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Family Road-Trip Inspiration Around Ireland

Niamh

*This is a collaborative post with Chill Insurance.

My little dude is 20 months and is a complete live wire. My mum always told me that boys were effectively little balls of energy that literally didn’t know what to do next - be it jumping off things, throwing things, climbing things or actually running up the curtains.

Of course I didn’t really pay much head to her wise words until the day my baby boy turned into a toddler and hey presto, like most things, it turned out that she was spot on!

The lesson? First - always listen to your mother and second - little boys can be hard to entertain.

It’s coming into September soon and thankfully we’re able to take our holiday when most kids have gone back to school. But so far, we’re still stumped on where to go and what to do because the bottom line is, I am terrified of taking himself on a plane. He’s not the sort of kid who will sit still for any length of time… in fact he is one of the world’s great walkers, so I’m worried about the prospect of him being effectively locked down in a confined space for a number of hours.

Realistically planes are off the agenda this year and instead, we’ll be looking at going on a road trip somewhere in Ireland from the safety of our own car, where at least we can break our journey with lots of stops to run around and tire the little monkey out.

But where to go? Ireland might be a small island, but when it comes to stunning scenery it’s hard to narrow it down to one destination.

Chill Insurance have put together some really helpful e-books on Ireland's most beautiful drives, as well as Ireland's best cultural drives. Packed with lots of inspiration and tips on how to get there safe and sound, I had a bit of a gander to get some ideas on where we might go on our stay-cation and a couple of dramatic places in particular caught my eye.

The Dingle Peninsula

This was a top recommendation when Chill asked 400 people for their favourite drives in Ireland and it’s not hard to see why it came so highly recommended. Part of the stunning Wild Atlantic Way, it’s got some of the most incredible coastal scenery in the Europe.

This includes the Slea Head Drive that takes in a large number of attractions and stunning views on the western end of the peninsula. The peninsula also features the Conor Pass, one of the highest mountain passes in Ireland. The views from the road are breath-taking, as the glaciated landscape of mountains and corrie lakes comes into view.

From the summit there are views as far as the Aran Islands off County Galway… if that doenst impress the little dude I don’t know what will!?

Speaking of the Aran Islands…

A bit of Island hopping seems like it could be the very thing to impress the little dude. In the past, Island hopping may once have meant going from one sunny Balearic Island to another, foam parties and enough shots to make you feel as though you were a member of Britney’s dance squad, today anything involving Island hopping is much more sedate.

Yes, I’m talking about hopping around the Aran Islands which lie off Galway Bay. You can catch a ferry and go between the natural beauty of; Inishmore, Inishmaan and Inisheer. The ferry rides, the beaches, the cliffs and the stones make it the perfect natural adventure playground for kids. I’m quite sure the little dude would adore it!

The islands are situated in the middle of the Wild Atlantic Way. You can reach each one by catching a ferry from the mainland from Rossaveal or Doolin too. Ferries run regularly throughout the day and you can travel via boat between each island.

© 2017 Niamh O'Reilly TheMammyBlog.ie

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