We were both kind of dreading another epic car journey to get from Dingle to the Cliffs of Moher. Google Maps said 3 hours - and after our experiences of the last few days I assumed this meant at least four and a half. There is a car ferry across the River Shannon inlet that eliminates 85 kilometers of driving, but Google kept insisting that somehow the ferry would add an hour of time to the overall schedule. We decided even if this was true, it would be better than driving all those extra kilometers. We had never been on a car ferry before, so it would be a fun adventure either way.
Amazingly, we drove up to the ferry about 90 seconds before it was ready to leave. We drove straight on and they shut the gate and 20 minutes later we were on the other side. It was incredible! So easy!
It costs 19 Euros. Here is Ben paying the official.
It was too windy to get out and watch, but the view wasn't very picturesque anyway.
After this, the next hour or so to the Cliffs of Moher area was completely uneventful. That day from Kilkenny to Dingle ended up being our longest and most stressful driving day of the trip by far.
We stayed at Glasha Meadows B&B outside of Doolin, about 15 kilometers north of the Cliffs of Moher. It was in the middle of a peaceful field just over a small rise from the ocean.
I assumed the Cliffs would be packed with tourists and we'd be best off waiting until late in the afternoon to arrive. So we stopped in Doolin for lunch and had a sandwich and this delicious fruit tart.
The Cliffs were indeed completely packed with tourists. At least, the area around the visitors' center. It was the only truly crowded place we saw the entire trip. We didn't linger there, but instead immediately set out for the trail along the edge of the cliffs.
The further we went, the fewer people were around.
It's hard to really understand the scale without standing there. I've seen pictures of this place a million times, and it still blew me away.
All the guidebooks mentioned that the path continued past the marked area, and that it was dangerous and not recommended but you should totally do it. Everyone I talked to who has been there said the same thing. I love how there are all these DANGER!! signs right next to the helpful arrows instructing you about which way to go.
Subtle.
It didn't really turn out to be any more dangerous at all. And it was definitely worth it - there were very few people out there and the views were just as amazing as in the more heavily populated areas.
I wedged the camera into some rocks to use the self-timer. Ben was really not thrilled I had the idea to use this technology, but I feel like it's better than asking strangers to take your picture, anyway.
Someone was getting wedding photos taken at the very end of the trail! There was a short path from this end down to a deserted parking area - hot insider tip if you want to see the Cliffs of Moher but don't want to pay the 6 Euros to park in the official visitors center and deal with all the tour buses.
We sat here on the rocks for a long time.
We went back into Doolin for dinner and had some really delicious desserts at the end.
Driving back to the B&B on the single track road in the dark was a new thing - the first time we'd had to drive at night on those roads. But I'm not sure we even met a single other car, and the terrain was mostly flat in that area, so it wasn't too bad. In general, the driving on the left turned out to be much less of an issue than driving on extremely narrow, winding, and unpredictable roads. I guess their system works out okay in the end, given how little traveled the rural roads are, but it really seems like they should invest an extra few bucks and make the roads wide enough for the modern world.
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