2 Days in Dublin With Kids (Not Guinness), Dublin Co., Ireland

When one thinks of visiting Dublin, the obvious choice would be to tour Guinness, a bunch of distilleries and pub crawl at the Temple Bar. But if you are traveling with kids, these choices might not be very appealing to all audiences. Dublin has a variety of family-friendly places to visit.

River Liffey: River Liffey flows through Dublin and is the best place to spend an afternoon. There are multiple bike rental places accessible to tourists. Several tours have starting points near River Liffey.  The Famine sculptures and a guided tour of Jeanie Johnston Tall Ship gives an insight into the hardships faced by people during the Irish famine. A cast-iron pedestrian bridge across river Liffey also knows as Ha'penny Bridge, is the oldest bridge in Dublin. It is an easy walk across the bridge to reach the other side of the city. However, Beckett bridge is much cooler in appearance. 

Butler's Chocolate Factory: Click here for the full post. Butler's Chocolate Factory tour was a huge hit with kids. Try to pre-book a tour on a weekday. Chocolate production is down during weekends and hence there won't be much to see on a weekend. Decorating a chocolate elephant was a sweet ending to the tour.

Dublin Zoo: Another kid's favorite. The area is huge and the grounds are well maintained. The habitat is designed specifically to suit the animals. Wild lights display during Christmas is amazing to see.

Merrion Square: Another fun place to visit. Stephan's green is good but Merrion square is awesome. As my kids say, Merrion Square is funky fun. The odd sculptures, swings and play areas are super fun for kids. 

Natural History Museum: Natural History Museum is right across the road from Merrion Square and the entry is free. A mid-size museum with animal and bird exhibits. Groud floor exhibits are predominantly local to Ireland. While the 2nd-floor exhibits are taxidermy exotic wild animals. A very good place for kids to visit.

Trinity College & Book of Kells: Book of Kells is right in the middle of Trinity College. Some find Book of Kells expensive. But strolling through the college grounds is a good way to spend a few hours. 

Howth Village and Cliff Walk: Click here for the detailed post. Howth Village is about an hour from Dublin. A cute village with beautiful views of the Irish Sea.

Howth Village And Cliff Walk, Dublin Co., Ireland

Howth Yacht Club Marina

Howth is a charming village half an hour away from Dublin. A short trip to Howth village is a perfect way to spend an afternoon. DART ride is the easiest way to reach the Howth village. However, a car is a good choice too.

Howth Village: Howth village is a cute little fishing village very near to Dublin airport. As soon as we arrived in Dublin, we drove directly to the Howth village. There is no point in wasting time elsewhere when the sky was clear and the sun was shining brightly. I fell in love with this charming village right away. Nothing can challenge its beautiful views, utterly delightful shops, and the best marina walk.  

Howth Marina Walk

The village has plenty of coffee shops, eateries, and taverns. There are a couple of golf courses in the Howth peninsular as well.  Also, a few small beaches to relax on a summer afternoon. Claremont beach is right next to the DART station and is easily accessible. The Balscadden bay beach is next to the marina walk and very good for rock pooling. As we relaxed on the beach, local kids geared up with the buckets and shovels in search of coastal treasures. Rock pooling in Balscadden beach is famous among locals.

Howth Lighthouse

Ireland's Eye: Ireland's Eye Ferries operate from Howth to Ireland's Eye almost every day from 10:30 - 5 PM. There is an option to just go around the island or land on the Island. Landing on the island might not be a possible option for everyone. We took a short 10 min. boat ride around the island. With amazing landscapes, beautiful birds, and a seal or two, Ireland's Eye boat trip was worth the visit.

Ireland's Eye

Howth Cliff Walk: Mesmerized by the charming Howth village, we decided to walk from the village center to the cliff walk trail in anticipation of beautiful views. The walk was long and steep. To our disappointment, most of the beautiful views were blocked by houses and high compound walls.

Howth Cliff Walk

Driving till the start of the cliff walk is the best option as you would save energy for the cliff walk itself. Plenty of free parking is available at the start of the trail. There is no paved path for the cliff walk. Nevertheless, the views from the top of the cliff were beautiful. Catch a glimpse of Ireland's Eye, lighthouse and beautiful Celtic sea from the top.

Butlers Chocolate Experience, Coolock, Co. Dublin, Ireland.

Butlers Chocolate Experience

If you are planning a trip to the chocolate factory, book the tickets for the morning tour between Monday - Friday. If you are considering touring the facility on a weekend, save your self some money and skip it. During my planning, the first thing I did was to buy Butler Chocolate Experience tickets. Being a chocolate enthusiast, and traveling with young kids, this was my first choice of things to do in Dublin. As I was trying to squeeze in a lot of activities, I had to schedule the tour on a weekend and it was a disappointment. Tour started right on time. All the guests were supplied with a white coat and hairnet. On weekends, tours would be along with a bunch of kids celebrating birthday parties. 

Decorated Elephants

The tour started with a short introduction video to chocolate. Kids enjoyed the samples before and after the video. The tour group was divided into half. One half visited the factory while the other half spent time in the museum. Museum had information about chocolate, and Butler's history and some fun things for kids. The major disappointment was the factory tour itself. There was absolutely no production on weekends. So you won't find even a single person on the factory floor and all the machinery was completely shut off. All you can see is videos of chocolate manufacturing on an average-sized TV screen. When our tour guide, who was otherwise amazing, asked us to use our imagination and understand how the factory works, I didn't know whether to laugh or to cry! Maybe that is why it is called Butlers Chocolate Experience instead of Butlers Chocolate Factory Tour.

Chocolate Samples From The Tour

Our tour ended with decorating hollow elephant-shaped chocolate. Guide gave a brief demonstration of how it was made. All guests, get to decorate their hollow elephant (Easter bunny, Santa for Christmas, bear, etc based on the time you visit). Nice packaging was provided along with the chocolate. Overall, it was a pleasant experience. However, It would have been ideal to visit the factory while it was operational. If you like to buy more chocolate, the ćafe has an exceptional collection.

Chocolate History