County Clare and the Burren - Ireland 2014 - page 414

pubs between 21:30 and 22:00, finishing at about midnight. Get there before 21:00 if you
want a place to sit, or pop in later and plan on standing. The craic is fine regardless. Pubs
serve decent dinners before the music starts. ( Dial-A-Cab is a handy service for folks
without wheels wanting to link a night of fun in Doolin with a bed in Lisdoonvarna; mo-
bile 086-812-7049 or 087-290-2060.)
Hike or Cruise to the Cliffs of Moher
From Doolin, you can hike up the Burren Way along the coast for three miles to the Cliffs
of Moher. (Get advice locally on the trail condition and safety.) Doolin also offers boat
cruises along the Cliffs of Moher (see here ).
Sleeping in Doolin
$$ Harbour View B&B is a fine modern house with six rooms, overlooking the valley
a mile from the Doolin fiddles. Kathy Normoyle keeps the place immaculate, and serves
home-baked bread from her mom's house out back (Sb-€45-55, Db-€60-76, Tb-€75-90,
includes fine breakfast, Wi-Fi, on main road halfway between Lisdoonvarna and Cliffs
of Moher, next to Mac's Daybreak Market and gas station, tel. [phone],
www.harbourviewdoolin.com , [e-mail] ) .
$$ Doolin Activity Lodge is a modern compound of four stone buildings with 21
bright,airy,good-valuerooms(Sb-€35-40,Db-€60-80,Tb-€90-110,Qb-€100-140,located
halfway between Upper and Lower Villages, tel. [phone], mobile [phone],
www.doolinlodge.com , [e-mail] ).Thelodgeoffershandyamenities(details
listed earlier).
$$ Half Door B&B is the coziest place around, with five woody rooms and a pleasant
sun porch. It's just a short walk from the best pubs in the Upper Village (Sb-€45-55,
Db-€65-80, Tb-€100-105, cash only, Wi-Fi, a keg's roll from McDermott's pub, tel. 065/
707-5959, www.halfdoordoolin.com , [e-mail] ).
$ Doolin Hostel, right in Doolin's Lower Village with 60 beds, caters creatively to the
needs of backpackers in town for the music. Friendly Anthony and Dierdre are on top of
the local scene (dorm bed-€14-18, Db-€40-60, Tb-€49-69, Qb-€59-79, these prices guar-
anteed for Rick Steves readers in 2014, continental breakfast-€5, Lower Village, tel. 087/
282-0587, www.doolinhostel.ie , [e-mail] ) .
Eating in Doolin
Restaurants in this village have a habit of opening and then closing in less than two years
(too fly-by-night to list in a guidebook). It's tough to make a go of it. But Doolin's repu-