Family Travel in Ireland, Part 4: Doolin, Dublin, and Belfast

For the tail part of our family trip to Ireland, we spent time in Doolin, Dublin, and Belfast. In addition to my family of five, my parents and sister joined us on this leg of the trip.

Doolin is a nice, laidback village with much to explore and enjoy in the area for families. We also visited the Cliffs of Moher during our time in Doolin.

Dublin and Belfast are more urban, and are more amenable for adults to enjoy. My kids also enjoyed spending time in the cities.

Let’s have a look at the last part of our family trip to Ireland.

Doolin

Doolin is located on the west coast of Ireland, in the area of Burren National Park. It’s a tiny village full of bed and breakfast inns, and a few dining venues.

Many tourists stop here for the sole purpose of visiting the Cliffs of Moher. These towering sea cliffs run about 14 km along the coast, and are widely considered to be Ireland’s biggest natural attraction. 

Although the cliffs can be seen as a day trip, I decided to make a two-night stay out of it. 

Two days allows you to see surrounding area, too, and you can experience the cliffs at your leisure in the late afternoon or early evening when less tourists are around. If you’re up for a walk, you can take your time enjoying the 13 km coastal walk along the top of the cliffs.

You can also do a boat tour and see the cliffs from the ocean. We made the mistake of booking an early morning tour, and the visibility wasn’t the greatest with a lot of fog. I’d recommend booking later in the day when the fog has lifted. 

There are also boat tours and ferries out to the nearby Aran Islands, known for having a natural, rugged landscape with sea cliffs, beaches, and limestone walls. We didn’t have time to visit on this trip, but if you do, be sure to check out the seal colony and shipwreck with the kids.

If you have older ones, there are great trails for biking around the islands. The area is also known for having great scuba diving. 

Just north of the Cliffs of Moher, there are stunning views as you drive along the coast. In fact, it looked even better in the late afternoon sunlight when we drove back from a day of sightseeing. 

Midway along the coastal drive is Fanore Beach, which makes a great stop of the…