Places to Go in Ireland: Trabolgan Co Cork

Hello Everyone :) 

I hope you are all well :) 

This year myself and my partner decided to take our children on their first holiday :)  Not only that but it would be our first holiday together too and we needed to do it before baby #6 comes in September as we knew it would be a while before we will be able to go anywhere again :) 

So we decided browse the net and do some research until my beautiful sister told me she too was taking her kiddies on holidays before her number #3 baby arrived (see you would know we were sisters ;) 

So she told me she was thinking of Trabolgan :) in Co Cork :) 

I took a browse and liked the sound of it :) 

I decided to book it for May as it was one of the more affordable deals going :) 

We also decided to book a house to stay in there as they have a wide selection of houses to fit whatever sized families for all different prices :)  Not only was that convenient but it also worked out more affordable than staying in a hotel for 7 people :)  

First of all let me tell you What Trabalgan is all about :) 

Trabolgan is based within an idyllic and tranquil setting beside the beach in East Cork, Trabolgan Holiday Village promises memorable yet stress free holiday breaks which are great value for money.  The 140 acre holiday park venue has something for everyone -  a safe and friendly environment for toddlers, a host of indoor and outdoor activities for energetic kids and teens, and great entertainment for Mums, Dads and the grandparents with lots of opportunities to relax.   

Now we all know as mums and dads that bringing even one child on holiday to a place we dont even know ourselves can be stressful as kiddies are hard to keep an eye on and you want to be around an environment in which we feel is safe and be around other parents who feel the same way :)  Well we have 5 children plus have another on the way so this seemed to be the answer to our prays :) 

Trabolgan offers 172 Self Catering houses , Self-catering Apartments, a  Touring Caravan Park with 35 sites, welcoming over 100,000 overnight guests each year.  Of course because I was booking for 7 people I chose "Forest Oak" which sleeps 7/8 people :)  This for the week which is 7 days cost €602 but of course Trabolgan offered an amazing discount on our stay leading us to only paying €452 altogether :)  We were not only getting the self catering house for that price but also lots of activities along with that price such as :

• Live performances from toddlers favourite TV characters- Fireman Sam, Barney the Dinosaur, Bob the Builder & Angelina Ballerina; 

• A Fantastic Indoor Water Centre that contains a Sub Tropical Wave Pool with a Super Waterslide, wave machine and toddlers pool; 

• 18 hole par 3 Golf Course- set within the idyllic visual backdrop of the East Cork Coast; 

• 9 Hole Fun Crazy Golf;

• A Indoor Sports Complex with facilities to play Badminton, Soccer, Tennis, Basketball and Volleyball;

• Access to the Fitness Suite, Steam Room and Sauna

• Great FREE adventure activities for toddlers include a variety of kids adventure clubs, indoor and outdoor playgrounds with slides, tunnels, ball ponds, rope bridges, swings, slides and climbing frames 

• A variety of wonderful live entertainment including Karaoke, live Music Acts and family friendly shows staged by the TeamStars

After a 5 hour drive to Cork with some very excited kiddies we were exhausted but also very excited :)  Apon arrival we could not wait to get to our holiday home to unpack and get settled :)  As we arrived we were nicely welcomed and directed to where we needed to go to get checked in :)  Altogether it took only 15 minutes to be told about the place, be given our keys and directed to where our house was :)

We finally reached to our house in which was nicely heated the moment we opened the door.  The kiddies ran upstairs to see what room was theirs and what bed they wanted :)  As myself and my partner browsed around to see the rest of the house :)  The house was perfect with clean beds clean floors and clean kitchen utenstils :)  it was super cosy and super warm :)  That was one thing I really wanted as it was our first time been away from our own beds and home :) 

We got unpacked very quickly and went straight away for a walk to see what the place was like :) Of course the kiddies smelled food straight away which was a fast food place something like Super Macs and that was it they needed some food :) 

Here is some pictures of our first few hours :) 

Of course we didnt spend too long on the first day walking and took a trip into the nearest town which was about 15 minutes away to do our normal weekly shop :)  Saving money by cooking and using the house like our own ment more money for fun right?  :)  Eating out alot can cost alot especially for 7 people so it made sense to take advantage of the self catering house :)  In the town next to Trabolgan there is an Aldi, Super Valu and Tescos :) 

We did our shop and got back to Trabolgan and headed down to the Cove where all the entrainment is for the family :) We spent alot of time in the Cove as there was lots of shows and entertainment for the family and especially for the kiddies from morning to night :) 

Here is some photos of some of the activities we went to At the Cove throughout the week where the kiddies had so so so much fun and won some prizes and certificates along the way :)   I have to give a huge thumbs up and thank you to the TeamStars who work there full time entertaining :)  They work so so hard to keep the children happy and getting the children involved in so much dancing and activities while the parents can sit together to chat and watch :) :) 

Of course apart from the entertainment the kiddies got to meet some stars they knew :) 

Apart from the Cove where we spent lots of time in there was the outdoor and indoor activities to enjoys such a the playground, bowling, mini golf and of course the beautiful walk all over the place 

There is also a convinient store in there in which was very very handy especially for the small things like milk etc :)  There is an Irish pub there for the older ones to enjoy at night and also a family restaurant that serves good wholesome dinners plus chinese and indian food :) 

There is added activities in which you have to pay for such as go carting, rock climbing, arcades etc but when you do arrive you are given a coupon booklet which gives you money off everything.  The booklet even includes money off items in the shop and pub.  There is even a Costa Coffee there which is what made me very happy indeed :) 

There is another place I enjoyed and that was the Birds Of Prey section where you can experience holding an owl and get a perfessional photo taken :) 

Take a look at samples of what I mean 

Yes they are all real Owls :) :)  There is lots of other little animals to view there too :) 

Overall Trabolgan was amazing.  The staff were very friendly and very caring.  They called to us the first two days we were there to see if we needed anything and if everything was ok and then left us to our own needs for the rest of the week :)  The staff who work at all the places there were all brilliant and I am amazed at how patient they are towards the children :)  They speak to the children with such grace and kindness that the children fell in love with them all :)  

I was sorry to go to be honest and would have loved to have stayed another week as were the kiddies they enjoyed it so so much :)   I actually forgot to mention that Trabolgan offer babysitting services too for when and if parents want to go down to the entertainment on their own for a while or go for a meal.  I personally do not know what the service is like as i never used it but its just a piece of information for you all to know :) 

I will certainly go back to Trabolgan for future holidays as it was an amazing experience and I have also spoke to families who have been going there for many many years and will continue to :)  

If you want a fun filled action packed holiday for yourself and your family this is one place to go for sure :) 

I really hope you enjoyed my post and thank you so much to all the staff of Trabolgan for making our first family holiday a brilliant fun filled holiday to remember for the rest of our lives :) :) 

Let me know if you have been to Trabolgan and what your experiences where like :) 
Until Next time 
Lots of Love Luck and Laughter 

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