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Cliffs of Moher, Bunratty Castle & Dingle

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Planning my family's trip to Ireland this June and I am trying to resist the urge to cram too much into our trip. I was thinking we would spend one night in Kinerva (after trying the Medieval banquet at Dunguaire Castle, wake up the next day drive an hour to the Cliffs of Moher, followed by a visit to Bunratty Castle (have been told that another hour drive) and at the end of the day bunking down in Dingle, where would kick off the next day doing the Dingle loop. I estimate we would be getting to Dingle around 7:30. I'm estimating 2hrs for the Cliffs of Moher and Bunratty Castle & Park. Is that enough time? I'm travelling with my wife our 10yr old and 8 yr old sons. Having a hard time gaging how much time can spend at some of the sights (other than the castles) on our trip without the kids getting restless.

Also if anyone has an estimate as to how much time we should budget for our visit to Castle Trim earlier in the week that would also be appreciated.

Thanks,

Pat

Posted by
9363 posts

Kinvarra to Liscannor (Cliffs of Moher) is shown as 1 hour, but will probably take a little longer than that. You are planning on spending a couple of hours at the cliffs, then going to Bunratty, which will take another hour. Two hours at Bunratty, then a four-ish hour drive to Dingle. If you start out at, say, 8:00 a.m., just the driving and planned visiting times will get you to Dingle in the neighborhood of 6:00 or 7:00, but it could well be after that, since you will be driving on smaller roads with a greater chance of holdups for farm machinery or animals in the road. You will also want time to stop for photo ops and lunch. It's a nicely broken up drive, but is everyone going to be on board for another day of driving the next day? You could add some variety to the drive by taking the ferry across the River Shannon at Killimer instead of going around past Limerick. It's a 20 minute crossing that can save you some driving time.

Posted by
1172 posts

This past summer we left Dingle at around 9 drove to Bunratty castle, spent about 2.5 hours visiting the park, castle and having lunch. Then on to the cliffs. We were a little less than 2 hours at the Cliffs. Then drove on to Galway. My kids were 11 and 8. It was a long day but a great one!

Posted by
398 posts

One thing with the ferry - I would try to check crossing times in advance, and shoot to get there maybe 10-15 minutes before hand. If you time it wrong, then it will take longer than going through Limerick. But it is something different and when timed correctly, definitely saves time. I think it is definitely doable. We left Dingle after breakfast, drove to the ferry, spent a couple of hours at the Cliffs of Moher, then drove to Doolin, made some stops in the Burren, and ended up in Galway in time for dinner. So it's a long day, but totally doable. Enjoy your trip!

Posted by
1005 posts

Too much driving for your kids. I'd skip Bunratty and head directly from the Cliffs to Dingle.

Posted by
9363 posts

I wouldn't skip Bunratty at all! There is a castle to explore, as well as the folk park, with animals. I think it would break the driving day up very nicely and give them a chance to run around a bit before continuing on. There is also a little shopping center across the road from the castle, where they used to have a really good cafeteria-type restaurant for lunch.

Posted by
1172 posts

I agree with Nancy. My kids are 11 and 8 and it was not too much at all. Bunratty was a great stop!

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