Cliffs of Moher
The Cliffs of Moher are dramatic sea cliffs along the west coast of Ireland. It runs 14 kilometers (9 miles) along the Atlantic ocean. It’s the most famous cliffs in Ireland and has been featured in movies like Harry Potter and The Princess Bride. Literally breathtaking to see! It’s magnificent!! You can feel the windy mist hitting your face and smell the ocean while viewing. For me, it’s an unforgettable memory!
If you are driving to the cliffs yourself, be careful on the back roads. They are very curvy, narrow, and not that wide. It’s easy to scratch your car with brush. If you’re in a hurry, you can’t drive fast with all of the curves. It took us 4 hours to get there from County Mayo. So give yourself a good amount of drive time.
When we arrived, we had to wait in a long line of cars on the road before we could enter the main, large visitor parking lot. We waited in line for a little over an hour to park. Our arrival time for our tickets was for two o’clock, which we arrived earlier at 1:30. The main lot is located on the opposite side of the road of the cliffs.
After we were directed to our parking space, we went into the visitor center. They have two options for food, which are the Puffin’s Nest Café located on ground level or Cliff’s View Café located on the first floor. The cafés and restrooms had very long lines too! Be wary, the restroom garbages were grossly full and unkept. Tip: If you want to avoid long lines and crowds of people, you might be better off eating at a nearby restaurant and using their restrooms before entering the Cliffs of Moher. Also, the earlier in the morning and later in the evening you go, there will be less visitors. Before 10:00 and after 4:00 is what they recommend.
We chose to eat at the Cliff ‘s View café. You will have to wait in a line to pay for your tray of food. What we opted for was two bowls of hot stew. It was very good especially on a chilly, windy day at the cliffs. Warmed us right up😊! It was very busy and hard to find a seat in there. The employees seemed frazzled and frustrated. I didn’t have the best experience eating here, but there is an awesome view if you are able to get one of those spots. That might make up for the sub par atmosphere. Tip: It helps to have someone hold a table while the other person gets the food. That’s what we did.
When we finished eating, we went back outside to view the cliffs. You follow a paved sidewalk to get there. It isn’t too far of a walk from the visitor center, but walking shoes do help. There are stairs to climb, so some people might have difficulty. Tip: It’s windy, so a wind jacket with a hood works well.
There are four viewing points at the cliffs. The main platform shows the south cliffs and hag’s head. The north platform shows views from every direction of the north, south, east, and west. It’s located near the highest point of the cliffs. You will see the bay and isles there too. The south platform shows the puffin colony and many other birds. O’Briens tower shows south toward Hags Head and north towards Doolin.
There will be many opportunities along the walk to get photos of the cliffs. You really can’t get a bad photo, but I will say that the pictures don’t do it justice. We spent about two and a half hours there total, including parking time. It was about 30 minutes of cliff viewing for us. It’s just amazing to see🤩! It’s a must see, if you visit Ireland!