Between rounds
Things to Do
Clare is not only a golf county. These pages will help you fill the hours between tee times — coast, towns, and a few well-known landscapes — without turning into a generic tourism directory.
Ways to fill a day
Start with a category, then follow it to a place already on a Clare golf trip.
Places golfers already pass
Established Clare names, used here as navigation rather than as a finished visitor guide. Opening hours, prices and extra attractions will be added as they are researched.
Coast & scenery
Cliffs of Moher
The Cliffs of Moher Experience — sea cliffs, visitor centre, cliff paths and on-site parking reached via the main car park opposite the centre.
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Walking / outdoors
The Burren
Limestone pavement inland from Lahinch and Doolin — a large region; the National Park trailhead is best reached from Corofin with the summer shuttle bus.
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Walking / outdoors
Burren National Park
State-owned limestone country in the southeastern Burren — way-marked trails, seasonal guided walks and a free shuttle from Corofin (May–August).
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Heritage
Loop Head Lighthouse
A working lighthouse at the tip of the Loop Head peninsula — guided tower tours and Atlantic views; allow time on the narrow road from Kilkee.
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Coast & scenery
Loop Head Peninsula
The road beyond Kilkee to the lighthouse — dramatic coast, quiet villages and a full afternoon if the weather is behaving.
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Walking / outdoors
Kilkee Cliff Walk
A coastal path from Kilkee’s West End along the cliffs — short linear routes or a longer loop, with Diamond Rocks as a natural start point.
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Heritage
Scattery Island
A monastic island in the Shannon Estuary, reached by boat from Kilrush Marina — a half-day when you are not playing, typically May to September.
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Heritage
Vandeleur Walled Garden
A restored walled garden and visitor centre just outside Kilrush — a calm hour or two, especially if a partner is not on the course.
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Coast & scenery
Spanish Point & Mal Bay
Atlantic beaches and headlands beside Spanish Point Golf Club — a straightforward coastal walk when you have an hour between tee times.
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Towns & villages
Doolin
Harbour village north of Lahinch — ferries, pubs and a small hotel cluster when you want north Clare without staying in Lahinch itself.
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Coast & scenery
Doolin Ferry to the Aran Islands
Passenger ferries from Doolin pier to the Aran Islands — a full-day boat trip when golf is off the schedule; sailings and routes vary by season.
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Heritage
Bunratty Castle & Folk Park
A restored medieval castle and 26-acre folk park in Bunratty village — the obvious non-golf stop between Shannon Airport and a west Clare drive.
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Coast & scenery
Kilkee
A Victorian seaside town on Moore Bay — useful as a base or a stop on the road to Loop Head and Doonbeg.
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Heritage
Ennis Friary
A medieval Franciscan friary in the centre of Ennis — remarkable limestone carvings and a roofed nave, a short walk from the town's hotels and restaurants.
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Towns & villages
Kilrush
A Shannon Estuary market town and a natural base for Kilrush Golf Club, the Killimer ferry and west Clare’s lower-priced golf.
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Heritage
Shannon Aviation Museum
An interactive aviation museum in Shannon — flight simulators, vintage aircraft and guided tours, useful for a non-golfing partner on arrival or departure day.
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Heritage
Inis Cealtra Visitor Experience
An interpretive centre in Mountshannon on Lough Derg — exhibitions on Holy Island and boat trips across the lake when sailings operate.
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Rainy-day options
Indoor suggestions will be added once they have been checked.
Still being researched
Clare weather is part of a golf trip. Indoor options — museums, music, and town walking — will appear here without guessed opening hours or reviews.
Pair this with the golf
Things to do only make sense beside where you play. Start with a course, a town, or a west Clare loop.