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Galway Ireland Tours › 9 Things to See in the Burren, and Which Galway Day Trips Stop ThereUpdated 2026-09-12

9 Things to See in the Burren, and Which Galway Day Trips Stop There

Hours, prices and access verified by the Galway Ireland Tours team — last checked 2026-09-12

Poulnabrone Dolmen's capstone resting on its upright stones, lit gold on the grass above the Burren limestone

The short answer. The Burren is about 360 km² of bare limestone in north Clare and east Galway. The things to see are Poulnabrone Dolmen, Aillwee Cave, Dunguaire Castle at Kinvara, Corcomroe Abbey, the Black Head coast road and the national park's Mullaghmore trails. A Galway day trip gives you 15 to 30 minutes at one or two of them. For the trails you need a car.

The simplest way to stand on the Burren

Twenty minutes at Poulnabrone, fifteen at Dunguaire and ninety at the cliffs, with the cliffs ticket in the $65 fare.

See the Cliffs & Burren dayCliffs of Moher tours from Galway

What the Burren is, in one paragraph

The name comes from the Irish Boíreann, a rocky place, and it is exact. The Burren covers roughly 360 square kilometres of the north of County Clare and the east of County Galway, and its rock formed in a shallow tropical sea near the equator around 330 million years ago. Rain and groundwater have been dissolving it ever since, which is what a karst landscape is. It sits inside the same 530 km² UNESCO Global Geopark as the Cliffs of Moher, and that is why you cross it on the way south: every one of the Clare-bound Galway day tours drives through it, and the question is only how often the coach stops.

The nine at a glance

Things to see in the Burren, and how a Galway day trip reaches each
SightWhat it isOn a Galway day tripEntry
Limestone pavementBare karst rock, about 330 million years oldCrossed by every Clare day tripNone, open landscape
Poulnabrone DolmenPortal tomb, burials from 3800–3200 BC20 min stop on the Cliffs & Burren tourNone, unguided site
Aillwee CaveShow cave with a birds of prey centre30 min stop on the Aillwee day€28 adult, not in the fare
Dunguaire Castle and Kinvara1520 tower house on Galway Bay15 min photo stop on the Cliffs & Burren and Aillwee daysPhoto stop outside; temporarily closed
Corcomroe AbbeyCistercian abbey, church built 1210–1225Seen from the coach on the cruise dayNone, unguided site
Black Head and the coast road1936 lighthouse above Fanore beachSeen from the coach on the cruise dayFree
Burren National ParkFive waymarked trails to MullaghmorePassed, not walked, on the Aillwee dayFree
Caherconnell Stone Fort10th-century stone fort, sheepdog demonstrationsNot on a Galway day trip; driveCheck the fort's own site
Doolin Cave7.3 m free-hanging stalactiteNot on a Galway day trip; driveCheck the cave's own site

For the gate prices at the stops the coaches do make, see what each stop charges.

The stops a Galway day trip makes

1. The limestone pavement itself

You get this whichever day you book. The pavement is part of Europe's largest karst landscape and looks bare only from the road: in the cracks grow over 70% of Ireland's native flowers, Arctic and Alpine plants beside Mediterranean ones. When the coach stops, walk twenty metres off the tarmac and look down.

2. Poulnabrone Dolmen

Poulnabrone Dolmen is a portal tomb: a flat capstone raised on upright slabs, standing alone on the pavement. Excavation found 33 people buried here in 3800–3200 BC, with a polished stone axe, arrowheads and pottery. It is a National Monument with no guide and no ticket. The Cliffs of Moher and Burren tour from Galway gives you twenty minutes, enough to walk out and circle it.

3. Aillwee Cave

Aillwee is a show cave above Ballyvaughan, with a Birds of Prey Centre flying displays since 2008. In 2026 it charges €28 an adult and €18 for ages 5 to 17, open daily 10:00–17:00 until 4 October. The Lally Tours day gives you thirty minutes and lists cave entry as excluded, so you pay at the door; what a Galway day tour includes sets those lines side by side.

Galway to Cliffs of Moher, Aillwee Cave & Dunguaire Castle Tour

Thirty minutes at Aillwee Cave, fifteen outside Dunguaire, ninety at the cliffs and forty-five in Doolin, with hotel pick-up on request a day ahead. From $76 a person; cave entry is paid at the door.

Check AvailabilityCompare Cliffs of Moher tours

4. Dunguaire Castle and Kinvara harbour

Dunguaire Castle is a tower house built in 1520 on Galway Bay at Kinvara. The Cliffs & Burren tour and the Aillwee day each give you fifteen minutes: the photograph across the water and a look at the harbour.

Dunguaire is temporarily closed, with no reopening date. The day trips only stop outside for photographs, so you lose nothing from the coach; compare the Clare days by their other stops.

What the coast road passes without stopping

The cruise day runs through Ballyvaughan and down the coast road past Fanore to Lisdoonvarna, before two hours on Inis Oírr and an hour at the cliffs. The coach does not stop here; you watch from the window. Torn between the island and a longer cliff top? Read Aran Islands or the Cliffs of Moher.

5. Corcomroe Abbey

A Cistercian abbey founded in 1182 by Donal Mór O'Brien, or around 1195 by his son. Its church dates from 1210–1225, carved in the School of the West style. It is unguided and free, with a car park at the end of a narrow road.

6. Black Head and the coast road to Fanore

Here the limestone runs into the Atlantic. Black Head lighthouse, an 8-metre tower first lit in 1936, marks the corner where the road turns south to Fanore beach. By car you can pull in and walk onto the rock.

💡 Did You Know? Twenty-three of Ireland's twenty-seven orchid species grow in Burren National Park, on ground that looks from the road like bare grey stone.

What no Galway day trip reaches

The last three need your own car or a second day. The route south is covered in how to drive to the Cliffs of Moher yourself, and each of these sits a short detour off it.

7. Burren National Park and Mullaghmore

The park is free and open all year. Five trails start at Gortlecka: three take 2.5 to 3.5 hours towards Mullaghmore, two take under an hour. The trailhead has no parking or toilet, so park free in Corofin and take the shuttle bus (May to September). Pick a dry day from Galway weather month by month: the trails are open limestone.

8. Caherconnell Stone Fort

A 10th-century stone fort with the only sheepdog demonstration in Clare, open 10am to 4pm daily. You can pair it with Poulnabrone.

9. Doolin Cave

The Clare days stop in Doolin village, not at the cave. It holds the Great Stalactite, 7.3 metres and free-hanging, found in 1952. With a car, it is your alternative to Aillwee.

✅ Useful Tip. With a car, give the Burren its own day and leave the cliffs to a coach: the park trails from Corofin in the morning, Caherconnell and Poulnabrone after lunch.

Which Burren day trip from Galway to pick

  • You want Poulnabrone. Take the Cliffs & Burren tour: $65, 8 hours 15 minutes, cliffs ticket in the fare.
  • You want a cave. Take the Lally Tours Aillwee day: $76, 8 hours, plus €28 a head at the cave.
  • You want the coast road and an island. Take the cruise day: $99 for 10 hours, with two hours on Inis Oírr in the Aran Islands.
  • You want to walk. The hiking day gives you four hours on the cliff path and crosses the Burren on the way back.

Compare every Cliffs of Moher tour from Galway hour by hour, or see which Galway day tour to book against Connemara and the city.

Burren questions travellers ask

What is the Burren famous for?
Bare limestone pavement, part of Europe's largest karst landscape, and flowers: Arctic, Alpine and Mediterranean plants grow side by side. It also holds Poulnabrone Dolmen, whose burials date from 3800 to 3200 BC.
Can you see the Burren and the Cliffs of Moher in one day from Galway?
Yes. Every Clare day trip from Galway crosses the Burren on the way to the cliffs. The Cliffs of Moher & the Burren Tour stops 20 minutes at Poulnabrone and 15 at Dunguaire, then gives you 90 minutes at the cliffs, in 8 hours 15 minutes for $65, with the cliffs ticket in the fare.
How much is Aillwee Cave?
In 2026 it is €28 per adult and €18 for ages 5 to 17. The Lally Tours day that stops there lists cave entry as excluded, so you pay at the door.
Is the Burren in Galway or Clare?
Both. Most of it lies in the north of County Clare, and it runs into the east of County Galway around Kinvara, about 360 square kilometres in all.

Know which stop you want? Match it to the day that stops there, not the one that drives past. Every Clare day is on Galway Ireland Tours.

The Clare days that stop in the Burren