could tell, the tickets don’t actually sell out (and I visited during high season).

In our case, we showed up with purchased tickets for the following day, but they still validated them. So we didn’t have to pay twice.

Perhaps we were lucky, or this is their policy. We also didn’t try to visit at peak hours, we visited later in the afternoon when it was emptying out.

What Time Of Day Should You Visit The Cliffs?

When you book your tickets online, you will have a choice between four time slots throughout of day.

You can choose the morning (8:00 – 11:00), the afternoon (11:00-2:00), late afternoon (2:00 – 4:00), or evening (4:00-9:00). The price of the ticket varies slightly based on the time of day.

Originally, I booked the morning ticket (8:00 – 11:00 A.M.) but we ended up showing up the day before in the evening instead (after 4:00 P.M.).

Based off of their online site, the morning and the evening are the least busy times (which makes sense).

The benefit of going in the evening is that you might be able to stay for sunset. But, if you’re visiting in the summer, sunset is pretty late. And! You do not want to be driving back in the dark.

When we visited the shops were already closed (at 5:00 P.M.), one of the cafes was about to close, but the other restaurant was just opening up. So you still at least have a food option!

Are There Free Access To The Cliffs?

As I said, you don’t actually need to buy a ticket to see the cliffs. There are free access to the cliffs on the South side (and probably the North too, but we didn’t make it there).

How it works on the South side is that the Cliffs are open to the public. We actually started here by accident.

It’s a bit of an odd Irish ordeal though. There’s a small, family run parking lot that charges a fiver to park here (€5).

So it’s not completely free, but it’s cheaper than paying per person at the visitors centre. If no one’s there to collect payment, there’s a box you can drop it in. And they even have bathrooms you can use.

From the lot, it’s about a 10-15 minute walk to the cliffs. You’ll see the tower ruins here up close and the cliffs from the other side.

This is also where the cliffs walk starts and takes you all the way to the visitors centre. It’s about an hour away… along the sketchy cliff wall.

So we decided to turn back and drive to the visitors centre instead!

What To Do At The Cliffs – The Visitors Centre

The Visitors Centre is in the middle of the cliffs and this is where the money shot of the cliffs are. The entire walk from one end to the other is only 25 minutes.

In this area there are 2 restaurants, souvenir shops, a small exhibit, and O’Brien’s Tower.

The museum exhibit has some nice photographs of the cliffs and the birds that live here. But, the rest of the exhibit seemed best enjoyed by family with kids.

You can go inside O’Brien’s Tower, although it’s only one group at a time, so there might be a very long wait.

And then there’s the cliff walk, that actually isn’t a part of the visitors centre but most people will do…

The Cliff Walk – At Your Own Risk

The cliff walk connects the Irish village of Liscannor and Doolin, with the visitors centre in the middle.

The cliffs walk on either side of the visitors center is at your own risk! They warn you of this risk before you leave the Cliffs of Moher experience, but that doesn’t seem to stop most people.

This is far from a safe experience. These are seaside cliffs, with a very large drop below you.

The ground is also quite unstable, with uneven terrain and rocks you can trip on, to parts literally falling off below you.

Plus all this combined with gusts of wind pushing you towards the edge…

Let’s just say, it can end very poorly.

How Long Do You Need At The Cliffs?

The main attraction at the Cliffs of Moher is one viewpoint (which is at the cisitors centre).

The visitors center is not a large space though. If you want to walk to all the three main viewpoints, it’s about a 25 minute walk. Of course, this doesn’t include stopping for pictures along the way.

We spent about 2 hours at the cliffs, but that was with also stopping at the South side – which you really don’t need to do.

All the shops were closed by the time we visited, and we didn’t come for a meal.

I would say if the weather is nice though, you can spend longer but I would recommend packing a picnic lunch that you can enjoy. But it might honestly be way too windy to even enjoy a lunch outside at the Cliffs…

And I would stay away from the cliff walk entirely…

What You Need For A Day At The Cliffs

I would recommend bringing some warmer layers with you… even if you’re traveling in the middle of the summer.

The weather at the cliffs can be quite extreme to say the least.

I was very happy to be wearing my waterproof and windproof jacket, with a hood. That wind is harsh and was giving me a headache standing by the edge. I would have loved to also just have a hat with me.

As I said, if it’s a nice day outside you’ll want to take advantage of the nice weather, so you can pack a picnic lunch (or pre-order one to pick up when you’re there).

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Last update on 2024-05-08 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API