Four days in Northern Ireland with kids: the child friendly itinerary you’ll love
4 day Northern Ireland with kids Itinerary : how to see Derry, the Giant’s Causeway, Carrick-a-rede Bridge and Belfast area with children.
I don’t often use the word ‘breathtaking’, to describe a place. I find the term abused, inaccurate and lazy, a little bit like a ‘hidden gem’ or ‘best-kept secret’.
However, when a turn of the road suddenly revealed the rugged beauty of the Northern Ireland coast, it took my breath away.
It came out with an ‘oh wow’ sound and left me uncharacteristically speechless!
Before I came to Northern Ireland, I had no idea it was as beautiful as it is and now I count the Antrim Coast as one of the most beautiful places I have eve seen!
I highly recommend adding the North to your Ireland itinerary and today I share how we did it and how you can do it too.
This four day Northern Ireland itinerary follows our road trip and it will show you some of the most famous places in Northern Ireland and some of the most important landmarks in Ireland as a whole.
I hope you enjoy it!
Northern Ireland itinerary at a glance
Day 1: Derry. Stay in Derry’s Bishops Gate Hotel
Day 2:
- Morning: Drive via Dunluce Castle and Giants’ Causeway
- Afternoon: Carrick-a-rede bridge, The Dark Hedges. Night in Hilton Belfast
Day 3: Belfast Bus tour + Night in Hilton Belfast.
Day 4 Ulster Museum
- Morning: Ulster Folk Museum (lunch in the park)
- Afternoon: visit to the nearby Ulster Transport Museum and to Dublin
Northern Ireland with kids Day one – Derry
The town of Derry is often mentioned as one of the most beautiful and significant on the island of Ireland and is indeed worth seeing.
Its beauty comes from the fact that the city is ancient and walled, something that makes it unique: the walls around Derry date from the XVII century, they are exceptionally well preserved and they are walkable, so they offer a truly unique vantage point to see the city.
The significance of the city comes stems from the historical relevance of the city in the context of the Troubles and the more recent history of Ireland, its division into a north and a south and the events that followed.
I highly recommend a visit to Derry on both this accounts!
Derry/Londonderry is indeed a pretty and pleasant city. You can easily explore it on foot and while you don’t need to follow a detailed itinerary, I recommend you try do these three things:
Walk along the walls – the Derry Walls date from the XVII century, they are wonderful to see and walkable. You can get up on top of them via a ramp and the walkaway at the top is wide and safe for kids (hold hands).
The wall let you see the town from a raised viewpoint, there are cannons for the kids to see and are a lovely place for a quiet, car free, scenic walk.
Take a walk in the Bogside – The Bogside is the neighborhood in Derry where you find the famous ‘you are now entering Free Derry sign’ and one of the best places in Ireland to learn about the Troubles, Bloody Sunday, the dramatic events of those years and their significance, still in many ways felt today.
It is a very powerful place to visit and one that is bound to evoke strong emotion and, for me, an absolute must see in Derry.
You can visit this area in your own time, in which case I recommend you also visit the Museum of free Derry for context, or with one of the many guided tour available.
See the Peace Bridge – the Peace Bridge is a wonderful landmark in Derry city center. Opened in 2011, the bridge connects the two sides of the river as a symbol of unity reconciliation between opposing sides.
The bridge is in the city center and very easy to see just while taking a stroll in town.
Derry has lovely restaurant and pubs so a day here is very easy to enjoy as well as culturally enriching!
Day 2 – The Antrim Coast
Stop 1: Dunluce Castle
This second day is very different from the first as it is all about natural beauty, as opposed to city culture and history. Today is when you see the jawdroppingly amazing coastal landscapes of Northern Ireland!
Driving from Derry towards the Antrim Coast and the Giants’ Causeway the first impressive landmark you see in Dunluce Castle and wow! It is wonderful!
Dunluce Castle is perched on a promontory of the Antrim coast and its turrets emerge from emerald green grass to control the vast coastline.
The castle is ancient, part derelict, and incredibly atmospheric.
The strongest impression is from its stunning position over vertigo inducing cliffs so you may find a photo stop here is all you need; however, it is also possible to visit (reduced tickets for kids).
The castle is on the main track of the Game of Thrones tours so it is important to come here before the big buses: if you catch it empty, it is a wonderful sights!
Stop 2: The Giant’s Causeway
The Giant Causeway is maybe the most famous Northern Ireland landmark and it is as fabulous as its photos suggest or actually: a lot more! It’s stunning!
The Causeway is a very peculiar geological formation of basal columns that stretch into the sea forming a sort of natural pier or promontory.
The columns have very peculiar, geometrical shape and a sight to behold: both the view of them and from them it out of this world!
The Giant’s Causeway itself is a natural area and access to it is free.
However, the use of the audio guides, facilities and even the car park is paid for and tickets are checked when leaving the premises. This means that unless you are staying nearby and are able to walk there, you need to budget for entry to the site.
The visitor centre is large and very well equipped.
As well as the cafe, it has a souvenir shop and a fantastic area for kids and adults alike to learn about the causeway.
This learning area has specimens from the causeway, it explains its peculiar history and entices the kids to learn about the legends of the causeway, its marine inhabitants and its special geological importance.
Access to the actual causeway is easy.
The causeway can be discovered following several paths, color coded.
| Trail Sign cooler | Marked as |
| Blue Train | Easy |
| Red | Difficult |
| Yellow | Challenging |
The Blue trail is the one we took, easy, child friendly, stroller friendly. It took us about 10 minutes to get down and about the same time back up.
If you cannot or do not want to walk, part of it is even served by a bus (price not included in the ticket, about 1£).
It is possible to walk on the basalt columns and, with caution, kids can enjoy the experience too.
The easiest way is to just stay on the lower ones but if you can (i.e. if you have older kids or one adult per child, to hold hands) the best way it to climb up to the top of the gateway.
From the bottom, the climb seems harder than it is and the causeway is surprisingly safe once on top.
The view from there is spectacular: the causeway stretches into the sea as a geological, geometrical pier and with waves crashing on it two sides.
You can marvel at the columns under your feet and the blue sea for hours but the real surprise is not in front of you but rather, behind your back. When you turn around, thinking your causeway experience has come to an end, the coast stunned me with the impressive view of its highest cliff, towering over me.
I know I am an enthusiastic traveler but there is no other way of saying this: that cliff is one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen, anywhere in the world.
Stop 3: Carrick-a-rede bridge
Only a short drive away from the Giants’ Causeway lies Carrick-a-rede bridge, the iconic rope bridge that graces the covers of so many Norther Ireland travel brochures.
The drive to Carrick-a-rede is the one I mentioned above as taking my breath away.
The highlight of the trip here is, for many, the actual rope bridge but there is a lot more to this wonderful stretch of coast than the thrill of crossing its wobbly length: the views of the coast, especially on a bright day, when the water is crystal blue and green are out of this world!
The bridge area is served by a car park and, from there, the bridge itself is about 1 km away f: the path is wide and well kept and except for some steps towards the end of it, overall buggy friendly.
At the start of the path you find a ticket office but access to the site is free: what you pay for is access to the bridge, an experience that is managed by the National Trust and that is organized in slots. So if you don’t intend to go on it, you can walk to it for free.
I have a fear of heights and this combined with two young children under the age of 7 made me think missing the crossing was probably the best idea.
Now that I have seen it, I can tell you: There is no way a person with severe fear of heights can cross the Carrick-a-rede bridge.
The bridge itself is suspended over 100ft between two rock faces dropping almost vertically into the waters below and the fact that is made of rope means it tends to wobble in the wind. What makes it even worse is the steps to get onto it, which make you feel like you are launching yourself into the void.
So, clearly, that was a no for us!
However, the walk up to it is wonderful and not challenging, so I still very much recommend coming here
Stop 4: The Dark Hedges
The Dark hedges is a road in Northern Ireland framed by impressive beech trees which rose to notoriety in the years of Game of Thrones, since they appeared as one of the series’ atmospheric location.
I am not a Game of Thrones fan (as in: I have never seen it!) yet I had seen photos of the Dark hedges and I had read that they were a landscape feature, created by the Stuart family to impress the visitors approaching their mansion.
So, since they were somewhat on our way, I thought we should stop by!
They are indeed a lovely sight.
The Dark Hedges are an extravaganza of knotted branches and bare tree trunks, bending towards each other and creating a tunnel effect over an otherwise nondescript country road.
You can see the Hedges in a matter of minutes, just walking under the trees and taking in the pretty view however, there is a BUT! And the but is twofold: expectations vs reality and crowds.
Expectations vs really is something all these hyper photographed places suffer from: the trees are lovely yet nowhere near and evocative or mysterious as TV makes them look. They are a garden feature and if you were to randomly see them not knowing they were here, they’d definitely make an impression.
Once you expect a magical land of forestry mystery however, you an easily be disappoint them as, really, they are just pretty trees.
The other problem is connected to the first one and it is crowds.
The road is one of the compulsory stops on all Norther Ireland organized tours. So unless, like us, you come here early enough to ‘beat’ them, the place gets packed with visitors and truly loses all its charm.
So, if you are a Game of Thrones fan or you want to see a pretty corner it can be worth visiting. If you are expecting a tow droppingly beautiful corner of the country or a hidden gem, then in my option you can easily skip it!
If you decide to visit, make sure you park your car at the hotel just across the road as the Dark headers Road is closed to traffic.
Something for the kids: the grounds of the hotel here have a beautiful fairy village and it’s a dream for kids.Tree stumps, tree trunks and bushes have been transformed into fairy houses and little widows and doors peek out of the vegetation, inviting kids to knock on their whimsical frames.
Day 3 – Belfast
Belfast is a very interesting, dynamic city, with a very different personality from pretty much any other place in Ireland and very much worth seeing.
There are many things you can do in Belfast with kids (including a fab interactive discovery center called W5); however, for me a first trip to Belfast is best spent taking a tour of the city to understand about its history and a visit to the Titanic Museum.
There are many tours of Belfast you can choose from but the one we took was by bus and it was excellent.
If you are ‘toured out’ from Derry or have young kids who may find the tour disturbing, you can also opt for a completely different way to spend the time and treat them to a morning to the W5, which is a fantastic interactive discovery center / science museum.
The other thing not to be missed in Belfast is the Titanic Quarter and experience.
Belfast is the place where the Titanic was built and now the whole area is devoted to telling the story of how the ship came to be, its construction and, of course, its final hours.
The exhibition develops thought several galleries and kids get a special map and audio guide that help them make sense of the place.
The whole exhibition has interactive installations and it develops chronologically so you go form the ‘start’ of the Titanic and its structure to seeing its beautiful interiors and then of course its tragic ending.
The exhibition is incredibly immersive: the whole place is made yo make you feel on the ship and while there is of course a slightly disturbing element to the whole thing, this is not the dominant feeling, which is why the place is so popular with families of young kids.
An incredible part of it is the section devoted to the building of the ship and its structure e although it is hard to get over the mesmerising effect of the last part of the exhibition where you are virtually under water, looking art the relic f the ship!
Day 4 – Ulster and Transport Museum
The last day of this Northern Ireland with kids adventure was spent entirely on the kids so we got them to the brilliant Ulster and Trasport Museums (on the way to Dublin)
Stop 1: Ulster Folk museum
The Ulster Folk Museum is immediately outside of Belfast and is an outdoor museum with an old Ulster village reconstructed and it’s a lovely place to visit with kids.
After you get your ticket, you can explore the village at your own pace.
You can stroll along its roads, enter the house of the seamstress and see how they used to live (yes, my children did ask why there was no TV! Talking about an educational visit…) and learn about traditional jobs, from the baskets weaver to the ironmonger and the village photographer.
For me, the highlight of the visit was the picture house.
Here you can see how the old projection room works and watch old movies.
The kids had never seen anything like this and were surprised to see there were no words involved and the music was played by a piano in the hall!
I also enjoyed very much the post office and the police station.
This also had some interesting information about the troubles, a hugely important part of history in this area and beyond.
Some photos there were disturbing so, depending on your child, you may want to make sure they are not walking around alone.
Stop 2: The Ulster transport museum
The folk park is a lovely place for a family day out and we spent a good bit of time in the onsite cafe.
Soon, however, we decided to move to another part of the museum complex, hosting my children’s most beloved objects of all: trains!
The Ulster transport museum is just down the road from the folk park and an absolutely delight to visit with kids.
As the name suggests, it is entirely devoted to transport and the star of the show here and huge steam and diesel locomotives, kept in a vast room where an old turntable and train station has been recreated.
The kids were absolutely in awe of the trains and indeed they are a sight to behold.
The locomotives are immense, colourful and so reminiscent of Thomas the Thank the kids felt they were almost in a theme park!
The kids are allowed to climb onto some of the locomotives and to have a go at riving the train (perfect photo op!).
The room itself is built to resemble an old train station and it has some little touches such as the warning to ‘mind the gap’ beside steps that made even us adults get in the spirit of things.
After the trains, we moved to the airplane section which is smaller but also interesting for kids.
Here you can see how airplanes are built, peek inside one and see how flying machines developed over the course of the years.
Since we got to the museum late, we only had about 30 minutes here, definitely not enough to enjoy all it has to offer.
Had we had more time, we would have also explored the miniature railway on the museum grounds and enjoyed the vast outdoors spaces surrounded the several museum pavilions.
Instead, we climbed back into our car and, our eyes full of the beauty of Northern Ireland, headed back South back home, to Dublin.
I hope you enjoyed this itinerary and gave you ideas on how to see parts of stunning Northern Ireland with kids : safe travels!
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