Psst! Hey, you! Yeah, you. I’m going to let you in on one of the best kept secrets in Ireland. Come a little closer. We don’t want this getting out or it will become another over-populated tourist destination. You want to see the Cliffs of Moher without all the traffic and a horde of tourists? I’m going to tell you about a little car park, well off the beaten path, that can only accommodate about forty cars, max. You drop a couple euro in the cashbox…yeah, two euro for the whole day… and in fifteen minutes you’ve got your own personal gander at the Cliffs of Moher, Ireland’s most iconic view. No, no, don’t thank me. Just keep it to yourself, okay kid?

Sound too good to be true? Well, it isn’t. Thanks to our Airbnb hosts in Limerick who let us in on the location of the car park, we’ve been there and done that. It’s not even a car park; it’s a farmer’s field. And the two euro is ostensibly to cover his insurance for allowing thousands of tourists to cross his land each year. But if he’s making a little money off of it, I don’t have a problem with that. It’s a generous service he offers.

The farm is outside the don’t-blink-or-you’ll-miss-it village of Liscannor on the southern coast of County Clare, and it provides access to an incredible, 13-kilometer cliff walk to the village of Doolin north of the cliffs. We actually saw signs for the cliff walk parking as we approached Liscannor, yet almost no one seems to know about or take advantage of this opportunity to take in one of the most beautiful sights in Ireland from a unique vantage point.

The rain had started just as we checked out of our Airbnb that morning. I eyed the thick, black rainclouds apprehensively as we drove through Limerick and past Shannon Airport. It didn’t look like a very good day for viewing the cliffs. Our Limerick hosts had told us not to bother in the rain. But my forecast called for sun, so we pressed on.

I don’t know how or when it happened, but as we approached Liscannor I pulled my nose out of a map to find blue sky with a low line of chubby, cumulus clouds just above the horizon. I looked behind and all around us—not a raincloud to be seen! The weather gods were smiling upon us, perhaps in apology for our first four days in Limerick. What a great day to be outdoors! What an amazing view!

After our walk we drove past the ginormous car park at the official cliffs visitor center. I watched the parade of people making their way up to the cliffs.

I wanted to tell them to get back in their cars and head to Liscannor or Doolin instead.

Don’t go for the canned version! Get outside and walk it!

But I held my tongue.

Let’s just keep it our little secret, okay?