Doolin sits on the Atlantic coast of County Clare and gives access to a small but varied collection of sites. Doolin Point is the standout dive, an intermediate shore site with reef, cave, and kelp forest down to thirty metres. White Strand and Clahane offer sheltered shallow reefs for beginners. Portroe Dive Quarry, a freshwater site inland, provides a practical training and bad-weather alternative with depths reaching forty metres. The ocean sites are best dived between May and September when Atlantic swells ease. Water is cold year-round and warmest in mid to late summer.
Monthly water temperature across Doolin's sites, from satellite sea-surface data corrected for depth. The band shows the site-to-site spread.
Ocean sites are exposed and depend on settled Atlantic conditions; they are best approached between late spring and early autumn. Portroe Dive Quarry offers a sheltered freshwater option when sea conditions make coastal sites unsuitable.
11 operators
Water temperature around Doolin ranges from about 9°C in January to 17°C in August, based on satellite sea-temperature data for its dive sites.
In the warm season (about 17°C) a 7mm or semi-dry suit is comfortable in Doolin; in the coldest months (about 9°C) step up to a drysuit.
Fin maps 4 sites in Doolin (3 scuba diving sites and 1 snorkelling spots).
2 more sites to explore
