Dublin to Cliffs of Moher Day Trip
One of Ireland’s most popular tourist destinations is the Cliffs of Moher; a natural beauty spanning around 14km in length and around 200m in height in the west of Ireland. If you are in Ireland, you can easily make a day trip from anywhere given the size of the country. I made a day trip from Dublin to Cliffs of Moher. While you can go in different ways such as car, bus or train/bus, or even cycle if you are adventurous, my friend and I opted to go with Finn McCools Tours booked via GetYourGuide. The reason for opting is that I was not comfortable driving long distances all alone (like Dublin to Cliffs of Moher being almost 250 km one way), my friend did not know how to drive, and both of us prefered to see some other places on the way as part of the trip in addition to some history and cultural lessons from our tour guide, Daniel/David.
Kilmacduagh Monastery
We departed around 7 AM in the morning from Dublin city center and made our first stop at Kilmacduagh Monastery in County Galway. It dates back to as early as 7th century and is well preserved I must say.
Cliffs of Moher
About a few kilometers from Kilmacduagh Monastery is the famous Cliffs of Moher. The stunning beauty that you see here below.
It is super nice to just sit there or walk around, hear the sound of the waves, feel the tranquil atmosphere. Be careful when you see some people sitting on some of the grass areas; it is forbidden as it is the habitat for many birds as said by one of the officials there. The walk along the Cliffs of Moher is divided into two parts: the safe zone and the danger zone. The danger zone is where you do not have any barricates, the surface can be slippery, some parts of the way can be super narrow; one silly adventurous move and you may disappear instantly. The danger zone typically looks like the picture below here. So, be careful, especially while taking pictures by standing on the grass and any strong wind blowing.
The Burren
From the cliffs, we headed to another beautiful place nearby called the Burren, a region in County Clare, which is limestone paradise formed by geological activities formed millions of years ago. One needs to be careful while walking or running around here as the surface is far from even.
I would also like to say that I am a very big fan of drives along the coastlines, the drive along West Ireland seeing over the Atlantic is a beautiful sight in itself.
Galway
From the Burren, we went to Galway, a really nice little place. While we did not get really excited at any particular things to see, just walking around the streets of Galway and soaking into the vibe of the place felt really nice.
After a bit of walking, we spotted this cafe called Java’s and chose to try it out. The lady there was super super friendly and welcoming. The crepes were really good in addition too. Sorry, I did not take pictures inside as I was busy hogging my crepe. You can check out some pictures online though.
Finally, as our trip was concluding and we were heading back to Dublin, our tour guide, Daniel took out his guitar and sang two songs for us. He also taught us when to clap or shout out a few words to create a lovely atmosphere inside the bus as we were all singing along with him. I fell in love with Irish music during my trip.
Here is the first song:
Here is the second one, perhaps my favorite of the two:
And here is one more that I found:
In addition to Daniel, a big shoutout to David too, our bus driver. If Daniel and David are reading this, thank you both of you for the pleasant trip.