There isn't really a village here, but several small collections of buildings: the Harbour, Fisher Street leading up from it, Fitz's Cross 1 km inland, and Roadford another km inland. Another 7 km brings you to the short street that is Lisdoonvarna (Lios Dúin Bhearna, "fort of the gapped keep"), also described here.
Get in
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The main road is N67, which branches off M18 at Ennis and loops north through Ennistymon. The turn off to Doolin is 5 km south of Lisdoonvarna while N67 continues through Ballyvaughan and Kinvarra to Galway.
A slow scenic route is along the cliff tops, northwards branching off N67 at Ennistymon for Lahinch, Liscannor and Cliffs of Moher to Doolin, and southwards branching off at Ballyvaughan to arrive via Black Head and Fanore.
Bus 350 follows that slow route from Galway six times a day via Kinvarra, Ballyvaughan, Fanore, 1 Lisdoonvarna, Doolin village and pier, Cliffs of Moher, Liscannor, Lahinch, Ennistymon, Corofin and Inagh to Ennis.
2 Doolin Pier has summer ferries to the Aran Islands, for foot passengers only. The islands also have ferries from County Galway so you don't have to return the same way.
Get around
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Map of Doolin
Doolin is a straggly but small place. It's 7 km to Lisdoonvarna or to the Cliffs of Moher.
North Clare can be a great place to cycle and Doolin is the start of 4 cycle routes.
Doolin Rent-a-Bike, Fisher St, Doolin V95 D6V4, ☏ +353 86 109 1850, [email protected]. Daily 9AM-6PM. They rent touring bikes, they don't have off-road models.
See
[edit]- Crab Island is the uninhabited lump 500 m off Doolin pier. Nothing there except the remains of a 19th century police post, showing that Victorian authorities were as concerned with seaborne goings-on as on land.
- 1 Doonagore Castle, Doolin V95 R2C0. Closed. This 16th-century tower house is nowadays a private holiday home and not open to the public, but there are great views from the single-track lane that runs by it. Don't try to park along there.
- 2 Doolin Cave (Poll an Eidhneáin), Craggycoradon East, Doolin V95 R299, ☏ +353 65 707 5761. Daily Apr-Oct 10AM-5PM, Nov-Mar 11AM-4PM. Show cave with a remarkable stalactite 7.2 m long, one of the longest in the world. And actually that's all there is, the cave is otherwise undecorated. 125 steps down, and 125 steps to get back up. 50-minute tours start on the hour with the last at 4PM. Adult €18.50, child €8.50, conc €16.50.
- 3 Cliffs of Moher, Doolin V95 KN9T, ☏ +353 65 708 6141. Daily 8AM-dusk. The cliffs stretch away north and south for several km, but here they reach 214 m above the sea. There are three main viewing areas, free if you can get here without a car (see "Get around"). The charge covers parking, use of the visitor centre and viewing from O'Brien's Tower, built in 1835 as an observation tower for tourists. Views take in the Aran Islands, Galway Bay, Maum Turk Mountains and the Twelve Bens to the north in Connemara, and Loop Head to the south. The cliffs were built 320 million years ago by the silt of a river delta, compacted into beds of shale and sandstone. Watch for puffins, hawks, gulls, guillemots, shags, ravens and choughs. Cheaper admission in the morning, but you need the westering sun to light up the cliff face. Adult €12, conc €10, child free.
- See Lahinch for the cliffs further south to Kilconnell and Liscannor.
- The Burren: Doolin and Lisdoonvarna are good bases for exploring this area of limestone scenery.
- See Ballyvaughan for Fanore Beach, Caherconnell Stone Fort, Poulnabrone Dolmen and Aillwee Cave.
Do
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- Visit the Aran Islands. April-Oct there are several daily sailings from Doolin pier, for day trips or point-to-point ferry rides, foot passengers only. Boats take 30 min to Inis Oirr, 75 min to the largest island Inis Mór. Inis Meáin is in between but takes 90 min as the boat calls on its way back from Inis Mór. The main operator is Doolin Ferry Company.
- Sail to Cliffs of Moher: Apr-Oct they also have hour-long boat trips beneath the cliffs.
- Walk along the cliff tops between Doolin, Cliffs of Moher, and Kilconnell near Liscannor. Guided walks led by a local farmer also go as far as the Cliffs visitors centre.
- Caving: the real thing, not show-caves. The limestone bedrock is riddled with caves, and Poll na gColm is Ireland's longest, with over 12 km of mapped passages. You need suitable training and equipment; the caves can flood rapidly in wet weather. They continue west beneath the sea, and the Green Holes of Doolin just north of the harbour is one that non-cavers can peer into through a gash in the rock.
- Doolin Folk Festival is 3 days in mid-June.
- Doolin Motorcycle Fest didn't happen in 2024, and looks unlikely for 2025.
- Matchmaker Festival[dead link] also looks unlikely for 2025. It was held throughout September in Lisdoonvarna, continuing a tradition from 1831 of trying to fix up the local farm boys once they'd finished the harvest. It was boosted from the 1880s when the spa fashion brought Victorian visitors to take the waters, later morphing into a singles music festival.
Buy
[edit]- Mace in Lisdoonvarna is open M-Sa 8:30AM-8PM, Su 9AM-7PM.
- Irish Crafts is open daily Apr-Oct.
- Burren Smokehouse, Kincora Rd, Lisdoonvarna V95 HD70, ☏ +353 65 707 4432. Daily Jan Feb 10AM-4PM, Mar Sep-Dec 10AM-5PM, Apr-Aug 9AM-6PM. Smoked salmon, mackerel and the like.
Eat
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Food is served at all the pubs, and there is a small grocery store on Fisher Street. Beware that several places only take cash, and there's no ATM in Doolin.
Drink
[edit]- Gus O'Connor's Pub, Fisher Street, Doolin V95 FY67, ☏ +353 65 707 4168, [email protected]. Daily 10AM-midnight. Good pub with food, sure to warm you up after a breezy day on the cliffs or at sea. It's gotten onto the tourist circuit but still a decent honest place. Trad music every night.
- McGann's, Main St, Roadford, Doolin V95 TKF8, ☏ +353 65 707 4133. Su-W noon-11:30PM, Th-Sa 10AM-12:30AM. Pub with trad music, it's the food that draws admiring reviews.
- McDermott's, Roadford, Doolin V95 P285, ☏ +353 65 707 4328. M-Sa 11AM-midnight, Su 11AM-11PM. Grand little place with live music most nights and good home cooked food.
- Fitz's Pub is within Hotel Doolin, see Sleep.
Sleep
[edit]Budget
[edit]- O'Connor's Riverside Camping & Caravan Site, Doolin V95 KP99, ☏ +353 85 281 9888, [email protected]. Site with 50 pitches near village centre, open all year. Caravan €30.
- Nagle's Camping & Caravan Park, Ballaghaline, Doolin V95 HX25 (100 m from ferry jetty), ☏ +353 65 707 4458. Scenic well-run site open mid-March to mid-October. 2-person tent €30, caravan €35.
- Aille River Hostel, Ocean Rd, Doolin V95 AN80, ☏ +353 65 707 4260, [email protected]. Clean hostel with 3 small dorms, private rooms and camping in back garden. Dogs, musicians and other reprobates permitted but no hen or stag parties. Bunk €30.
Mid-range
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- 1 Fisherman's Rest, Fisher Lane, Doolin V95 AY06, ☏ +353 65 707 4673, [email protected]. Small but clean rooms with en suite bathrooms. Friendly, colourful host.
- 2 Daly's House B&B, Doonmacfelim, Doolin V95 RW62, ☏ +353 87 969 0583, [email protected]. Clean welcoming B&B.
- 3 Riverside Cottage, Fisher St, Doolin V95 K5C7, ☏ +353 65 707 4049, [email protected]. Well-kept B&B in renovated 1850 cottage.
- Sea View House, Fisher St, Doolin V95 CC6V (opposite Riverside Cottage), ☏ +353 87 267 9617. Self-catering lodges with great views towards the Atlantic. Meals may be available.
- Hotel Doolin is a pleasant place at Fitz's Cross Doolin.
Splurge
[edit]- 4 Ballinalacken Castle, Coast Rd, Craggycorradan East, Doolin V95 H998, ☏ +353 65 707 4025, [email protected]. Wonderful bungalow hotel, spacious and well-designed, great dining. It was built in the 1840s to replace the dilapidated original castle from the 15th / 16th century. B&B double €250.
- Sheedy's Hotel, Main St, Lisdoonvarna V95 NH22, ☏ +353 65 707 4026. Splendid upscale hotel in an 18th-century mansion with excellent dining. Open Apr-Sept. No children under 11 or dogs. B&B double €240.
- See Kilfenora for Smithstown or Ballynagowan Castle, available for self-catering lets, sleeps 8.
Connect
[edit]As of March 2025, Doolin and its approach roads have 4G from Three and Vodafone, and 5G from Eir.
Go next
[edit]- The Burren is a wild sparse landscape a few km inland.
- Northeast along the coast brings you via Fanore and Ballyvaughan into Galway Bay, with lively Galway city sparkling across the slate-and-indigo waters.
- West are the Aran Islands; most visitors are day-trippers but the islands deserve a longer stay.
- Southwest follow the coast through Lahinch and picturesque Ennistymon towards Kilkee and dramatic Loop Head.
- Ennis inland is a pleasant market town ringed by ruined abbeys and other historic sights.