The Cliffs of Moher Liscannor Walk: Trail Guide + Map

There are several different versions of the Cliffs of Moher Liscannor Walk depending on your fitness levels and how much time you have.

• Option 1: Walk from Liscannor town to the visitors centre (10.4km/2.5 hours)
• Option 2: The Liscannor to Doolin Cliff Wak (19.5km/4.5 hours)

These are both linear walks so you’ll either need to retrace your steps or take the 350 bus route back to the start point. Info below!

TRAIL NOW CLOSED (August 2024 update): This trail has been closed due to safety concerns. Work is due to commence this year to make the path safer, so please avoid until that time. There are plenty of other things to do in Doolin instead.

Some quick need-to-knows about the Cliffs of Moher Liscannor Walk

The Liscannor Cliff Walk isn’t as straightforward as some of the other Cliffs of Moher walks, so please take 10 seconds to scan the points below:

1. Start point

You have two options when it comes to the starting point (there are pros and cons to both – I’ll go into them further down):

• Liscannor Town (here on maps)
• The car park near the trailhead (here on maps)

2. The trail to Moher

The Liscannor to Cliffs of Moher Walk is the most popular of the two trails. The fun begins when you see Moher Tower at Hags Head and it ends at the visitor centre:

• Length: 10.4km from the town or 5.3km from the trailhead car park
• Difficulty: Moderate
• Time: 2.5 hours from the town or 1.5 hours from the trailhead car park

3. The trail to Doolin

The Liscannor to Doolin Walk is also known as the Cliffs of Moher Coastal Walk. This is a long, taxing trail that follows an uneven path along the coast:

• Length: 19.5km from the town or 12.5km from the trailhead car park
• Difficulty: Strenuous 
• Time: 4.5 hours from the town or 3 hours from the trailhead car park

4. The bus back to Liscannor

You don’t have to worry about retracing your steps on the Liscannor Cliff Walk (although you can, if you like!). The 350 Bus Éireann route leaves from both the Moher coach car park and Doolin Village and takes you back to Liscannor. Alternatively, you can call The Taxi Company on 065 707 5000.

5. Safety warning

The Liscannor to Cliffs of Moher Walk traverses narrow paths that are often next to an unprotected cliff edge. With sea cliffs, there is always a risk of landslides so walkers should pay attention to all signs and posted warnings. Use caution AT ALL TIMES.

An overview of both versions of the Liscannor Cliff Walk

This Liscannor to Cliffs of Moher Walk is incredibly scenic with panoramic views of the Atlantic Ocean stretching north to Galway Bay, West to the Aran Islands and South to Liscannor Bay.

Walkers also get incredible views of the Cliffs of Moher that visitors to the Cliffs of Moher Visitor’s Centre miss out on.

Liscannor to the Cliffs of Moher

So, you need to decide if you want to start from Liscannor Town or from the car park on the map above.

If you have the luxury of a car, I’d avoid starting in the town and instead start in the car park. The 5.5km between the town and Hags Head is very uneventful.

Once you reach/leave the trailhead car park, you’ll see a straight, gravel road leading slightly upwards. Follow this and within 20 minutes you’ll see Moher Tower (dates back to 1808).

One of the beauties of the Liscannor Cliff Walk is that you get an eyeful of the cliffs from early on – you’ll see them around 12 minutes after you leave the Tower.

The cliff views stay with you for the majority of the walk to the visitor centre. From the visitor centre, retrace your steps or take the bus mentioned above.

Liscannor to Doolin

Again, for this version of the Liscannor Cliff Walk you’ll need to decide whether to start from the town or the car park.

The trail follows the same route as outlined previously, but you have the added section of the walk to Doolin.

This section of the trail, which begins from near the visitor centre, is the famous Doolin Cliff Walk, but in reverse.

There are some fairly steep declines on this section of the trail, which is why good walking shoes are essential.

I love this section of the trail as you get a good eyeful of the Burren off in the distance.

Keep on going until you reach colourful Fisher Street (there’s plenty of restaurants in Doolin for a post-walk feed!) and then get the bus/a taxi back to Liscannor.

More things to do in Clare

One of the beauties of the Hag’s Head to Cliffs of Moher Walk is that it’s a short spin away from many of the best things to do in Clare.

Here are some suggestions:

• Walks: The Burren walks and the Kilkee Cliff Walk
• Beaches: Fanore Beach and Lahinch Beach
• Attractions: Bridges of Ross, Doonagore Castle and Loop Head
• Islands: Get ferry from Doolin to the Aran Islands and see Inis Mor, Inis Oirr or Inis Meain

Frequently asked questions

We’ve had a lot of questions over the years asking about everything from ‘Can you walk from Liscannor to Doolin?’ to ‘Where do you park?’.

In the section below, we’ve popped in the most FAQs that we’ve received. If you have a question that we haven’t tackled, ask away in the comments section below.