Blog

Know before you go

Road trips, driving tips, and insider knowledge from a team that has driven every road on the island.

All Destinations & Attractions Road Trips & Itineraries Things to Do & Experiences Travel Tips & Advice

The County Clare coastline in Ireland: tiered grey limestone cliffs falling into a rough Atlantic sea, a headland running north, wind-burnt grass and a low drystone wall under heavy overcast sky

County Clare by Car: The Complete Self-Drive Guide

How to drive County Clare: sequence the county properly, from Bunratty and Ennis to the Cliffs of Moher, Doolin and the Aran Islands, the Burren, Lahinch, Loop Head and East Clare, with real distances and honest trade-offs.

A small Irish lakeside town at the foot of a broad lake with a long many-arched stone bridge over the water, slate-roofed houses and a squat square stone tower among trees, wooded hills behind under overcast Atlantic light

Things to Do & Experiences

Killaloe, Lough Derg and East Clare by Car

Driving East Clare from Killaloe: the new bypass and the pedestrianised old bridge, parking and the town trail, St Flannan's Cathedral, the swim and the forest above Two Mile Gate, and the boat to Inis Cealtra.

A small Irish seaside town wrapped around a horseshoe bay, with a long curved sandy beach, a promenade and seafront terraces below green headlands under soft overcast Atlantic light

Destinations & Attractions

Kilkee and Loop Head by Car: The West Clare Coast

Driving the West Clare coast: parking and the beach at Kilkee, the cliff walk and the Pollock Holes, the road out to the Bridges of Ross and Loop Head Lighthouse, and what is not worth the detour.

A single megalithic portal tomb of two upright limestone slabs carrying one large flat capstone, standing alone on bare cracked limestone pavement in the Burren uplands under an overcast sky

Things to Do & Experiences

Poulnabrone Dolmen and the Burren Uplands by Car

Driving to Poulnabrone Dolmen: where the car park is and what is free, the best hour to beat the coaches, what the excavation found, Caherconnell Stone Fort, Kilfenora and the Burren uplands on the R480.

A small Irish seaside village on the Atlantic with a stone promenade and sea wall along a broad sandy bay, slate-roofed houses behind and a low green headland at one end

Things to Do & Experiences

Lahinch by Car: The Promenade, the Surf and the Golf Links

Driving to Lahinch: where to park and what it costs, the beach and lifeguard rules, how the village became Ireland's surf capital, what Lahinch Golf Club charges visitors, and the ten-minute run to the Cliffs of Moher.

A small Irish town gathered along its river with grey slate rooftops, a modest church tower and a low stone bridge over the water

Destinations & Attractions

Ennis by Car: Parking, the Town Trail and the Road to Shannon

Driving to Ennis: where to actually park and what it costs, the friary and the free town trail, the Market Place car park trap on market mornings, and the twenty-minute run to Shannon.

Cracked grey limestone pavement with hazel scrub, drystone walls and Galway Bay in the distance

Destinations & Attractions

The Burren by Car: The National Park, Aillwee Cave and the Coast Road

Driving the Burren: where the National Park trails actually start, what Aillwee Cave and Caherconnell cost, the R477 coast road under Black Head, and the ground you may not walk on.

A small Irish coastal village strung along a road above a stone harbour with the Atlantic beyond

Destinations & Attractions

Doolin by Car: Doolin Cave, the Ferry and the Trad Pubs

Driving to Doolin: the Creamery Cross turn, what parking at the pier costs, Doolin Cave tours and prices, the Aran Islands ferry, what is left of the cliff walk, and the ground you must not walk on.

Grey limestone medieval Irish tower house castle with battlements rising above trees in a County Clare village

Destinations & Attractions

Bunratty Castle and Folk Park by Car

Driving to Bunratty Castle and Folk Park: the Exit 6 turn off the N18, the free car park, the 4pm castle cut-off, the 26-acre Folk Park, the banquet, and the ground that is off limits.