Inishmore with Kids: Best Things to Do on the Aran Islands

With its windswept landscapes and rugged beauty, Inishmore is a popular day trip from Galway. There’s a lot of fun things to do on Inishmore with kids, from prehistoric clifftop forts and unusual rock formations to beautiful beaches.

We were lucky enough to visit Inishmore (also known as Inis Mór) while on our family bike trip in Ireland with Green Marble Tours. The Connemara Family Adventure is a seven-day self-guided family-friendly tour of Connemara which features a two-night stay in Inishmore.

We loved having enough time to enjoy all the fun things to do on Inishmore with kids. Staying overnight on the island gave us a chance to get ahead of the day trippers from Galway.

Keep reading for our favourite things to do in Inishmore with kids, plus a short video from our family trip so you can see what it was like for yourself.

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Best Things to Do on Inishmore with Kids

Cycling Around Inishmore

Thanks to our overnight stay in Kilronan, we were able to get up early and beat the crowds; we were on our bikes and on the road by 8:45 am.

Three main roads leave Kilronan. One runs through the middle of the island, while the other two follow the north and south sides. Because the roads are narrow, we took advantage of our early start and headed west along the main road. It worked well, as there was very little traffic.

The main road across Inishmore is lined with homes for much of the way. Most are still lived in, though several have been abandoned and are now covered in moss and ivy. Property on the island is separated by handmade stone walls and it’s simply amazing to look across the landscape and see these fences crisscrossing the fields.

After the day’s sightseeing, we took the northern back road back to our hotel. We shared the road with many other cyclists, but few cars. This road followed the ocean most of the way and the views are excellent.

We passed a few fields with donkeys, horses and many picturesque abandoned houses filled with flowers and plants growing up the walls. There is a seal colony viewing area along this road; we stopped for a bit as there was a large crowd there, but to be honest, we didn’t see any seals.

Kilmurvey Beach

Around the 7 km (4.3-mile) mark, we were stunned to see a huge white sand beach. We had no idea there would be beaches like this on Inishmore. Even more surprising was how crystal clear the water was; when the sun was out it felt like we were gazing at the Caribbean Sea, not the North Atlantic Ocean.

Kilmurvey Beach was completely empty at this time of day, so we locked up our bikes, took off our shoes and socks and hit the beach.

Kids the world over go nuts when you set them free on a beach and ours are no different. They ran and chased each other for a long while, before they plunked down and started making sandcastles with their bare hands. Our daughter always loves to spend time looking for pretty shells along the shoreline and was happy to find a few new treasures.

Celtic Graveyard

Yes, a graveyard. We love visiting beautiful historic graveyards in Europe.

Just east on the main road was a small, but interesting graveyard filled with Celtic cross tombstones. We are suckers for an interesting picture, so we parked our bikes and explored for a bit.

Dún Aonghasa

We arrived at Dún Aonghasa, Inishmore’s top attraction, at 10:40AM. We were happy to see that we arrived ahead of the Aran Islands tour groups; we were virtually alone in this world-class prehistoric fort. 

This famous Aran Islands fort dates back more than 3,000 years. Dún Aonghasa was a formidable stronghold, with triple-walled defences on the land side and towering ocean cliffs behind it.

It’s a 1 km (0.6 mile) km walk up a gravel path from the Visitor Centre to the fort. It’s a fun walk up as the trail is hemmed in by two stone fences nearly the whole way up.

As you near the top, you can see the towering cliffs which span the south side of Inishmore and large North Sea waves crashing into the island. You can hear the power of the ocean even at this distance.

We find fully-restored castles boring, but we love ancient ruins such as these. Dún Aonghasa has a “Wow!” factor with an incredible setting for this ancient, semi-circle cliff-top fort.

The views were amazing, but the fort itself and its defensive features were just as interesting. The cliffs are 100 m (330 feet) high with no protective barriers at all, so keep a close eye on your kids.

We could have stayed up there watching the waves crash all day long, but there was still much to see on Inishmore, so we begrudgingly left. As we were walking down the path, the first of many tour groups were walking up the trail.

We had a picnic lunch on one of the picnic tables at the bottom and by the time we were done, it was super busy with tourists everywhere. Staying overnight on Inishmore with our own transportation gave us a great advantage over the tour groups.

The Worm Hole (Poll na bPéist)

The Worm Hole is a very unique geological formation, featuring a large, perfectly rectangular hole in the rocks near the sea. Flanked on one side by towering cliffs, it has powerful North Atlantic waves crashing onto it and ocean water flowing underneath it. This is an amazing sight and has been the location for Red Bull cliff diving competitions. It is a must see on Inishmore with kids!

We parked our bikes at the Worm Hole trailhead near some cool abandoned, overgrown homes. The trail meanders through a field of rock fences until you come to a dead end. Cross through a little gap in the fence to continue the hike.

This section of the hike is amazing! The terrain is otherworldly and is hard to describe; most of the ground is covered with large flat rocks, with large cracks running north-south towards the ocean.

Kids will love scrambling over these wavy rocks and spotting fossilized corals, crinoids, sea urchins, and ammonites. Our kids had a great time running from rock to rock and hunting for fossils.

As you approach the Worm Hole, the trail starts to hug cliffs along the coastline. The ocean views are incredible, but your kids may be just as interested in the tide pools. Many of them were a striking green color and walking along looking ahead at the rocks, the cliffs and the tide pools is a very cool sight.

Worm Hole itself was so amazing. We were there an hour after low tide and we could see most of this rock formation. We found a nice spot below the cliffs and simply sat there soaking in this incredible sight.

Our Inishmore with Kids Video

Want to see what our family trip to Inishmore looked like? This short video includes some of the places we visited and gives you a better feel for the island, the scenery, and what it was like exploring Inishmore with kids.

After watching, keep reading for more Inishmore family travel tips, including how to get there, where to stay, where to eat and links to our related Ireland posts.

We’re slowly adding more of our family travel videos to our YouTube channel, so feel free to subscribe if you’d like to follow along.

How to Get to Inishmore

Aran Islands Ferries offers Aran Islands ferry service from the Rossaveel Ferry Terminal. Green Marble Tours had already taken care of our tickets and arranged transport for our bikes. The ferry ride over was quick and easy. The hotel shuttle van was there to greet us on the other side and took our bags to the hotel while we followed with our bikes.

If you are looking for an Aran Islands ferry from Doolin to Inishmore, the Doolin Ferry offers service from March to November.

Where to Stay on Inishmore with Kids

If your itinerary allows, stay at least one night. The island feels far more relaxed before the day-trippers arrive and after they leave.

We stayed at the Aran Islands Hotel just outside Kilronan on Inishmore Island. This is an excellent choice for families as they offer Family Rooms (with a double bed and two singles) and Family Chalets (with a King Bed and three singles).

We stayed in a chalet and really appreciated that it didn’t share walls with other units, so our kids could be kids without us worrying about the noise.

The Aran Islands Hotel has an excellent restaurant, with a large continental breakfast or full Irish breakfast on offer.

Aran Island vacation home rentals are also a nice choice for families as they typically offer separate bedrooms, a kitchen and laundry facilities.

Family-Friendly Restaurants on Inishmore

We went to “The Bar” for dinner. We each had the lamb stew, which was amazing! We couldn’t stop talking about how good it was. It was the perfect hearty meal after a soggy bike ride on our arrival day. The kids had chicken nuggets and penne pasta off the kids menu.

I wish we could give you more suggestions as we stayed in Inishmore two nights, but we went back to “The Bar” both nights as we wanted another go at their lamb stew – it’s that good!

Follow Along our Family Trip to Ireland

We arrived in Belfast after an amazing 3-week family road trip through Scotland. After our 2-days in Belfast with kids, we ventured south into Ireland for this family cycling tour through Connemara.

After our amazing Ireland family bike tour, we visited the Cliffs of Moher with kids.

If you are planning a family trip to Ireland, don’t miss our favorite things to do in Ireland with kids. We also have a helpful family packing list for Ireland with kids.

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