Visiting Bunratty Castle

After our stop at the Cliffs of Moher, we initially had plans to head up towards Galway for a day, then make our trek back towards Dublin. Thankfully, we didn't have anything set in stone for the last leg of our trip, so we decided on a whim to backtrack towards Cork and Cobh since there were a few castles and towns we missed during our first few days that I really wanted to see, one being Bunratty Castle.

Unlike most of the other castles we visited in Ireland, which were mostly quick stops of less than an hour needed for exploring, you'll want to carve out several hours to tour this 15th-century tower house and grounds. The castle tour is self-guided, so you can go from room to room at your own pace. We arrived late-morning, but thankfully there weren't huge crowds or long lines to compete with, but I think it's because the castle is so big and there are many things to explore on the grounds, it really helped with congestion. Before you even reach the castle, you'll pass through a little village with small homes to walk through, all fully decorated with pieces fitting of the time period.

A caretaker was walking the grounds with these Irish Wolfhounds, but we didn't stop to pet them.

We did take about a half hour to walk through the castle though.

As we made our way out, our next stop was through a more modern, 19th century folk park. Here you'll find charming little houses, a school, post office, hardware shop, and Jason's favorite, a pub.

Jason grabbed himself a beer and the girls an ice cream cone, then we headed off to the Fairy Village.

Honestly, while I found the the fairy village charming, I think it's geared more towards young children. Cute to walk through if you have time, but we could have skipped this part and been fine. We ended our tour with a walk through the Bunratty House, built in 1804, which if I'm not mistaken, the family moved into before letting the castle fall into ruins.

 For those with little children, you'll get a kick out of the the animals on the grounds too. The girls chased around some chickens (you're never too old for chicken chasing!) and couldn't leave without making friends with a few donkeys.

We did pay roughly $20 USD each for entrance to Bunratty Castle and grounds, but Mariah had her student i.d. which took about $4 off of her admission price, so if you have a student in the family, make sure they bring their i.d. for a discount. Bunratty is located in County Clare, Ireland and is open to the public from 9am to 5:30pm daily.

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Do you stick to your itinerary 100%, or do you prefer to leave it open sometimes and travel to new places on a whim?