Can you visit the Cliffs of Moher on a day trip from Dublin?

Yes. The Cliffs of Moher are about three hours from Dublin, so a full-day guided tour with round-trip coach transport is the most popular way to visit. Most tours give you around two hours at the cliffs and add the Burren and Galway city, returning to Dublin in the evening.

What is the best day trip from Dublin?

The three classics are the Cliffs of Moher and Wild Atlantic Way to the west, the Giant's Causeway and Antrim coast to the north, and the Wicklow Mountains with Glendalough just south of the city. The Cliffs and Causeway are long full days; Wicklow can be done in a half or full day.

Do day trips from Dublin include transport?

Yes — nearly all of these tours include round-trip transport from central Dublin by comfortable coach, along with a guide. For the far-flung Cliffs of Moher and Giant's Causeway this is the easiest option, as public transport to the sites is slow and involves several changes.

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Day trips · Dublin itinerary

Cliffs of Moher & Ireland's Best Day Trips from Dublin

Some of Ireland's most breathtaking scenery sits within a day's reach of Dublin — the towering Cliffs of Moher on the Wild Atlantic Way, the basalt columns of the Giant's Causeway and the glacial valley of Glendalough. Here is how to plan the best day trips from Dublin, with the top-rated guided tours and round-trip transport to book for each.

At a glance

1Cliffs of Moher & the Wild Atlantic Way
2The Burren & Galway city
3Giant's Causeway & the Antrim coast
4Wicklow Mountains & Glendalough

The Cliffs of Moher and the Wild Atlantic Way

The Cliffs of Moher are the headline day trip from Dublin — a wall of rock rising 200 metres from the wild Atlantic on Ireland's west coast. A full-day guided tour crosses the country by comfortable coach, with a couple of hours at the cliffs and the visitor centre before exploring the lunar limestone of the Burren and the buzzing streets of Galway city. It is a long day, roughly three hours each way, so a guided coach with commentary makes the drive part of the fun.

The Giant's Causeway and the Antrim coast

Head north instead and you reach the Giant's Causeway, a UNESCO World Heritage site of some 40,000 interlocking basalt columns born of ancient volcanoes. Day trips from Dublin follow the dramatic Antrim coast, often adding the Dark Hedges beech avenue made famous by Game of Thrones, clifftop Dunluce Castle and the Titanic Quarter in Belfast. Like the Cliffs of Moher it is a full day of driving, so a guided tour with transport included is the stress-free way to see it all.

Wicklow Mountains and Glendalough

For a shorter escape, the Wicklow Mountains lie just south of the city — the closest of the three trips. Half- and full-day tours wind through the 'Garden of Ireland' to Glendalough, a sixth-century monastic settlement set beside two dark glacial lakes, with time for the round tower, ruined churches and lakeside trails. Many tours add Powerscourt's gardens or a sheepdog demonstration, and the mountain scenery has starred in films from Braveheart to Vikings.