I'll be touring Ireland without a car. I'm too scared to drive on the left side. I tried it before and don't want to do it again! So I'll need some good day trips by tour bus out of Dublin and Galway. I'll have my 11 year old granddaughter and 14 year old grandson with me.
Posted by
Boston, MA, United States
1806 posts
What month are you travelling? What kind of things interest you and and the grandkids? From Galway, there are many different tours you can take. Even in the summer, you rarely need to book ahead more than 1 or 2 days. The Tourist Information Office can help point you in the right direction as to what all the options are. If the weather cooperates, I'd recommend taking the bus/ferry up to Rossaveal and over to one of the Aran Islands. The grandchildren would probably like to hike up to Dun Aengus to look out over the cliff and see the ocean, and you can get a driver/guide to take you around via a pony & trap. Ailwee Caves may be something else that the kids enjoy. And you could always ask the TI about hiring a private driver/guide for 1 day to create your own personalized tour. From Dublin, you will also find many different day tour companies and the TI Office can help you book something. Maybe Bru na Boinne would be something that the kids would enjoy. While in Dublin, make a quick stop over to St. Michan's Church and let the kids check out the crypt underneath with the "mummies" that they can touch. It doesn't cost much to get in and it will take less than an hour of your time.
Posted by
Clarksville, TN, USA
956 posts
Kathy, there is no shortage of tours out of Galway -- whether to the Cliffs of Moher and the Burren, Connemara or the Aran Islands. Just do an online search. We enjoyed our tour of the Cliffs of Moher and the Burren. If you're just going to Dublin and Galway, no driving will be necessary! There's a direct train between the two cities... Enjoy!
Posted by
Chapel Hill, NC
2 posts
We stopped for a couple of hours at Brigit's Garden, http://www.brigitsgarden.ie/ even though it was raining. The kids will certainly like the gardens devoted to the cross-quarter days, the giant sundial (especially if the sun is out!). It's not far from Galway. From the website it looks like tour buses stop there. You could also go down to the Burren. This is a striking landscape with one of the most visited sites in Ireland, the Poulnabrone portal tomb. We were driving by car and spent 2 days in the area, took two half-day hikes (one with Tony Kirby and one with the Burrenbeo Trust).