Galway and The Cliffs of Moher

We decided to rent a car to drive from Dublin to Galway, and I’m so glad that we did! It wasn’t far at all, a few hours, and we got to see the countryside (so green!).

Once we hit Galway, we instantly noticed the charm of the quaint village on the water. It was SO cute! Our hotel, The Residence Hotel, was located on one of the main streets in town, Quay Street. We had no idea how great of a location it was in until we got there, and I’m so glad we stayed where we did. Quay Street has lots of restaurants, pubs and shops, and with the flag garlands hanging above the street, it made it all that much better.

Galway acted as our base for the Cliffs of Moher. You can also stay in Doolin, which is equally as cute as Galway, but with far less activity. Dan and I both said that if you wanted to avoid about an hour and a half drive from Galway to the Cliffs, you could spend the night in Doolin before your hike, but you wouldn’t need more than one night.

Hiking (a.k.a. surviving) the Cliffs of Moher

Whenever we travel, we try and find something a little bit off the beaten path, something that won’t have too many tourists, to explore and experience. Dan stumbled across Doolin Cliff Walks which is a hike up the Cliffs of Moher as opposed to going to the top of the cliffs, which is what the majority of the 4,000-5,000 people who visit the cliffs daily, do.

The idea comes from a great place. The guide, Pat Sweeney, grew up on his family farm, which is located on the cliffs along with 35 other farmers. The cliffs were his play ground growing up (God bless his mother 🙏🏻). Pat saw so many people going to the top of the cliffs and it bothered him that no one was actually “seeing the cliffs,” they were simply going to the top of them. So, he worked with the other 35 farmers and asked to lease a part of their land to make trails up the cliffs, and would then charge people to hike the cliffs, offering an experience unlike any other.

The morning of the hike we all gathered at a meeting point in Doolin. Pat went over safety, like advising us not to walk and take pictures at the same time (so very dangerous) and to follow his steps, no matter what. Pat also mentioned that in parts of the hike, there were second, alternative paths for those who were afraid of heights and didn’t feel comfortable being on the “edge.” Pat asked who was afraid of heights and I, along with two other people raised our hands. He smiled and said that we’d soon find others in the group who were afraid of heights. I shot Dan a death stare at this point, because I knew there were going to be parts of the hike that I would not be OK with. 🙄 And, I think it’s safe to say that I took home the prize for being the most afraid LOL.

We hiked for 5 hours (9km up the cliffs), sometimes literally on the edge of a sheer 600ft drop into the Atlantic Ocean. The height alone was dizzying and when we had to hop from one edge of the cliff to the next, with nothing but the Atlantic Ocean beneath us, I lost it. I questioned Dan for signing me up for this, and I questioned myself for being there (seriously, WTF!). I trusted that the guide knew the cliffs like the back of his hand, but I didn’t trust myself to take a misstep that could literally cost me my life. I cried, yelled at Dan to “get back from the edge” and practiced my yoga breathing for a good portion of the hike. I wanted to turn around, but knew that if I did, I’d have to do some of the most terrifying parts of the hike by myself, and that was simply not an option for me.

When we finally made it to the top, I was beyond relieved, I could have cried again. I had people from our group congratulate me for making it and I’m convinced that everyone knew who Dan was from the amount of times I yelled at him to get away from the edge 😂 (the thought of seeing him fall off the cliffs made me weak in the knees).

While this is something I’ll never do again in my life, there were people who thoroughly enjoyed it, including Dan. One girl from Colorado thought it was “magical” (her words, not mine 😱). I have to admit that the views we got from the hike were stunning, and I now totally understand why the view solely from the top just doesn’t do it justice. We also got some of our most favorite pictures from this hike, some that we are blowing up to hang in our house.

If this hike taught me anything, it taught me just how tough I can be (even if I do cry-it’s how I handle things, ok 🤷🏻‍♀️), and that sometimes we have to go through difficult things to see the beauty around us. 💗

Two Final PSAs:

1. I would not recommend this hike for children, like anyone under the age of 14.  About 66 people a year fall of the cliffs , and we found out that someone fell the day before our hike, and sadly, another person the day we were there. I don’t say this to scare you, I say this so that you are informed. Listen to the safety instructions-they aren’t there for nothing.

2. The hike was 10 euros a person and you pay at the end (I won’t say why, but I’m sure you can figure out the reason 😉).

-Steph, xx