Clare Tours

About Clare

County Clare occupies the Atlantic coast between Galway Bay and the Shannon Estuary, a compact county that packs three of Ireland's most distinctive landscapes into a single day's driving. The Cliffs of Moher rise 214 metres above the Atlantic on the western coast, stretching 8 kilometres from Liscannor in the south to Doolin in the north. They are Ireland's most visited natural attraction and one of the most recognisable landmarks along the Wild Atlantic Way. Inland, the Burren is a 250-square-kilometre expanse of limestone karst that looks like no other landscape in Ireland — or anywhere else. The bare grey rock, cracked into a grid of fissures called grikes, supports a remarkable botanical mix: Mediterranean, Arctic, and Alpine plants grow side by side in the sheltered crevices, a combination found nowhere else in the world. The Poulnabrone Dolmen, a 5,800-year-old portal tomb standing in the middle of the limestone pavement, is the Burren's most photographed monument. Doolin sits between the Cliffs and the Burren, a village that has become synonymous with traditional Irish music. Gus O'Connor's Pub, McGann's, and MacDiarmada's host music sessions most evenings, drawing musicians from across the country. Doolin is also the departure point for ferries to the Aran Islands — Inis Oírr, the smallest island, is a 20-minute crossing. Beyond the headline trio, Clare offers the Loop Head Peninsula — a 64-kilometre drive from Kilkee to the lighthouse at Loop Head, where dolphins are frequently spotted from the cliffs. Bunratty Castle and Folk Park, near Shannon Airport, is a well-preserved 15th-century tower house with a reconstructed 19th-century village. The county town of Ennis has a compact centre with its own traditional music scene, centred on Brogan's Bar and Ciaran's Bar.