Cliffs of Moher
- Bunratty Castle
- The Burren
- Galway Bay
Cliffs of Moher One-Day Rail Tour
Come and roar out at the Atlantic Ocean from the Cliffs of Moher!
A day trip to Ireland's rugged and unique mid-western coast, via Limerick on the mighty River Shannon, and onto the imposing Bunratty Castle with its lovely folk park.
Visit the breath-taking Cliffs of Moher rising high above the Wild Atlantic Ocean. Explore the lunar landscape of the Burren and the beautiful shores of Galway Bay.
A flavour of Galway City concludes the tour before our return to Dublin.
- Return Rail Travel.
- Reserved Seats on the train.
- Railtours Ireland Host throughout.
- Visitor Attraction Admissions.
- Escorted Coach.
1 Days
From
$159pps
From price is based on 1 adult.
"Great tour!"
Nov 2023 by Vinton
We really liked this tour. Sights and scenery was beautiful. The tour guide kept every one informed of where to be and when and was very attentive to everyone’s needs. The sights and scenery on this trip was amazing! The place we stoppped for lunch was delicious and they had everyone in and out in record time. Would recommend this tour if you get a chance to do it!!
"Informative and punctual"
Apr 2023 by Jessica M
Punctual. Very informative. Definitely recommend for future travelers. Did a good job of keeping everyone together
"Great guides and tour!"
Nov 2021 by Michael B, Sweden
A family of three from Sweden, and we all had a really nice time. The guide, Brian educated us with his extensive knowledge, as well as entertained us with his humor. I can highly recommend a tour.
"Excellent, well-paced tour!"
Jan 2020 by prncssheba
I am traveling with my parents who are 70+ years old and decided to take them on a rail tour since many buses don't have restrooms. I'm so glad I paid the additional cost for rail instead of the bus! While it was an early start (07:00 departure) the train ride was quite comfortable and the directions to check in were very clear. One thing to note is that breakfast isn't really available on the train. The cafe car is quite busy so unless you make a reservation ahead of time, the only thing available is the cart that goes up and down the train aisles that offers a very modest selection of pre-packaged baked goods, coffee, tea, and sandwiches. The Heuston train station itself has a decent selection of coffee/tea, deli, and a fast food place where you can purchase food ahead of time if you don't have breakfast included in your tour package.
Onto the tour! Our tour guide, David, was very knowledgeable and attentive throughout the entire day, which was quite long since we returned to Dublin at the end of the tour. It was well paced with a great lead-up to the headliner, the Cliffs of Moher. Bunratty Castle was a delightful surprise with an entire medieval village on its campus. The castle itself was quite impressive on the inside and the quick tour we're given provides great context before you're given time to explore.
Then there's the ride up the coast to Galway. We visited in the middle of January when the sun goes down around 16:45 so we had a nice view for the beginning of the ride and a dusk view (which certainly wasn't bad) for the remainder. There were opportunities to quickly hop off of the bus for photo opps at scenic points along the way.
Overall, it was a wonderful experience. I highly recommend this tour!
"The sights were amazing!"
Jan 2020 by internationalEdu
Our group of 10 had an incredible experience on this train tour with our guide, Jonathan. He was knowledgeable and entertaining. The sights were amazing! The fog lifted just enough for us to see the Cliff of Moher in all its glory. As well, our family loved the Burren and Bunratty Castle. I recommend this tour, and Jonathan, highly.
"It was awesome."
Dec 2019 by DeanF826
My mom and sisters and I went on this over Christmas break and it was awesome.
We had Terry as our guide and he was the absolute best. We did everything we expected to do on the tour and more. If he is able to let you see something cool and the bus is on time then he will do it. Terry took care of everything and called the restaurant ahead of time at Cliffs of Moher so our food was out quickly and then we got to go to the cool chocolate shop. The tour itself was amazing and the views were incredible. We had enough time to look at everything plus more to walk around and shop as well. Terry gave us recommendations and then let us go do our own thing if we wanted. We loved his little intro and tours he gave because they were very informative but then we got to go look around on our own too. The end of the tour we did a toast on the train and it was so cool! We love Ireland and our awesome tour guide Terry! We hope to return again soon.
"Amazing guide"
Dec 2019 by cgower4
Bunratty, Galway, Cliffs of Moher - AMAZING!
This day trip was truly wonderful. We had the most amazing guide, John Todd, who made the day so memorable. John made sure we were well-informed about all of the sights we were seeing, as well as making it so much fun. While I think the trip would have been special no matter what, John was really the cherry on top! This tour definitely exceeded my expectations and was one of my favorite parts of my trip to Ireland.
"Highly recommend this trip"
Nov 2019 by Lisa H
Well organized and a great day
TripAdvisor review: Railtours Ireland First Class - Day Tours
We did the one day trip by rail to/from the Cliffs of Moher with Bunratty castle and a couple other stops along the way. Overall the day was very pleasant and a great time.
Our guide was John Todd, and he was just spectacular. We thoroughly enjoyed his commentary throughout the day and chatting with him on the train back to Dublin.
The Bunratty Castle and grounds were nice. After being in Dublin and miles of concrete for a few days, being in the green of this site was very appealing. It was quite cool in the morning and the grounds and castle were quiet, it was perfect.
onto lunch and a great pub in Dooling and then onto the cliffs, they were amazing and not crowded.
Meeting John in his yellow jacket at the train station was easy, the ticketing and overall instructions throughout the day were very good. We've been on many guided tours and this was a well thought out and easily navigated day. I think our group of 13 did a good job of staying on time, which helps.
I would highly recommend this trip and I would hope you are lucky enough to get John Todd as your guide.
View our Cliffs of Moher, Bunratty Castle, Burren & Galway Bay tour HERE
"Absolutely wonderful"
Nov 2019 by Lucinda B
Had an excellent guide(Peter MacDonald) for the day. Left Dublin Train Station at 7:00 am and returned just before 10:00 pm. A full day of beautiful Ireland scenery and history with lunch at a wonderful Irish pub in Doolin and dinner on our own in Galway. Absolutely wonderful.
"We had a fantastic tour "
Jun 2019 by Lisa Goldstein
"We had a fantastic tour with David. The Cliffs of Moher, Bunratty Castle, the Burren and Galway Bay is a great way to see a lot of Ireland in a short amount of time. David was a fabulous tour guide and made the day truly enjoyable."
Visitor Attraction Admissions included: Bunratty Castle and Folk Park & The Cliffs of Moher Visitor Experience.
- Return Rail Travel.
- Reserved Seats on the train.
- Railtours Ireland Host throughout.
- Visitor Attraction Admissions.
- Escorted Coach.
Book any 2 Day Tours and receive a Free Upgrade: 48hr Hop-on-Hop-off Dublin City Sightseeing Tour tickets.
DAY
1
1
Dublin to Bunratty Castle & Cliffs of Moher
Check-in is 20 minutes prior to Train Departure Time.
Check-in beside the Customer Service Desk at Heuston Station where our representative will be waiting for you in their yellow jacket!
Check in for 07:00 departure from Dublin Heuston Station, opened in 1844 as the headquarters of the Great Southern & Western Railway. Heuston Station is now the official principal station of Iarnród Éireann, Ireland’s national railway company.
As your train departs, we travel in a south westerly direction, through Dublin's western suburbs and then through the lush, fertile countryside of Co. Kildare. Our journey takes us through the Curragh which is famous for its racecourse, home of the Irish Derby, and there are many stud farms in the vicinity. One of the train stops is Thurles, where the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) was founded in 1884. The GAA is the sporting body responsible for promoting Ireland’s National sports - Gaelic football and hurling.
We change trains at Limerick Junction for the Limerick bound train. You don't need to worry about this change as you will be fully escorted from Dublin to Limerick Station by our Railtours Ireland host.
Upon arrival to Limerick, we will join our Railtours Ireland tour coach. Limerick has a population of about 90,000 and its city charter was granted in 1197AD, making it older than London! As we cross the river Shannon - Ireland’s longest river - you will see views of King John’s Castle to the right. The castle was completed in 1200 and marks the origins of the city.
Limerick’s most famous author, Frank McCourt, grew up here and the city was the setting for his famous book Angela’s Ashes. Limerick is also the birthplace of celebrated BBC radio DJ, Terry Wogan and Hollywood star, Richard Harris. We will pass the GAA grounds of Páirc na nGael –the home ground of County Limerick’s Hurling and Gaelic Football teams. Limerick is also the home of Irish Rugby and we will pass Thomond Park, the Rugby stadium.
After a brief city tour we travel onto Bunratty Castle and Folk Park. The castle was completed in 1425 and, after many years of neglect, has been restored to its former glory. There is also a folk park here which you will have time to explore.
After the visit to Bunratty Castle and Folk park we make our way to Co. Clare. There is a lunch stop at alocal pub before arriving at the Cliffs of Moher, which are among the highest sea cliffs in Europe. There is plenty of time to visit Ireland’s second most popular tourist attraction and your host will advise you of the departure time. From here, we take the coast road for much of the way to Galway, with time for photos along the Burren. This is a national park and the word 'Burren' comes from the Irish Language, meaning ‘rocky place’. It is a unique lunar landscape of limestone which was described in 1649 by one of Oliver Cromwell’s men as: “No tree to hang a man, no water deep enough to drown him and no soil deep enough to bury him”. Today the Burren is noted for its diverse flora with few parallels elsewhere in Ireland or, indeed, Europe.
We continue along the coast road to Black Head, passing the quaint coastal villages of Ballyvaughan and Kinvara before joining the main road to Galway. There will be some free time in Galway to explore the streets around Eyre Square or grab a bite to eat before catching the train back to Dublin Heuston.
We depart from Galway by train and return to Dublin by a different route, via Athenry, Tullamore and Athlone, where we cross the mighty river Shannon once more.
Arrival into Dublin Heuston at 21:45hrs.
