Cliffs of Mohr hike and fear of heights

While I didn’t do that walk, from what I remember the path is set back from the edge a decent distance; well, at least more than 6ft. However, for those with a fear of heights (like my wife), even that might not be far enough from the edge. Only you know your comfort level.

Are there Youtube videos of the hike? I ask because someone suggested looking for this when I had a question about a different hike in a different country. It was helpful for me.

I sympathize with you! I can't/won't do rock scrambling up narrow ledges or narrow bridges over deep gorges. It may be irrational fear in most cases, but it is what it is!

Funny story, as I was hugging the cliff on a wide trail in the Grand Canyon, I met someone coming the opposite way who stopped and said, "I'm sorry, but you will have to go around me. I can't move away from this support." I so empathized!

Renee, as someone who also has a bad fear of heights, I can tell you right now that I would not do it. I have not been there, but I know my fear and even 6 feet would not stop the quivering in my body. If the walk organizer is saying you need to have a good head for heights, I would listen. Obviously he has run into this situation before and hence the warning.

Having said that, you might want to take a look at this thread that discusses phobias. If you really want to go on the hike, I would imagine this would help. https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/beyond-europe/want-to-visit-thailand-but-have-a-reptile-phobia

An additional thought - I have been in the situation on a guided hike day tour where the irrational fears kicked in (volcanic rim in New Zealand with rock scrambling and scree that wasn't clearly "advertised"). I couldn't (or certainly didn't want to) continue. I told the guide and was escorted back to the bus. I could have made it myself, but I suppose they can't just let a hiker go off on their own. Perhaps you can contact Pat Sweeney tours and ask if there are last minute "opt out" options.

If you’re interested in a cliff walk that’s less challenging and scary, but still beautiful, you might want to consider the Cliffs of Kilkee.

I don't like heights and we saw the cliffs from a boat instead.

Have a look at this short video (it's not very good quality unfortunately) that shows people and the cliff path considerably less than 6' away from the cliff edge.

To be honest, if you are really scared of heights then this isn't the walk for you. In fact, you need to be near the edge to actually appreciate just how high the cliffs are. Play safe and take a boat trip. They are even more impressive when seen from the sea.

I'm going to offer a somewhat different (and perhaps more nuanced) opinion.

First, of course, do what you want to do, don't do anything that takes you way out of your comfort zone. Your safety is in your own hands, and our instincts (the instinct to avoid a deadly fall) are good, so don't ignore those instincts. That said, I think there are lots of good options, and sea cliffs in Ireland are impressive sights and (for most of us) worth seeing.

Caveats: I don't know anything about this gentleman's guided cliffwalk tours, can't offer any input on them. I've been to the Cliffs of Moher (and plenty of other cliffs), and while I don't have any extra strong fear of heights or falling or cliffs, I'm not ready for my life to end, and I always enjoy the cliffside experience C-A-R-E-F-U-L-L-Y. (Honestly, I've been in some pretty dangerous spots, which would make some folks uncomfortable, but I've always been super, super careful - in direct proportion to the danger).

Frankly, I'm not convinced that one necessarily needs a guided tour to see and appreciate these cliffs (or any other). I looked at the video in the link above, and I see the tour participants walking around along the cliffs, wandering seemingly without a lot of care (hard to tell) with no barriers at all. I might be OK with that in those places, but I'd be going way more slowly and way more cautiously than the people I see in the video. If you have any discomfort around cliff-edges, don't go there!  There are much better options for anyone with an intense fear of heights, to see and experience these particular cliffs, with absolute, complete, iron-clad safety.

Go to the main (impossible to miss) Cliffs of Moher site – the one with the visitor center, the paved parking lot the size of Rhode Island, with all the souvenir shops, handicap-accessible toilets, row after row of tour buses, and hundreds of other tourists. You will find plenty of smooth pavement there, which leads right up to, and along, stout metal and concrete fences and other cliff-edge barriers that anyone would have to work really hard to fall over. You can get as close to the edge as you want, or stay back a few feet if you prefer; unless someone picks you up and tosses you over the high barrier, there's no other way on earth that you could possibly end up over the barrier and taking a short but dramatic trip to the rocks below.

This part of the cliffs are set up for mass tourism, so you will have to share the experience with those masses. There will be others around you on crutches, in walkers, even in wheelchairs. This very large stretch of the cliffs are set up exactly for that: for safety, for ease of access for anyone. When you see the cliffs there, you will do so in absolute, irrefutable, obvious safety. Personally, I prefer my cliffs a bit more wild and a lot less crowded, but if you have any concerns that fall someplace on the spectrum between "maybe a few minor qualms" and "completely debilitating phobia", the nicely sanitized, completely tamed, and oh-so-safe Cliffs of Moher (main) site is the place for you. You will be FINE there, behind those strong concrete-and-iron fences. I dare say you will probably even feel quite safe and comfortable as you gaze out over the cliffs, once you exhale and relax a bit. Really. You can do this.

Yes, do be careful, but don't let your concerns stop you from seeing and and experiencing good things.
Hope that helps.

I am afraid of heights but the day we visited there it was totally fogged in and you could not see the edge. I also did not walk off the very wide path. It's been since 2014 but there was a very nice Visitor Center there which you could spend time at if the rest of the family wants to go.

And no, no way, no how am I stepping over an opening that is 400 feet down. I could not go on the Carrick-a-rede bridge either (also fogged in, hahaha!!).

I don't know about the guided hike, but there is a path along the side of the cliffs of Moher. The path has a chest-high rock wall on one side and a livestock fence on the other side. It is not frightening at all (from someone who is also afraid of heights). I didn't go really far from O'Brian's tower, so my observations are limited, but it felt very safe to me the whole time.

Picking up on Jody's comments - the bit around the visitor centre and a short distance on either side along the Cliffs of Moher is a good path and well fenced off. It has to be with the sheer number of visitors that go there. However further away once the bulk of the visitors have been lost, is a different matter. In places there is no barrier between you on the path and that drop...

I did not take the Pat Sweeney guided hike but I did end up crossing paths with and following them for a while on the cliff walk. I didn't have time that day to do that tour, so I walked about half of it on my own. Based on what I saw and heard, I would definitely recommend the Sweeney hike. It is not that you need a guided group to do the hike -- not al all -- but rather that Pat gave some interesting information about the geology and flora, pointing out things you might not notice. You would not be dangerously close to the edge but, as already mentioned, but you do need to be careful where you walk. However, it probably wouldn't be enjoyable for someone with an intense fear of heights.

On a previous day, I did the other end of the trail walking from Hag's Head to the visitor center. I think this walk was easier. It is mostly downhill and there were fewer people on it when I was there. The Fisher Street, Doolin to visitor center walk, which is what Sweeney does, is more uphill.

My personal policy is never to pay good money to do something I am unlikely to enjoy. If you are feeling pressured to "come along" look for an alternative activity in the same area that you would actually like and do that.

I was at the Cliffs of Moher in the summer of 2022 with the RS tour called Best of Ireland in 14 Days. There's plenty to see without getting off a paved path that has walls and/or is far back from the edge. I don’t have a fear of heights, but I do have knee issues and saw no particular advantage to going up and down the stairs and steep grades or very far from the visitor center.

I actually spent quite a bit of time in the visitor center with the exhibits there as well as having a bite to eat and doing a little souvenir shopping.

Here's a link that takes you to a place where you can learn more about the pathways and the visitor center under the headings "At the Cliffs" and "The Visitor Centre": https://www.cliffsofmoher.ie/about-the-cliffs-of-moher/cliffs-of-moher/.

There are lots of pictures of both if you go to the Gallery at the bottom of At the Cliffs. It's set up to scroll rather quickly. Click on the ll to be able to move the arrows manually either direction so you can look more closely at any picture. Click on it again to return to the fast scroll.