For Americans traveling overseas for the first time, a great place to begin is a visit to Ireland, and a visit to Ireland is not complete without a visit to the Cliffs of Moher. Our visit there in 2015 is one of our great memories from our Ireland trip.
Before we talk about the cliffs, let’s talk about Ireland itself. Ireland is a great country to go for one’s first overseas travel for a number of reasons. First they speak English here, well a form of English. In general an American shouldn’t have too much trouble communicating here.
Secondly, it is a beautiful country. Many of the places we have visited over the years have been urban areas. Major cities like Madrid, Zurich, Hong Kong or Sydney have beckoned us to visit. While Ireland does have the city of Dublin, one doesn’t go to Ireland just to visit the city. Since it is an island, it is surrounded by water with interesting and beautiful coastlines. The countryside is also quite green, and historic places are easy to find so what’s not to like?
OK, there is one challenge for Americans, driving. Since the countryside is the place to be, one needs to drive. For Americans that means driving on the wrong, I mean, left side of the road. As if that weren’t challenging enough, the roads are generally narrow with little room for error on the edges unless you want to hit a stone fence. Ireland is the only foreign country where we have rented a car. In researching it, the recommendation was to get the complete insurance even though it’s expensive. We did and were happy we did when we discovered that somehow we had lost a hubcap along the way. The insurance covered it with no hassle.
While we visited a number of areas in Ireland, the Cliffs of Moher were certainly at the top of the list. They are along the western coast of Ireland, and as is often the case with natural areas, it is not really close to any major cities. However, we did find a place to stay in the the colorful village of Lisdoonvarna. Here we found a few hotels and restaurants as well as a much appreciated laundry service.
We stayed at the Rathbaun Hotel. I don’t normally note hotels in my blog, but this was an interesting hotel. First a family ran the hotel, and I say that literally. There were a number of older youth who might be at the desk or doing cleaning or helping in the restaurant area. They were all very friendly and helpful. Each night there was Irish music provided in the restaurant, and some of the family participated in that as well. Speaking of the Irish music, it was entertaining until you wanted to sleep. Our room was at the front of the hotel so we didn’t hear it much, but my daughter’s room was further back, and the music kept her awake.
Another place that caught our attention was the Matchmaker Bar in town. My wife and single daughter found it quite amusing. My daughter didn’t visit by the way.
The Cliffs of Moher are part of the Burren and Cliffs of Moher Geopark. There is an entrance fee to park and visit. A visitor center provides a number of amenities along with informational exhibits about the cliffs. The nice thing is they designed the visitor center to be sort of underground so it doesn’t really stand out much to detract from the natural surroundings.
However, one man-made feature does stand out at the Cliffs, O’Brien’s Tower. Cornelius O’Brien built it in 1835, and it is the highest point on the cliffs. However, the view from the top is really not any more spectacular than the view from below. The exterior view of the tower on the cliffs is actually more interesting.
While there is a paved area with rails around it near the entrance to the cliffs, the real experience is to walk. The Cliffs of Moher Coastal walk goes in both directions from the visitor center winding its way along the cliffs for a total of about 11 miles. The ending points are Doolin and Hag’s Head. One can easily spend three or four hours just walking along the cliffs and the various views that unfold before you. The trails can be narrow, muddy, or rocky and will sometimes get fairly close to the edge with no rails to protect so caution is advised.
The cliffs are full of birds who flock here. There are a variety of birds, but it is hard to see them all from up above. However, the local cattle are easy to see as you pass by their pastures.
After we spent a few hours walking around the cliffs, we thought it would be fun to take a trip out to one of the islands we could see from the cliffs. We went down to the village of Doolin for tickets and after a sales pitch decided to buy a ticket not just to the island but also for a boat tour along the base of the Cliffs of Moher.
The tour of the cliffs was a memorable trip to say the least. It was a small boat and a windy day. The water was choppy and our little boat was going in all directions. It felt more like a carnival ride than a tour. Note the sudden change on my daughter’s face in the photos below. The photos were taken just seconds apart.
Despite the thrill of the boat, the view from below was really amazing and certainly a different perspective. Now we had a better view of the birds and the height of the cliffs was dramatically indicated. We were glad we took that unplanned adventure.
The trip over to Inisheer Island was much calmer as we were on a larger boat. The island was quite interesting. There was a village near the boat dock, but most of the rest of the island was a series of stone fences which provided pasture land for some of the livestock as well as pathways between the various properties. There was also the ruins of a castle apparently built by the same man who had built the tower at the Cliffs of Moher. Of course there was a panoramic if somewhat hazy view of the Cliffs of Moher.
One of our favorite stories from this little jaunt pertains to a pub. I was very hungry and thirsty so we stopped at a local pub to get something to eat and drink. I ordered a ginger ale for myself and daughter. When it was given to us, it was a tiny bottle holding only about three swallows. We thought it was so funny to have such a little bottle served. I guess the only thing they serve in pints is the local brew.
Ireland is definitely a land of beauty, and this is only a small part of what the country has to offer. Have you had a chance to visit Ireland? What was your impression of the Cliffs of Moher? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comment section below.
Credits: Traffic photos, photos of the town of Lisdoonvarna, the photo of the boat trip venders and the bottle of ginger are all taken by Silvette Lee
I fully sympathize with your driving experience. I read everything Rick Steves had to say about driving on the left and thought I was prepared when I went to England. The big multi-lane highways and even the roundabouts were ok, but nothing can prepare you for those narrow little streets.
It can certainly be nerve racking which is why I let my daughter do most of the driving, but towards the end she had enough and made me drive. 😏
Had not heard of this place. Have not been to Ireland but would like to! This will definitely be on the list! Thanks! Great pics!
Jeff, thanks for the feedback. I hope you get a chance to visit Ireland. It is a beautiful country, and you’ll feel right at home in the drizzle.
Thanks for the blog on Ireland, I enjoyed it a lot. I do have some observations of my own to share. We, too, rented a car and we agreed after it was all said and done that it was largely a mistake. Reason being, everywhere you drive in Ireland, the stone walls on either side of the road pretty much block your view of the countryside. You can literally drive for miles catching only fleeting glimpses of what are undoubtedly beautiful scenes. A travel bus would be higher than the walls and offer unfettered viewing and that’s what we will do the next time we go. And that’s not to mention the whole “left side of the road” phenomenon. Being my first experience at doing this, I couldn’t turn off the tiny voice in the back of my mind screaming “you’re on the wrong side of the road!” With the very narrow roads and stone walls, there is literally no margin for error, and I will forever have imprinted in my mind the black Mercedes which approached us out of a tight corner at a very high rate of speed and was over the center line with no where to go to avoid him. I don’t know to this day how we avoided a head-on collision.
Our trip to the Cliffs of Mohr is memorable for different reasons. It was indeed great viewing, but it is likely we have never been as soaking wet as we were when we left the area. The rain blew horizontal out of nearly black rain clouds the entire two hours we were there and it sounded like (from comments made by staff) that it was considered a pretty normal state of affairs. On a return trip we will definitely watch the weather a bit more closely!
Denis, thanks for your great observations. Interesting point about seeing over the stone fences. I didn’t drive a lot in Ireland. My daughter did most of it. However, it is a little unnerving.
Weather is something to note. We in Seattle are often accused of being a rainy city, but our visit to Ireland happened in July, and it was often cool and windy. As you can see from the traffic photos, there was some rain. One just has to prepare for it.
I hope you get the opportunity to return.