Inishmore island & cliff of Mohrs

We took the ferry from Doolin pier to inishmor.
We joined a jeep tour Aran off road experience. They picked us up from the pier in Kilronan at 11 and made sure we catch the 4pm ferry back to Doolin.
I highly recommend this tour. We got to see a lot.
Going back to Doolin, we were suppsed to do the cliff of moher cruise. But the trip was cancelled due to poor weather. They refunded us the money. (We purchased combi tickets for ferry to inishmore and the cliff cruise)

I'd question just how much you need an organized tour to appreciate these places.

Inis Mor is worth a full day, so two nights. If you want to slow down and see it all, then spend 3 nights and two full days, but on a quick trip, definitely do at least one overnight.

Take the plane, not the slow ferry. Take the first flight of the day out there, and the last flight of the day on the way back to the mainland. That effectively "buys" you almost another full day, and best of all, be getting there early and staying late, you'll be there without the ferry-based day trippers.

Inis Mor has better cliffs than the much more famous, sanitized and set up for mass tourism Cliffs of Moher. After you experience the cliffs of Inis Mor, the cliffs of Moher will leave you unimpressed.

Here's a wrtite-up I did a few years back to answer some questions about the various cliffs. Maybe it will be helpful...

Separate day trips to the Cliffs & Islands?

Hi Judy,
We did a day trip from Doolin to Inishmore (Inis Mór) by ourselves and it was super easy to do. We prebooked the ferry from Doolin pier. Upon arrival on the island we rented bikes (bike rental shops are right at end of pier on the island and we did not prebook). Then headed off on a day-long adventure exploring all over the island. We did not feel we missed anything, nor did we feel rushed, by visiting only for the day. Biking around we were able to stop where and when we wanted. Imo, no tour is needed. On the ferry ride back to Doolin we had fantastic views of the cliffs from the water. As for total time, I think we arrived on island around 9:30am then left around 5pm (maybe 6pm can't remember exactly.)

The last flight off Inishmore is at 1615, exactly the same time as the last ferry. And the first flight on is at 0830 Monday to Friday, 0900 Saturday and 1000 on Sunday.
The first ferry from Doolin is at 0900.

So the flight really does not gain you significant time, let alone the huge amount claimed above.

When staying in Galway this past May, I took a couple of day tours with Galway Tour Company and can recommend them.

https://galwaytourcompany.com/

Tours can be a great option for those who prefer to leave the transportation logistics to someone else.

Thank you for the replies. We will be in Galway, so could we take a ferry to Inis Mor,( on our own) rent bikes ( We do not need a designated tour of the island: my mistake in prior post). and ferry back? Do all the ferries see the news of the Cliff of Mohrs on the way back? We would not stay overnight.

Thank you in advance

Hi Judy,
I think the ability to see the cliffs from the water will be weather dependent. We happened to have a gorgeous day in July. And, we went to/from Doolin, which is right by the cliffs. If you take ferry to/from Galway you will not be heading toward the Cliffs of Moher (they are south of Galway.) June through August is typically the best weather in the whole of Ireland (though we were in Ireland this past March and again last week and had good weather.) Just some things to consider. Hope you have a great trip!

If you’re in Galway, I recommend catching the ferry from there. We did a day trip last spring that included a return ride that got up close to the cliffs. I wish we had spent the night on the island— a few hours wasn’t enough time!

Thank you Ruth. I have a couple more questions regarding this segment of our trip. Do we need to “book” a tour for the ferry and island or is this something we can book tickets directly with the ferry? And if so do we need to book in advance ? We are going mid May 2026. Is there a certain ferry that cruises along the cliffs on the way back to Galway? We would like to rent bikes on the island (weather dependent) Would the bikes need to be prebooked? If weather is not “great” for biking how else can we get around the island? How many hours do we have on the island? Unfortunately the rest of our itinerary doesn’t allow time to spend the night.

Thank you so much

Just a cautionary note: you don't say when your trip will be but know that Springtime weather (and sea states) can be notoriously unpredictable with the possibility of cancellation of ferry service on days when seas are running high. Even if they're operating the crossing from either Rossaveel or Galway can be a rough one - the boats aren't large vessels and tend to rock and roll in rough seas. You'll want to check the forecast a day or two before your proposed sailing during that time of year. No need to book very far in advance - the ferries hardly ever sell out.
As I recall we had most of a full day on the island on our own trip via the ferry - plenty of time for the van tour which we opted for. There are also pony traps lined up at the end of the pier as you debark - lots of choices if biking isn't an option on the day.

Hi Judy — we booked the specific Aran Islands Ferries tour that includes the Cliffs of Moher on the return ride: https://www.aranislandferries.com/day-tours/galway-city/cliffs-of-moher

We were there on a weekday in May 2025 and I was glad we had tickets pre-booked as the ferry was quite full (I also suggest getting to the dock early for preferred seating — we liked being on the top deck in the open air.

If you want to book any kind of tour on the island itself you’d do that independently. We were initially booked on the Off Road tour, but it was cancelled because the owner is also a school teacher, it was a school day, and he didn’t have a substitute driver. We ended up on Thomas Faherty’s pony/trap tour. Absolutely loved Thomas and all the stories he told, but didn’t get to see as much of the island as I would have liked—which is why we’ll definitely stay overnight if we’re lucky enough to return.

I was super worried about rough seas but we had smooth sailing both ways. It was definitely a highlight of our trip. We really enjoyed our stay in Galway, as well!

Used the same company and cruise, Aran Island Ferries out of Galway, that Ruth linked above. Great experience in August 2023 - and we also had a picture perfect weather day.

Used Aran Bike Hire for bike rentals. Our group of 9 used a mix of regular city bikes and e-bikes. Rental company is located at the end of the pier when you arrive. Super easy rental and return process.