Truth be told, I really hate crowds sites. This makes being a ‘professional traveler’ a bit difficult at times. When my Ireland itinerary took me to the uber touristed Cliffs of Moher in County Clare, I wondered if I would really like it or if all of the people would annoy me. Above, O’Brien’s Tower on the Cliffs of Moher Walk.
Instead of just going to the Cliffs of Moher visitor Center area to take the same photos everyone takes and fight the crowd, I walked along the Cliffs of Moher to explore more remote areas.
Cliffs of Moher Walk
This portion of Ireland’s Burren Way Trail links the villages of Liscannor and Doolin. And right in the middle of the two villages along the Burren Way is the Cliffs of Moher visitor center. The total distance is 8 miles but due to time constraints I chose to drive out to the visitor center, park my rental car and walk the 4.5 miles back into town along the Burren Way. Then my B&B owner agreed to drive me the short distance back out to my car in the visitor parking lot to pick it back up. If you can’t organize a ride then you can get a taxi to take you back out from Doolin to the visitor center easily. So with a little coordination, you can find yourself on a solo hike in some of the most picturesque landscapes in Ireland!
The visitor center area was crowded, however once I got out of that vicinity, everyone seemed to disappear and soon I found myself walking along some of the most spectacular cliff trails in my life – all alone. It was just me, some cows, the occasional rainstorms, and gusts of wind. I kept thinking to myself – why aren’t more people on this trail? And then remembered that I actually loved this trail because there was no one on it.
The trail led you right along the coastline through fields of livestock, and sea spray. Even though I had to weather a number of storms during the walk, the best thing about a storm was it would blow through, the sun came out, and everything appeared so green and fresh it about hurt my eyes. I’ve never seen such a vibrant green like that before, it made me want to cry tears of happiness as I took it all in.
Before I knew it the sound of the crashing waves disappeared and the sounds of Irish music started wafting through the air. The trail took me right in to the village of Doolin past the pubs – which is the perfect way to end this walk.
I was overjoyed with the Cliffs of Moher walk and really found it was a great way to connect to the landscape. And of course, I took so many pictures and video I didn’t know what to do with it all, so I’ve put together a little video recap of my walk.
Cliffs of Moher Walk Video
More Info on how you can do the Cliffs of Moher walk in Ireland:
Cliffs of Moher Map
- Cliffs of Moher Coastal Walk – plan your visit
Difficulty – easy (most is downhill or flat)
Coastal Walk Map (on your left) – The trail is well marked – no map is really necessary – just keep the coast on your left and you’ll end up in Doolin.
My B&B I stayed in – Suantrai B&B
Taxi Service from Doolin
For more hiking help – Ireland Walk Hike Bike will organize the whole thing for you including accommodation and transportation!
Burren Way website – Remember the Cliffs of Moher walk is only a small section of this overall trail.
Sherry Ott is a refugee from corporate IT who is now a long term traveler, blogger, and photographer. She’s a co-founder of Briefcasetobackpack.com, a website offering career break travel inspiration and advice.
Additionally, she runs an around the world travel blog writing about her travel and expat adventures at Ottsworld.com.com.
