Cliffs of Moher from Galway: Which Day Trip, and How Long Do You Get at the Cliffs?

For most visitors, book the full-day Cliffs of Moher and Burren guided tour: €59 per person, 8 hours, 4.8 stars from 4,440 reviews, with two hours at the cliffs. If you have only half a day, the 5-hour express trip without a guide costs €50. If you want a later start, the noon departure leaves at noon.

The four trips side by side

Tour	Duration	From	Rating	Time at the cliffs	Guide
Full-Day Cliffs of Moher & Burren Guided Tour	8 hours	€59	4.8 (4,440)	2 hours	Live, English
Cliffs of Moher and The Burren Guided Day Trip	8.5 hours	€55	4.8 (2,084)	1.5 hours	Live, English
Cliffs of Moher Half-Day Non-Guided Express Trip	5 hours	€50	4.7 (1,040)	about 2 hours	None, you explore alone
12:00 PM Guided Cliffs of Moher Tour	7 hours	€60	4.7 (464)	2 hours	Live, English

All four leave from Galway and return the same day. Most start at the Kinlay Hostel on Merchants Road by Eyre Square; the express trip starts at the Lally Tours pick-up point on Forster Street.

Why the express trip is shorter

The cliffs lie in County Clare, on the far side of Galway Bay. The two guided day tours spend the rest of the day on the Wild Atlantic Way and in the Burren. The full-day tour lists Dunguaire Castle, a drive through the Burren, a photo stop at Doolin Pier and lunch at the Doolin Hotel (not included) before the cliffs. On the way back it passes Lisdoonvarna.

The express trip skips that. Its booking page promises round-trip transport, access to the visitor centre and about two hours to explore at your own pace. You will not hear the history or see the Burren in any detail, but you get the same time at the cliffs in five hours instead of eight.

Which one for whom

The full-day tour is the benchmark: the most-reviewed trip from Galway, a live English-speaking guide, and a day that includes the landscape on the way. The guided day trip with 1.5 hours at the cliffs follows a similar route, with stops at Dunguaire Castle and Poulnabrone Dolmen and a lunch stop in Doolin that its itinerary marks as optional with an extra fee. It is 30 minutes shorter at the cliffs, so choose it only if its start or price suits you better.

The noon departure suits a slow morning. Its booking page says it returns to Galway at about 6:45 pm, with a lunch stop of 45 to 50 minutes in Doolin and free entry to the cliffs. Its highlights say the lunch is not included.

If you prefer to be alone with the cliffs, take the express trip. It suits independent travellers and anyone short of time.

Before you book

Weather decides more than the tour does. The booking pages recommend comfortable shoes and weather-appropriate clothing, and the cliffs are exposed. The express trip’s page says it may be cancelled in extreme weather. For the visitor centre’s current opening hours, look at the official Cliffs of Moher site.

The full-day tour and the express trip both list wheelchair users as not suitable. On the express trip, infants under 5 need a child seat that the company does not supply; on the full-day tour, infants sit on a parent’s lap.

If you would rather drive, you can compare rental cars for Galway. Ireland drives on the left.

For boat views of the cliffs, see Aran Islands and the Cliffs of Moher in one day, and for all options browse the Cliffs of Moher tours from Galway.