The Best Things to do on the West Coast of Ireland with Kids
The West Coast of Ireland is the perfect destination for families with kids. It’s welcoming and has it all – it has the best places family friendly beaches, gorgeous landscapes and activities for all age groups. We stay on the West Coast of Ireland in Newport every Summer and so can testify that it’s a brilliant place for a UK family Summer holiday with kids of all different ages as our kids are 14, 11, 9 and 6. We visit at the same time as the Newport Grainne Uaile Festival, a 3 day festival with things for the kids and musical entertainment taking place at the beginning of August. Here’s our review of our favourite things and the best things to do on the West Coast of Ireland with kids.
Table of Contents
Things to do on the West Coast of Ireland with Kids
What to Pack for a Family Holiday in Ireland
First of all – Ireland is not called the Emerald Isle for nothing! It does rain a lot! But I often find the rain is short lived. If you wake up to heavy rain, it’s often gone in an hour or so. I guess, being on the coast it moves quickly! Often you do seem to have rain in the morning but it does clear up throughout the day. So be prepared for rain at any time of year – make sure you have Welly Boots and a good raincoat – even in the Summer. It’s generally a bit cooler than England so make sure you have a woolly jumper. That said, we have been sunburnt in Ireland on the beach so make sure you also have Summer clothes with you too! And there’s plenty of fun things to do in the rain too!
How to get to West Coast of Ireland
If you’re travelling to the west coast of Ireland with kids from the UK, then you can fly to Shannon Airport or Cardiff, Manchester, Stansted, Gatwick, Liverpool and Edinburgh. Or you fly to Knock airport (which is the closest airport to Achill from Heathrow.) Or, Achill is 4 hours drive from Dublin so you can get the ferry from Holyhead (Wales) to Dublin. This is often what we like to do so we don’t have to pay for car rental in Ireland.
Swimming in Ireland with kids
Best Beaches in Western Ireland for Kids
Our kids love swimming and they love the beach. One of the best things about the West Coast of Ireland is their beautiful beaches. They have the best views in county mayo! See below for our favourite family friendly beaches. Think gorgeous white sandy beaches, rockpooling beaches and surfer’s paradise beaches – Ireland has them all! That said, it is the Atlantic Ocean and therefore it’s cold! Wet Suits are a must in Ireland. We’ve used these ones for kids in the past. Here’s a round-up of Ireland’s Best Beaches. One of the things we love about Ireland is we have never seen a full or busy Ireland beach – there’s always space for families to spread out and relax without worrying you’re going to knock another families sandcastle over! However, the sea is chilly and it’s best for kids to have wetsuit if they want to swim in the sea. Adults should also have a wetsuit too – it’s mighty chilly! Try our fun beach activities to do with kids!
Things to do outdoors on West Coast of Ireland with kids
Drive Atlantic Way
The Wild Atlantic Way is the world’s longest defined coastal touring route and passes through nine counties through some of Ireland’s most beautiful scenery. It makes for the best road trip and is the best way to see the real Ireland! It has been described as one of Europe’s most scenic drive. The full Wild Atlantic Way is 2,500 km (1,600 miles) in length so you will want to split it up into sections. This article has more in depth information of the different stretches of the Wild Atlantic Way so you can see which would suit you and your family the best.
Top Tips for Driving the Wild Atlantic Way
- Make sure you have enough petrol as some areas are remote
- Have a strong stomach. The roads on the Wild Atlantic Way can be a little hair-raising at times – some roads are thin and close to the cliff edge!
- Beware of the sheep! Be prepared for all types of weather and road conditions. Sheep and Cows like to cross the road in front of you and you may get stuck behind tractors!
- Take a camera and stop off to take photos in the picturesque spots.
Tourmakeady Waterfall and Recreation Ground
Tourmakeady on the shores of Lough Mask, is a beautiful woodland walk and enchanted waterfall and it’s perfect for a day trip! It’s a 5km walk which takes you to a spectacular waterfall that you can paddle in and swim under if you dare! The woods are perfect for making dens and playing hide n’ seek. We were lucky enough to see frogs when we visited and paddled around the waterfall.
Western Greenway Cycle Ride
I love the idea of going on bike rides with the kids but we rarely do it in England because there are so few traffic free routes. But the Great Western Greenway Cycle Route in Ireland is almost car free and a brilliant off-road cycling and walking route in Ireland. The route can be split up into three sections. We commonly cycle the second or third route. The kids love the challenge, you will have the best time and there’s spectacular views across Clew Bay to Croagh Patrick and across Mulranny Bay.
Westport – Newport (12km)
Newport – Mulranny (18km)
Mulranny – Achill (13km)
But if you don’t have your own bike – Clew Bay Bike Hire has bases in each town and village along the route that allow you to hire in one town and drop your bike off at any of their other bases. This means you only have to cycle as far as you want and they will bring you back to your starting point in their shuttle bus. The company can also supply bikes with trailers so you can pull younger kids behind you. Our daughter has fallen asleep many times in these!
Climb Croagh Patrick
Croagh Patrick is a hike and pilgrimage and is best suited for older children. The distance from the parking lot to the summit and back is 4.22 miles. It takes the average climber three and a half hours: two hours ascending, an hour and a half descending. It can be a tricky climb as the terrain is mostly loose stones and grave but it is doable with older kids probably aged nine upwards. On Reek Sunday, thousands of people climb as pilgrimage, some barefoot on the last Sunday in July so it may be best to stick to quieter times. Make sure you prepare for the weather and take a snack and a walking pole is helpful too.
Surfing/ Kayaking Water Sports
Ireland is a great place to try new watersports – all set against stunning scenery. Achill Island is a perfect place for families and kids to learn Kayaking and surfing. Keel Lake offers the perfect location for beginner and children’s kayak lessons and courses, it’s safe and a good place to spot wildlife too. Achill Island Surf School offers kayaking lessons but also kid’s surfing and paddleboarding. Kids can also do 5 day summer activity camps too. Keel beach is a brilliant beach for surfing but check the tides as the sea on some days can be rough.
Visit the Woods
Must-see destinations in West Ireland
There is a lovely 1 hour walk through Raheens Woods which is off the road from Newport to Castlebar. There are parking facilities for cars as well as picnic benches. Along with it being a nature trail, it’s also a walk dotted with unique points of interests that can be seen from the trail – there is an eerie stately home and a monument to a loved-up couple which transports you back in time. You can try our Woodland Crafts for Kids when you visit here or our favourite games to play in the woods with kids!
Clew Bay Boat Ride
Clew Bay has, according to tradition, 365 islands, one for every day of the year. It’s very beautiful with spectacular views across the coast. You can take a mini cruise around Clew Bay which kids will love to see the seals, the islands and enjoy unforgettable views of Croagh Patrick, Murrisk Abbey and Inishgort lighthouse. You can take a boat ride from Westport using Westport Cruises. See below for more suggestions for a family friendly day-trip to Westport.
Visit Clare Island
Clare Island is a tiny island, home to only 160 people. It’s one of the popular destinations for It’s famous as the ancestral home of the legendary Pirate Queen Grace O’Malley (Granuaile) so kids will love to visit here to find out more about her. On Clare Island, you can go horse-riding, bike riding, hike or visit the beach or an art gallery. To get to the island you must take a ferry. In summer, there are a number of ferry sailings from Roonagh Pier to Clare Island. The boat crossing takes about 25 minutes. In the winter, there are usually only two boats a day (morning and evening) so check www.clareislandferry.com for more information.
Belleek Castle in Ballina
Belleek Castle is a fun day out with kids in the West Coast of Ireland. It’s a beautiful events venue but aside of that, Balleek Castle was built in 1825 and was owned by Marshall Doran – a famous sailor and smuggler. There are Castle Tours at 10.30am, 12pm 2pm & 4pm every day where you can learn more about the rich history of Belleek Castle and the exciting life of Marshall Doran. You can visit the Armoury, the extensive Fossil Room, the pirate princess – Grace O’Malley’s Bed as well as the Medieval Banqueting Hall. All the staff are lovely and very knowledgeable – they’re great at making the kids feel welcome and portraying the History of the castle in a fun way with plenty of legends and fables! Once you’ve toured the castle, there’s a lovely woodland walk to visit some cute fairy houses. It’s like being in a fairy tale. Our kids loved this walk around a pretty lake – searching for fairy houses as we went!
Best Beaches to visit on Achill Island for the whole family
We find the best beaches on West Coast Ireland are on Achill Island. There are amazing beaches, perfect for spending a day on……here are our top picks of beaches to visit with kids.
Keem Bay – This is our favourite blue flag beach, you can take a lovely drive to it along the Atlantic Way (see above) which is not for the faint hearted (but is safe) and you’ll be greeted with breathtaking views – the sea looks tropical – it’s so blue! If you’re lucky, you can also spot basking sharks and seals. It’s a sheltered beach with public toilets, there’s a steep walk down but there is easy access with a handrail. It’s one for the bucket list after appearing in
We love this beach because……… the tide creates a separate pool of water which is perfect for little kids to play in.
Keel – Keel is a large beach, the first one you reach on Achill Island. It’s very popular with surfers and it’s perfect for flying a kite.
We love this beach because…….the kids love jumping in the waves and body boarding here!
Doogort – Dugort beach is at the bottom of Mount Slievemore with beautiful silvery, white sand. There are two Blue Flag beaches – the Silver Strand and the Golden Strand here and apparently you can, at times paddle between them.
We love this beach because……. the sea is calm enough for us to take a dinghy and there are rock pools to explore! This is also a great place to collect sea glass. Here’s our little video of our Windy Day on Doogort Beach.
Dooega – Dooega beach is a smaller beach with great rock-pooling.
We love this beach because……. the sea isn’t too far out from the sand and these are our most successful rock pooling beaches for catching crabs!
Other beaches worth visiting (but not on Achill Island are…..)
Ely Beach (which our daughter likes to think is named Ellie beach – her namesake beach!) Ely Bay, near Belmullet town, is located on the Mullett Peninsula, it is a fine sandy Blue Flag Beach.
We love this beach because……. the sea is shallow for a long, long way out so it’s safe for little ones playing.
Also worth visiting is Mulranny Beach which is before you get to Achill. It’s home of the Mulranny Park Hotel and there’s a great walk from the hotel down some steps and across a pier with spectacular views. You do need to check the tides out as you can’t always walk across it but the salt marshes are great for kids to explore (although we have nearly lost our wellies in here – some of the mud is very sticky. The kids think it’s quicksand!) There’s several parts to this beach with a stony part (great for climbing) and a sandy part (great for swimming) which is further along across the golf course. I simply cannot describe how stunning the view is across Mulranny – take it all in along with a pint of Guiness and a packet of Taytos (simply has to be done for a proper Irish experience) at Mcloughlins of Mulranny. This pub has simply the loveliest views of any pub I’ve ever visited!
Things to do with kids on a Rainy Day in the West coast of Ireland
So, there is a high probability you will have some rain on your trip to Ireland but there are plenty of things to do in the West Coast of Ireland when it’s raining. We’ve listed our favourite things to do on a Rainy Day in Ireland………. As well as below, there is a soft play, cinema and bowling at Castlebar Mayo Leisure Point. We always like to catch a film when we visit Ireland as it works out cheaper for a family than visiting in England. You can also check out our fun things to do outside in rainy weather!
The Museum of Countrylife is a museum about the history of Ireland. The exhibitions focus on bygone crafts and skills, traditional farming and fishing practices, ancient customs, festivals, life in the home and school life. Our kids love the exhibitions on how school used to be and seeing how bicycles have evolved.
Ballycroy National Park and Visitor Centre
Ballycroy National Park is a looped walk, suitable for buggies. There are longer walks available across the bogs and mountainous unspoilt terrain. During Holidays, there are Wild Child Clubs which allow children to explore nature in the surrounding areas. This year we went pond dipping and learnt all about wildflowers from the Moors. But if you need some shelter – there’s the Ginger & Wild Cafe which does a smashing hot chocolate and the Visitor Centre which is a small museum with some interesting interactive displays for kids including a crabbing boat to play in and learning about rural Irish history.
Connemara National Park includes several hiking trails and a small mountain range.
Bunratty Castle and Folk Park Bunratty is a brilliant day out for families whatever the weather! The castle is an authentic Irish castle – you can even have a medieval banquet there! There is a pet farm for kids to meet the animals including Irish Wolfhounds, goats and Connemara ponies. There’s a magical fairy trail and a street set up for village life in Ireland in the 19th Century!
Galway City Museum is great for history buffs, best for older children but has some interesting displays on sea life, the civil war and WW2.
Things to do with the Kids in Westport
Westport is a great place to visit in any weather. It’s a lovely shopping town and has great ice cream shops, a park and a brand new leisure centre with swimming pool. It’s a great family fun day out in Ireland and there’s lots of pubs playing traditional music..
Westport House is a great place to visit with kids, Pirate Adventure Park at Westport House is a fun-filled adventure park for children making it an ideal place to visit in the summer months. There’s rides such as the Cannonball Run slide, Pirate Queen Swinging Ship and Pirates Plunge flume ride to go-karting It’s a great place for outdoor activities. For a gentler pace, families will love the swan pedalo boats on the lake and the Westport House Express train ride along a miniature railway.
Where can you go for traditional Irish Dancing and Music?
The Grainne Uaile in Newport is a really lovely, award winning traditional Irish pub. It’s a family friendly pub with lovely food and a playground opposite. Traditional live Music can be heard around 10pm every Thursday evening and it’s well worth venturing out for! You’ll also find traditional Irish music on in Matt Molleys in Westport.
Well, if you’ve made it to the end of this very long post – we hope you understand how passionate we are about family holidays in Ireland! I hope I’ve made you keen to visit this beautiful part of Ireland if you have a family – we promise you’ll have a wonderful time! Here’s some of our other posts about our holidays in Ireland in case you’re keen to visit for a family trip……
Our Trip to the West Coast of Ireland
If you’re looking for some other fun family friendly UK holidays………
Quirky UK Family Friendly Places to Stay
Best UK Family Holiday Destinations: Wales
11 Top Family Friendly things to do in Cornwall
