Doolin & Cliffs of Moher, Ireland - May 7th to 11th, 2025

Doolin is a small village on the west coast of Ireland. It is a great base to explore the Cliffs of Moher, the Burren, and take ferries over to the Aran Islands of Inishmore, Inishmaan, and Inisheer. Although the village is small, there are several places to stay and plenty of places to eat and drink.

Wednesday was a long travel day for us, from Dingle to Doolin, both in Ireland. We started out around 10 am. Our first stop was in Blennerville to check out their windmill. The Blennerville Windmill is a fully restored 18th century windmill. The 6 euro admission included not only the working windmill, but also a small museum about Blennerville’s role as a famine emigrant port along with a model railway exhibition of the Tralee Dingle Narrow Gauge Railway. Unfortunately, there was no wind that day, so the windmill was not operating while we were there. However, it was still nice to tour it and learn how it works.

The emigrant museum focuses on the “Jeanie Johnston” ship (a replica of the ship was constructed in Blennerville and is currently moored in Dublin). Similar to the Dunbrody ship we visited in New Ross (Kilkenny, Ireland - April 22nd to 25th, 2025), the Jeanie Johnston was a cargo ship that hauled passengers to North America and hauled cargo back to Ireland during the Great Potato Famine, from 1845 to 1848. The Jeanie Johnston was unusual in that it had a doctor on board and no lives were lost on its voyages during the famine.

After spending over an hour at the windmill, we drove into the next town, Tralee (Trá Lí), for lunch. There was a place called the Cheese Shop that sounded interesting, so that’s where we went. It seemed to cater to vegetarians, with a Mediterranean vibe. Keith had the spinach soup with brown bread covered with hummus and a small container of olives. Ann got the schawarma wrap, which was vegan with potatoes, tomatoes, cucumbers and other items she couldn’t identify, all flavored with some wonderful spices. She paired the wrap with a vegan ratatouille salad. It was all very tasty.

From Tralee, we headed up to the Tarbert Ferry to avoid the heavy traffic through Limerick. The ferry cost 25 euros, one way. It was such a calm day that we sat outside on the ferry, soaking in the sun, with no jackets on, because there was no breeze. Ann just had a hiking shirt on and was comfortable.

We didn’t stop again until we reached our hotel, the Doolin Inn. By this time, it was after 4 pm, so our room was ready and waiting for us.

After dropping off our luggage, we walked down to the pier. We had reservations for a boat ride over to Inishmore on Saturday morning and wanted to understand all the details. We’d be staying on Inishmore for a night, so we needed to park the car at the pier for one night. There was plenty of paid parking at the pier, where you could pay to leave a vehicle up to one week. Perfect.

Nearby was Nagles Camping and Caravan Park. Being RV’ers, we couldn’t help but notice how nice the facilities looked there. Not only were there hookups, dump facilities, toilets, showers, playground, and laundry, there was also a fully equipped kitchen with cookers, microwave, toaster, kettle, fridge, and freezer. We could imagine ourselves enjoying camping there, but we would not enjoy driving a motorhome on the narrow roads of Ireland!

On the walk back to the hotel, we went to the Ivy Cottage for dinner. It was the nicest restaurant that we’ve been to in quite a while. Of course, the prices reflected that. But it was a nice change after all of the pub food we had been eating lately.

Keith had the catch of the day, which was halibut. It came with some caviar and a garden salad. Ann had the soup of the day, a Moroccan sweet potato soup, along with the goat cheese salad. The soup was spicy, with a wonderful blend of flavors.

Dessert was a sampler platter for two. The platter came with passion fruit cheesecake, vanilla panna cotta, sticky toffee pudding, and Irish black butter ice cream. It was all very delicious.

Breakfast Thursday morning was wonderful. The Doolin Inn had a larger menu than most of the places we’ve been to. Keith ordered the eggs benedict while Ann had the avocado and eggs. They were very nicely prepared.

Thursday was our Cliffs of Moher Experience. We started at the Visitor Center. Admission is charged at the parking booths and varies by the time of day and whether you pay in advance online or not. We didn’t pay in advance, but arrived before peak hours so we paid 15 euros for one adult and 12 euros for one senior (over 65).

Even though it wasn’t peak hours yet, the place was pretty busy. There were already about a dozen tour buses there and the large parking lot for cars felt like the parking for a large amusement park, with staff guiding you to your parking space.

The visitor center is built into the side of a hill, blending it into the scenery. There are shops, exhibits, a film, and a cafe inside. The exhibits explain the history of the area along with the local animal and plant life. The “4D” film includes wind and water effects, but we only felt the wind. We were a little disappointed with the film. It seemed more like Disney entertainment than informational, with a heavy use of CGI (computer generated imagery).

We were hoping to go on a long hike from the Cliffs of Moher Experience area, but the Cliff Walk was closed in both directions once you left the property, due to safety concerns. The property does contain about one kilometer along the cliffs, including O’Brian’s Tower. We walked the full length of the cliffs that were open.

There was a queue (line) to climb O’Brian’s Tower. We didn’t feel like it would be worth it as Rick Steves in his Ireland travel book claims the view from the tower is not that much different from the cliffs edge.

The Cliffs of Moher has large colonies of puffins at isolated parts of the cliffs. Ann was searching the cliffs for them. Then, south of the visitor center, she found them. They were in the grassy area on top of a small rock formation disconnected from the mainland. They were far enough away that you needed a power zoom camera or binoculars to clearly see them.

Since we were there in the morning, most of the cliffs were still in shadow. The sheer cliffs are 214 metres (702 feet) tall at their highest point. They are impressive, but we felt that the Kerry Cliffs are prettier and more dramatic (Portmagee & Skellig, Ireland - April 29th to May 1st, 2025).

After taking in the views from the cliffs, we went into the cafe at the visitor center for lunch. The cafe was a cafeteria style with a nice selection of options. Keith had the tomato soup while Ann ordered the bacon and cheese ciabatta. The sandwich was heated and served with a side of beets and mixed greens.

On the drive back to Doolin, we stopped at the gas station on the edge of town. Again, you pump first, then go inside to pay. This time it was not an automated payment machine inside, just a regular cash register (till) at a counter. Ann paid attention while Keith was pumping and noticed there were no squeegees or water to clean your windshield. There are not many bugs in Ireland, so the windshield was not very dirty, but Ann would have liked to clean it so she can get better pictures through the windshield.

After driving back to the Doolin Inn, we decided to try a hike from there. AllTrails listed a route from town (Doolin Cliffs to Luogh Point) that headed up along the cliffs. We ventured that way, to see how far we could get before the trail was closed.

The route started out on a narrow road, then turned onto a gravel road before reaching a hiking trail. At the start of the gravel road was a sign that the trail was only open for the next 5 kilometers (3 miles).

Once we reached the trail, there were nice views of the rocky coastline. Since we weren’t on the high cliffs yet, we could hear the ocean waves and see them crashing over the jagged shoreline. This was more enjoyable hiking for us than being up on the high cliffs. There were hardly any people around and we could enjoy the sounds of nature.

We could see Doonagore Castle not too far away to the east. It is a tower house built in the 16th century. It is used as a navigational point for boats approaching Doolin Pier.

The trail climbed up to some higher cliffs with some nice views. AllTrails calls this Luogh Point. A sign along the trail calls it Pat’s View. The actual point is closed, but where the now official trail comes closer to the cliffs again after the point, there is a wonderful view along the cliffs. Just below, in the grassier areas along the cliffs, are lots of puffins. They were closer than the ones we saw near the visitor center.

The trail was open for a little longer. We continued up another climb, to what looked like a concrete barn for livestock. From there, we could see that the trail headed over to the road. However, there was a distant view of O’Brian’s Tower and Hags Head, but you can’t really see the cliffs from there.

We decided to turn around, as the rest of the open trail heads away from the cliffs towards the road. Our recommendation is to turn around at Pat’s View unless you just want to get more exercise, because there are not many nice views after that.

By the time we returned to Doolin Inn, we had gone 10.3 kilometers (6.4 miles) with an elevation gain of 277 metres (909 feet) in three hours and 15 minutes. It was hike number 14 of our 52 Hike Challenge for 2025.

Just inside the Doolin Inn, there are three small bins for the guests. The first bin contains clean cloths to wipe off your muddy boots or shoes. The second bin is for used cloths and the third bin contains high visibility vests. The vests are for wearing while walking on the narrow roads. We’ve seen quite a few pedestrians wearing them. At first we thought they were road construction or maintenance crews, but then realized they were just pedestrians wanting to be more visible on the narrow roads. Hotel guests are asked to leave the used vests in their rooms before checking out.

After taking showers, we walked up to Fitz’s Pub for dinner. The menu was a little more upscale than we had seen so far at pubs. Ann had the lamp chops with vegetables while Keith had the vegetable tian. A tian is a French dish of thinly sliced vegetables that are baked in a shallow earthenware dish (also called a tian). Both dishes were tasty.

For dessert, we split the bread and butter pudding. Bread and butter pudding is a traditional British dish. Layers of buttered bread and raisins are covered with an egg custard and baked. It was served to us with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Very nice.

By this time, it was about 7 pm. We heard that Fitz’s Pub has live music a little earlier than most pubs in the area, but we couldn’t find information on how much earlier that would be. Typical pubs don’t start their live music until 9 pm or later. So we went into the bar section of Fitz’s Pub and ordered a couple of drinks. Ann had her usual pint of Rockshore Cider while Keith ordered a pint of the Dooliner Red Ale. At about 7:30 pm, two people arrived with what looked like musical instrument cases in hand. However, they sat down at the bar and ordered a pint along with some dinner. We left around 8 pm and there were still no signs that music would be starting soon. We guess if we want to hear live music, we have to stay up later. But that goes against our normal daily routine of starting to wind down at 9 pm and be in bed by 10 pm.

Friday we went for a drive through the Burren. The word Burren is derived from the Irish word Boirinn which means rocky district. The Burren is a large area of exposed limestone, created by glaciers about one million years ago and further exposed by deforestation by the Neolithic settlers around 4000 BC. The area is one of the best examples of glaciokarst landscape in the world. The limestone pavement, eroded with cracks and crevices is a unique landscape to see. What seems like a rather barren landscape is actually full of life. The plants and animals thrive in the rock fissures and depressions. Even though the Burren is only about 1% of the surface area of Ireland, it contains 75% of Ireland’s plant species.

The Burren is also criss-crossed by dry stone walls, both old and new. The oldest dating back to 4000 BC. Many of the walls were built by placing the stones vertically, as that makes the walls more resilient to the strong winds. The area is also dotted with stone artifacts, such as ring forts (cashels or cahers) and wedge tombs.

We started our drive of the Burren at the Burren Visitor Centre in Kilfenora. The centre has nice displays and a short film, giving us nice information about the area. In return, they ask for a donation of 5 to 10 euros per person. We were feeling a little groggy from all the walking we did the day before, so we stopped in the Visitor Centre Cafe for some caffeine. Keith had a cappuccino while Ann tried the Burren Fog. The fog contained Earl Gray tea, lavender, and vanilla, in addition to the steamed milk. Very tasty.

Behind the visitor center is the Kilfenora Cathedral, built between 1189 and 1200 A.D, and is in a partially ruined state. The graveyard contains the remains of three High Crosses. A fourth High Cross stands in a field between the cathedral and the modern Catholic Church.

From there, we continued on R476 to the Leamaneh Castle Ruins. The ruins are closed, but we got a picture of it from the road, where we turned onto R480.

Heading north, we stopped at the Caherconnell Stone Fort. There is an admission fee to see the fort, 10 euros per person for a self-guided tour. There was an option for a guided tour, but we declined. They also have a sheep dog demonstration, but we skipped that because we had already seen one back at Kissane Farms near Kenmare (Kenmare, Ireland - April 26th to 28th, 2025). The admission fee to the fort included a short film, which enhanced the experience.

After wandering around the fort on our own, we went into the cafe for lunch. Keith had the potato and leek soup while Ann opted for the cajun chicken wrap. They both hit the spot.

Just a little further up the road was the Poulnabrone Dolmen. It is a type of single chamber portal tomb. It dates back to about 3500 B.C. It is the best known of the 172 dolmens in Ireland. Three standing portal stones support a large horizontal capstone.

Behind the dolmen, we wandered around on top of the limestone pavement. You had to be careful not to twist an ankle navigating the uneven surfaces and cracks. Ann searched to see how many different types of flowers she could find hidden in the rock crevices.

After that, we continued north to N67 to return to Doolin. Along the way, N67 makes several hair pin turns as it leaves the glacier valley, called Corkscrew Hill. It felt like we were back driving in the Rocky Mountains.

After parking the car back at Doolin Inn, we walked down to the pier, about 2 kilometers away. Along the way, we stopped at the Doolin Ice Cream shop for a couple of cones. Ann had mint chip and cookie dough, while Keith had praline and vanilla.

We had a reservation for the 5:15 pm Cliffs of Moher cruise with the Doolin Ferry Company. We already had one reservation for the cruise on our way back from Inishmore on Sunday, but the weather forecast was not looking good for Sunday. It was calling for rain at first, but then it changed to just overcast. Either way, we decided to take advantage of the warm, sunny day on Friday and booked another cruise.

The cruise was fantastic. Seeing the cliffs from below gave us a much better appreciation of the cliffs than from above. Although, to be fair, we saw the cliffs from above in the morning, while they were still in shadow, so it wasn’t really a fair comparison. However, if you want to see the birds, especially the puffins, we felt that those were observed better from above. The boat really doesn’t get close enough to the cliffs to see the birds as well.

After the cruise, we stopped at Gus O’Conner’s Pub for dinner. The place was pretty crowded. Keith ordered the chicken wings, while Ann had one of the daily specials, breaded chicken with mash, veggies, and a pepper gravy. The chicken wings were pretty tasty. They used Frank’s Hot Sauce combined with a sweet chili sauce, making the wings both spicy and sweet.

For Keith’s daily beer, he chose the Cute Hoor by Heineken. He picked it because of the name, but it didn’t mean what he thought it meant. Cute hoor is Irish slang meaning a shrewd or crafty person.

Saturday we took the Doolin Ferry to the island of Inishmore, one of the Aran Islands. We had booked the 9 am ferry, but managed to squeeze in a quick breakfast at the Doolin Inn before checking out. We skipped the cooked breakfast and just had the cold portion. Doolin Inn has one of the best breakfasts that we’ve had so far this season, so it was hard to skip it. The cold portion included a fruit smoothie, yogurt with fruit and granola, a scone, a slice of brown bread with butter and jam, and some grapes along with our coffee and tea.

We stayed one night on Inishmore and took the ferry back to Doolin late Sunday afternoon. We’ll cover Inishmore in our next post.

When we reached Doolin Pier on Sunday, we stayed on the boat. We had booked a combined ticket on our return, so we were continuing on for the Cliffs of Moher cruise, for the second time. The seas were a little rougher this time, since it was a little windier than last time. It was also partly cloudy, but the sun showed up to light up the cliffs for us. It seemed like there was more wave action against the cliffs this time, so it didn’t seem like an exact repeat of Friday’s cruise.

After checking back into the Doolin Inn, we walked up to Fitz’s Pub. We ate there before, on Thursday, but we thought we’d give them one more try for some traditional Irish music. We started dinner close to 7 pm and the live music started some time between 7:30 and 8:00 pm. Yay!

For dinner, Keith had the lamb chops this time while Ann had the haddock goujons with Nolan’s patatas bravas. Goujons is a fancy French term for strips of breaded and fried fish or chicken. Patatas bravas is a Spanish dish of fried cubed potatoes drizzled with a spicy sauce, usually based on paprika and olive oil, but this version tasted like it had the addition of tomato paste. Keith tried the Dooliner Lager this time.

For dessert, Ann had the apple crumble while Keith had the tiramisu. Again, we were not disappointed with the food.

While we were eating dinner, we struck up a conversation with the couple at the table next to us. Steve and Jenny were traveling from Australia. After we finished our meals, Keith ordered another pint of the lager and a pint of cider for Ann then went over to the bar to listen to the music. Jenny and Steve joined us.

The band was a trio. One played the fiddle, another the banjo, while a third played the keyboard. They were lovely to listen to. All four of us were enjoying the music and our conversations so we stayed until 9:30 pm. That is later than we normally stay out, Steve and Jenny included. We wish them well on the rest of their trip.

Doolin had beautiful scenery, wildlife, history, interesting landscapes, and good food. It was a great combination that we thoroughly enjoyed.

Check out our related video: Doolin & Cliffs of Moher, Ireland

(Ann)