Ireland: day trip to Cliffs

I haven't tried Paddywagon myself, but I did read the online blog of someone who did. As a day trip they might be OK, but this person took a multi-day trip with them. On more than one occasion the driver spent a lot of time in the pub in the evening and was a less-than-great driver the next day (I believe they even made the comment that he overslept and still seemed a bit intoxicated the next morning).

The Cliffs, and the Burren, are definitely worth seeing, but it is a pretty long drive for a day trip. Of course, if someone else is doing the driving it wouldn't be as bad.

Christy,

If you have time to head out to the west for a few days, I would highly recommend it. The scenery is incredible, esp. on the Ring of Kerry and Dingle Peninsula.

If you are into ancient history, you could do a day trip from Dublin to Newgrange and the Hill of Tara. Newgrange is a passage tomb used by the ancient Irish (it is older than the pyramids) as part of religious rituals. The Hill of Tara was the seat of the High Kings of Ireland. We took the Mary Gibbons tour and really enjoyed it.

Whatever you decide, enjoy your trip!

thanks for your advice. we are on a tight schedule so we can only spare a daytrip. im just trying to decide if it is worth it to spend 100 dollars for a tour versus whatever the bus/train fares would be to do it our selves...
some of the things im considering are
the price difference
how would we get there?
is there a need for a tourguide?
thanks

Have you looked on Bus Eireann's website for timetables? Many day tour operators leaving from Galway headed towards Cliffs (about one hour from Galway), but unless you can somehow find an express between Dublin and Galway, a local bus can take forever. The bus system is fairly cheap in Ireland - but again, often crowded and takes a really long time to get around with all the stops in between.

The train between Dublin and Galway takes about 3 hours one way. It is one very long daytrip. If you aren't able to spend the night in Galway, I would say forget it. The Cliffs really should only be seen on a nice day. It is no fun to stand up there in the rain or when it is very windy and cold (yes, even in July this happens).

If you do go, just don't stand too close to the edge. My Irish relatives tend to email us the local news link every year with the story of some dumb tourist who got blown off the Cliffs. Don't worry...for some inexplicable reason, they are almost always from Germany.

It might be a better use of your time--and money--to take a daytrip to either Newgrange and the Boyne Valley or to Glendalough and the Powerscourt Gardens. Bus Eireann offers those tours for €32.40.

Christy, I am not sure exactly how it works but you can not just show up and Newgrange and have access to the passageway. I have taken the Bus Eireann tours of both Newgrange and Glendalough and felt they were both certainly worth while.

Irish rail tours does a day tour to the Cliffs of Moher,Bunratty,Burren and Galway Bay.
www.railtoursireland.com. I think the cost is a little over 100 Euro and takes about 14 hours.

Pat, I beg to differ! I was in the Dublin area and decided on the spur of the moment to go out to Newgrange (I had a car). I arrived there at about noon or so, and got on the 1:15 bus to the site. There was absolutely no problem getting in. July might be a different story (I've heard that you need to get out there first thing in the morning) but it IS possible to "just show up" and get in.

If money is tight, you might be better off staying in and around Dublin. The Cliffs were nice but I'm not sure they're worth the expense and aggravation of taking a looooong day trip from Dublin to see them.

I don't consider the Cliffs to be a worthwhile daytrip from Dublin. That would be about 7 hours of driving/bus (more if they include the burren) for about an hour of sightseeing. Take a look at their itinerary, figure out the driving distances and times for a better idea of just how much sightseeing you'll get. My guess is that you'll get 30 minutes at the cliffs, 10 minutes at Poulnabrone, see the burren through the bus window and, at some point, I suspect they'll take you to an "authentic" pub for drinks where the tour company gets a kickback.

If you really really really want to see the cliffs, I'd rent a car for one day and be on my own schedule. For two people, that could also save you money

I went on the tour last week, and to be honest I wouldn't recommend it. It was a nine hour tour, with the stop in limrick being a bathroom stop, no real time to see anything and the lunch stop was at a small stop where you were stuck with only two, overpriced expensive eateries. Our guide seemed quite cranky, and was very rude about the whole being back at a specific time thing. That, and they said I wasn't booked when I was, luckily I had printed off my conformation just in case.

In February I did a day tour of the Highlands, and it was amazing, so the negative review is based not on the length, but I feel I didn't get my moneys worth

hey everyone. thank you so much for your replies. so after hearing the last post i think we will not take the tour. What Vanessa described was exactly what i am trying to avoid.
i know it is a long trip, but i really have my heart set on the cliffs, and cannot bring myself to leave it out of our trip. (we are backpacking and only spending a few nights in each city so most of our trip is a lot of travel time)
so I was wondering if we dont do the tour does anyone know the best way to get to the cliffs from dublin? we probably wont rent a car just because of the hassel of parking and our inexperience...

also, is there a way that we can go into galaway and then the cliffs? and does anyone have and reccomendations for galaway?

thanks!

Christy,

Public transit in the west of Ireland runs from limited to non-existent. The only way to do it would be to spend the night in Galway.

Driving would be easier, but you have to decide if that's something you're willing to take on. Parking would not an issue as you'd only be going to the Cliffs and back. But the roads are narrow and you're driving on the left, so you have to decide if you want to take that on.

I'd really recommend thinking again about how important the Cliffs are to you. They are nice, but I'm not sure they're worth running yourself ragged when you could be spending a nice day in or around Dublin. The Cliffs could be included on a future trip to western Ireland, which is an incredible beautiful place with many sites that are as impressive as the Cliffs.

If you decide that you have to see the Cliffs on this trip, I think the only sane way to do it is to spend the night in Galway and head back to Dublin the next day. Galway's a nice little city so there are worse things than that.

christy, Bus Eireann would be the least expensive way to get to Galway from Dublin. There are buses leaving every hour and it takes about 3:45 to make the trip. Cost is 17 Euro return.

Maybe someone else can help you with the best way to get to the Cliffs from Galway. I would highly recommend spending the night there(Galway) instead of trying to make the return trip in one day.