Family & Kids

Entertaining children while you’re on holidays is always a challenge!

But Cork is a particularly family-friendly location with no end of imaginative events and activities to keep everyone happy. Apart from all the area’s natural amenities – beaches, rivers, woodlands and wide-open spaces – there are lots of organised activities too.

Children – of all ages – will be charmed by the West Cork Model Railway Village in Clonakilty, where you step back in time and see life as it was in the 1940s. The figurines, trains, shops and houses are crafted in intricate detail – all in miniature, and just the right size for little visitors.

And if you’ve a budding astronaut on your hands, a trip to Blackrock Castle Observatory, Cork’s fun location to learn about the formation of the universe, could win you a few stars.

Fota Wildlife Park is always irresistible to young and old alike, and it’s open every day of the year except Christmas Day. For a special treat, the keepers recommend that you time your visit to see the cheetahs being fed at 3pm. They’ve set up a special device which makes them sprint for their food – just like in the wild!

And for your wild bunch, perhaps a day at one of Cork’s many equestrian schools will burn off some of that excess energy. Also, the Cork coast is dotted with sailing schools, most of which have special programmes for young sailors – and boats of many different sizes.

For the under 12s, swing along to the Monkey Maze in Glanmire. This is Europe’s largest indoor activity centre for children and they can monkey around to their hearts’ content from 10am until 7pm.

If you’re visiting Cork at Christmas, don’t miss Christmas Fest, which brings the season of goodwill alive on the city’s streets, complete with the smell of roasting chestnuts and mulled wine, the sound of traditional carols and perhaps even a sighting of Father Christmas and his reindeer …

At Easter, there’s Funderland at Cork Showgrounds. It’s exactly as it sounds – a wonderland of fun for all the family. And who could resist a few spins around the ice at Ballincollig’s year-round indoor ice rink? What are you waiting for? Get your skates on!