ADVENTURES WITH KIDS IN IRELAND – EXCITING OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES FOR KIDS

Last updated on November 10, 2024

If your children dance around your nose on holiday – give them up! Really! Hand them over! But into good hands, of course :-).

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Intro

Fortunately, you are not alone with this issue in Ireland, the Irish feel the same way.

Ireland is one of the youngest countries in Europe – there are more children here than in most other European countries. Why is that? The Irish are particularly family-friendly and like to have several children per family. You’ll often see families with three or four children travelling here.

These many children have long summer holidays and Irish families are then faced with the question three or four times over – how do I keep them occupied now?

Fortunately, on the family-friendly Emerald Isle, there are many family-friendly solutions to this problem. Nowhere else have I seen so many children’s activities, children’s holiday camps and adventure activities as here.

So if you’re thinking about where to spend your next summer holiday with your family, think about Ireland!

We are originally from Germany, but have lived in Ireland for several years (second home). We have travelled to the island many times and therefore know it very well.

Ireland is an island and Irish families also like to spend their summer holidays on the beautiful coasts with their many wonderful sandy beaches and clear, clean water. But the inland lakes along the River Shannon are also a popular destination for family holidays.

Here, by the water, there are also plenty of aqua parks, fun parks. Adventure and activity providers offering outdoor activities for children and families.

Let’s take a closer look at some of the offers:

Alive Outside

South of Dublin lies the coastal town of Bray. Nearby is the historic Kilruddery House and that’s where you’ll find Alive Outside. There is a splash zone, swimming fun, kayaking, bushcraft and outdoor skills, obstacle course and laser tag. See: https://www.aliveoutside.ie/weekendactivities.

Zipit Forest Adventures

Zipit offers tremendously well-designed high ropes courses in beautiful forests – not just for kids, but a great activity for adults too! There are three locations on the island, in Tibradden Wood, south of Dublin, in Farran Park, west of Cork and at Lough Key on the River Shannon. See: https://zipit.ie/.

CP Adventure

South-west of Dublin you will find the Blessington Lakes and the historic Russborough House. This is where CP Adventure is based. There are ziplines, rope and climbing courses, a climbing tower, bushcraft, kayaking, abseiling, archery and you can also hire bikes. See: https://www.cpadventure.ie/.

Castlecomer Discovery Park

Castlecomer is a small town north of Kilkenny. The Discovery Park offers a high ropes course, ziplines, a climbing wall, pedal boats and kayaks, archery and axe throwing, mountain biking, orienteering and walking trails. See: https://www.discoverypark.ie/.

Westport Adventure Park

Westport is a lovely small town on the northern west coast. The adventure park offers a high ropes course, an obstacle course, splatball, paintball, bubble soccer and other activities. See: https://westportadventurepark.ie/families/.

Cavan Adventure Centre

Cavan Adventure Centre is located in the midst of beautiful lakeland scenery in Northern Ireland. The Cavan Adventure Centre aims to connect you with nature and offers a water park and various water and boating activities as well as guided nature walks and bike rides. See: https://cavanadventure.ie/activities-events/.

Todd’s Leap Activity Centre

In the middle of Northern Ireland you will find Todd’s Leap Activity Centre with a diving platform, giant swing, archery, off-road driving, climbing wall, splatball, ziplines, paintball and air rifle shooting. See: https://toddsleap.com/.

Killary Adventure Company

The beautiful Killary Fjord is located on the northern west coast. There you will find the Killary Adventure Company with outdoor activities such as: Turf Challenge, Kayaking, Gorge Walking, Ringo Rides, High Ropes, Climbing Tower, Giant Swing, Archery, Orienteering and more. See: https://killaryadventure.com/en/family-adventure-activities.

Shannon River Adventure

There are several providers in the adventure segment on the River Shannon. One of these is Shannon River Adventure with activities such as: Canoeing and kayaking, archery, climbing wall, water slides and various games in and around the water. See: https://www.shannonriveradventure.com/families-friends.

Outdoor Activity Centre

The Outdoor Activity Centre, part of the Centerparks chain, is located in the heart of Ireland. The Outdoor Activity Centre is part of the Longford Forest centre park. It offers laser combat, off-road driving, also with children’s vehicles, quad biking (also for children), archery, paintball, Segway, high ropes course, zipline, kayaking and a swimming and water park. See: https://www.centerparcs.co.uk/discover-center-parcs/activities/outdoor-activities/outdoor-activities-centre.html.

Wildlands

Wildlands is located just outside Galway on the west coast. It is practically a large indoor and outdoor family park with lots of activities and accommodation on site. The all-inclusive offer for families. See: https://www.wildlands.ie.

Star Outdoors Kenmare Adventure Centre

Kenmare is located on the south-west coast. Right on the waterfront, the Star Outdoors Adventure Centre offers a waterpark, kayaking, paintball and splatball, archery, obstacle courses, mini golf and boat trips in Kenmare Bay. See: https://staroutdoors.ie/.

Tralee Bay Wetlands Eco and Activity Park

Tralee Bay is also located on the south-west coast. The Wetlands and Activity Park actually has two main focuses: Ecotourism and children’s fun. There are adventure activities and guided tours about fauna and flora, as well as playgrounds, boats, a climbing wall and Water Zorbs, where you swim – or rather roll – across the lake in a transparent ball. See: https://traleebaywetlands.org/activity-park.

Conclusion

Water games, kayaking, paddle boarding, archery, team activities, climbing wall, high ropes course, obstacle course or creative activities – the offers in Ireland are as varied as the tastes of young and old kids.

In this article, I’ve given you a first impression of what’s on offer on the island, but of course there are many, many more.

If you’re thinking about a family holiday, then think about Ireland. The island is beautiful, active, diverse – and above all: family-friendly!

Have fun in Ireland!