Daytrippers: Animal magic, electronic gizmos, a spectacular stalactite, a museum and park. Irish Times writers evaluate them all
Dublin Zoo
Website: www.dublinzoo.ie
Highs: For young children, the zoo is an essential place to visit. Many of the under-eights are fascinated by the antics of the monkeys, the solitary prowling of the tigers and the slippery diving of the sea lions. Seeing zebras, giraffes and rhinos (Dublin Zoo is participating in the Save the Rhinos international campaign) at a close distance also prompts spontaneous wows and giggles of excitement. The zoo is also a nice place for a long walk and there are plenty of places to stop for a rest for younger folk. The new Meerkat restaurant is a great improvement on its predecessor, with lots of space inside and additional seating on a large stylish deck.
Lows: As one of Dublin's top places to visit, it's a busy spot in the summertime and there can be long queues at the entrance gate. Also, it's not a cheap day out - especially once you add in a couple of refreshments (why do ice creams have to cost 50 per cent more in places like the zoo?). However, the main drawback is that many of the animals seem a bit dozy outside feeding times. Maybe, we shouldn't expect them to perform, but we do. And, while the African Plains are lovely to walk around, the giraffes and zebras chose to graze a long way from view when we visited. Elephant-lovers should also note that the elephant enclosure is being renovated and the they will not be back until next year.
Visitors' verdicts: "There is plenty to do, although the animals are sometimes hard to see. I don't think much of the map. It certainly doesn't have everything you need on it," says Martin Milner from Trim, Co Meath, who was visiting with his wife and two daughters. "It's lovely to see that the animals are not in cages. In Estonia, where I come from, most of the animals in the zoo are still in cages. Also, it's nice to see the exotic animals such as the giraffes and the zebras because in Estonia, it is too cold for us to have these animals. There is lots of space for the children and the playgrounds for them are also a good idea," says Karolina Aedma, who now lives in Blessington, Co Wicklow.
Unmissable: The daily feeding times of the sea-lions.
What would have made it better: A better map.
Open: Mon- Sat 9.30am-6pm; Sun 10.30am-6pm Tel: 01-4748900
Admission: €13.50 per adult; €9 per child over three; family ticket €43 (2 adults and three children)
Overall star rating: ***
Sylvia Thompson
Doolin Cave. (Pol an Ionáin), Co Clare
www.doolincave.ie
Highs: Discovered in 1952 and finally opened this summer, Ireland's newest cave - "the palest gleam in the darkest deep" - boasts the Northern hemisphere's biggest free-standing stalactite. It's a fabulously impressive structure, measuring 20 feet and hanging from the ceiling like a giant calcified bat. The atmospheric journey into the interior of the cave is satisfyingly rough-and-ready, and it's so recently opened that you feel far more of an explorer than you do in caves all dollied-up for tourists. Our local schoolboy guide, Packie, was excellent.
Lows: It's pricy for an hour's entertainment, and they don't tell you when buying tickets that there are more than 180 steps to negotiate, which are demanding for very young and old. As tours are run on an eco-friendly basis, artificial lighting is kept to a minimum. According to the website, visitors are supposed to be issued with a helmet fitted with a caving lamp. No one on our tour had a helmet with a lamp, and both my companions stumbled at intervals in the poor light.
Visitors' verdicts: "It was more exciting than going on a tour of a big cave," Cadene from California. "The guide made it very interesting," says Joe from Ennis. "I didn't like the dark," says Aidan (three) from California.
Unmissable: When the guide switches on the lights in the main chamber (dark when you arrive) and you see the stalactite for the first time.
What would have made it better: They need to get those lamps for the helmets, pronto.
Open: Daily, tours on the hour, 9am-5pm, minibus leaving from outside Bruach na hAille restaurant in Doolin.
Admission: €15 per adult; €8 per child; €45 family (two adults and up to three children). Includes bus journey of two miles.
Overall star rating: ****
Rosita Boland
W5 Interactive Discovery Centre
Website: www.w5online.co.uk
Where: The Odyssey, 2 Queen's Quay, Belfast
Highs: W5 (it stands for who, what, where, when, why) offers a variety of interactive gadgets and gizmos across four large exhibition areas. Enjoy trying out the laser harp, scamper up and down the musical stairs, or operate a giant magnetic crane. Education is fun here - children and adults can learn about the laws of aerodynamics while operating a model plane.
Lows: It can get very crowded, especially in the school holidays. In addition to its regular exhibits, W5 offers a changing programme of science demonstrations, but the sheer variety of things to do can be overwhelming.
This means youngsters flit wildly from one thing to another without taking time to do any real learning. Some exhibits were not working on the particular day we visited.
Restaurant: Very basic - don't expect anything more than sandwiches and sausage rolls. A ticket for W5 will allow you to leave the building and re-enter later, so if you're looking for something more substantial, it might be better to try your luck in the Odyssey complex, where the museum is based.
Visitors' verdicts: "It's great to go somewhere that's enjoyable for both children and adults, where the whole family can take part together," says Rene from London.
"The first time I came here, I only played with the popular stuff like the tug-of-war machine and the video football game. But now I enjoy the interactive computer programmes more," says Ciaran (12) from Derry.
Unmissable: The Think Creative zone, where you can produce your own animated film.
What would have made it better: Clearer instructions on some of the exhibits and a bit more hands-on enthusiasm from the staff.
Open: Mon-Sat 10am-6pm; Sun 12-6pm (summer opening hours). Last admission 5pm.
Admission: Adult £6.50 (€9.60); Child £4.50 (€6.45); Concession £5 (€7.39); Family tickets from £17 (€25.11) to £30.50 (€45.05).
Overall star rating: ***
Fionola Meredith
National Museum of Ireland - Country Life
www.museum.ie
Where: On the N5, 8km east of Castlebar, Co Mayo
Highs: It's a fascinating window on all aspects of rural life, from farming to fishing, from school to market, from church to festivals. The museum uses a collection of archive photographs, audio and video to create an understanding of the people behind the objects displayed, in a way that appeals to both adults and children. The shop stocks an unusual selection of books on Irish heritage, plus crafts. If you're organised, it's worth booking for workshops on rural skills and traditions.
Lows: The museum wants visitors to appreciate the reality of rural life but the displays are so clean and tidy they look rather sterile. Kitchens need clutter, clothes need creases, farming tools need mud!
Restaurant: You can eat inside in the stylish cafe or outside in the sheltered courtyard. Fortunately, the food isn't "rural" cuisine and includes unusual salads - and kids' meals too. Leave room for the gorgeous cakes. Opens at noon on Sundays.
Visitors' verdicts: "It's informative and interactive . . . It's wonderful to see how people lived such a completely different way of life. The grounds are beautiful," say Matt, Terry and Megan Carey from San Francisco. "It helped to dispel my incorrect perceptions of romanticism," says Linda Carder from Virginia.
Unmissable: The House Building Project, a vernacular cottage of earth, wood, straw and stone, built by artisans to show the variety of traditional building methods and styles around the country.
What would have made it better: The Streets of London temporary exhibition merely touched the surface, with photos and quotes from some Irish people who emigrated to England during the 20th century (from "navvies" in 1910 to a busker in 1992).
Open: Tuesday-Saturday: 10am-5pm. Sunday: 2-5pm. Closed Monday (including bank holidays)
Admission: Free
Overall star rating: ****
Sarah Marriott
Coole Park, nr Gort, Co Galway
www.coolepark.ie
Open: Park grounds open until 9pm daily; visitor centre open daily 10am-5pm, April, May and September, and 10am-6pm, June to end of August.
Admission: Free to the Coole Park grounds; visitor centre admission, €2.90 per adult, €7.40 family, €2.10 for senior citizens, €1.30 per student and child.
Highs: "I have heard the pigeons of the Seven Woods/Make their faint thunder, and the garden bees/Hum in the lime-tree flowers; and put away/The unavailing outcries and the old bitterness/That empty the heart", wrote WB Yeats . . . and even in pouring rain there is no better place to empty the heart or the mind than in the Gregory family's former paradise.
Now run by the National Parks and Wildlife Service, the Coole Garryland Nature Reserve, as it is known officially, is a haven for bats and otters, squirrels, pine martens living within some 405 hectares of woodlands and wetlands. A small herd of red deer is kept in the old orchard and vegetable garden; several stones in front of the pen are inscribed with a George Bernard Shaw's "thank you" to Lady Gregory's granddaughters. Yeats's wild swans frequent the limestone-lined turlough fed by the Coole river, along with waders and ducks; they are joined by birds from Greenland, Iceland and Scandinavia. The Lady Gregory autumn gathering, billed as a "weekend of literary delight", runs from Sept 29th to 30th this year. Details from Sighle Meehan at 091-523948.
Lows: The aggressive fencing and barbed wire protecting the famous autograph tree, which bears the initials of so many of Lady August Gregory's literary guests, including WB and Jack Yeats, George Bernard Shaw, John Masefield, Sean O'Casey, JM Synge and Violet Martin "Ross". Sad to think there is no other way of protecting the bark, which,through its own natural healing, is gradually wearing away the initials anyway.
Restaurant: A coffee shop does hot food, including chicken goujons and chowder for under €10 a head, and the ubiquitous, but tasty, carrot cake and scones.
Visitors' verdicts: "You want to bring someone you love to this place," says Mary Henderson, Bristol. "I like to run off the trails into the forest; it's like a big magic carpet in there," says Helen Murphy (11), Doughuisce, Galway.
Unmissable: Emerging from the woodland onto the banks of the Coole river, walking down the lough and catching the Burren backdrop.
Overall star rating: *****
Lorna Siggins