Kid-friendly places in Waterford
13 places in Waterford, Ireland, where children are actually welcome — what each one is, what it costs, and what to watch for. 12 carry a warning worth reading before you go.
Play cafés3
- Activate WaterfordIndoor activity centre
A big family activity centre with indoor soft play, bowling and a climbing wall under one roof, a restaurant, easy parking off the ring road and lots of eateries nearby, plenty to keep young kids busy; ~3km east
Managing staff get mixed reviews for party bookings; closed Mon-Thu
- Dragonz DenPlay cafe
A nice, clean and safe play space for small children with lots of toys and a soft-play area, friendly polite staff and good coffee, well located not far from the city; ~8km northwest
Really only suits toddlers to ~5 (despite advertising older); snack prices a bit high
- Pirates AdventureIndoor playground
A brilliant, vibrant pirate-themed indoor play centre with colourful soft play, slides, mini-golf and arcade games plus a genuinely talented live pirate show that engages the kids, with friendly attentive staff and a clean welcoming environment, great for tours and parties; ~10km south (Tramore)
Check show times; closed Mon-Wed
Playgrounds1
- Playground People's ParkPlayground
A great free central playground in a beautiful, well-kept green park with separate areas for babies/toddlers and older children, paths for rollerblading, skateboarding and scootering, a lovely café nearby and a clean self-cleaning toilet on site; ~1km west
Teenagers can crowd the equipment at times; outdoor
Sports3
- Climbing at ActivateClimbing
A friendly climbing and bouldering wall (with auto-belays and a training area) inside the Activate complex, with staff who are great at encouraging kids and reading their ability, a good drop-in option and great if you have young kids; ~3km east
Climbing shares the Activate complex with bowling and play — check climbing session times
- Tramore Skate ParkSkate / BMX / roller
A good, clean concrete skatepark that's especially great for beginners and young kids (nothing too big or scary), a nice smooth size, usually quiet; ~10km south (Tramore)
Lacks big ramps/bowls; a little small; outdoor
- Waterford SkateparkSkate / BMX / roller
An awesome free concrete skatepark in the People's Park with loads of flowing bowl corners, spines, teardrop hips, ledges and gaps, great for making lines, good for kids of all ages (everyone mixes and the older lads help beginners), busy but spacious on Sundays; ~1km west
Outdoor; busiest on Sundays
Classes4
- Lynn's Potting ShedArt
A pottery studio in Ferrybank running pottery courses; ~2km northeast
Few public reviews — contact ahead for course times
- Ready Steady Play and MusicMusic
A wonderful weekly baby-and-toddler play-and-music/sensory class where Edwina brings amazing energy and a different fun theme (and dress-up and bubbles) each week, genuinely helping little ones' development while giving parents a chance to meet others; ~1km south
A booked class for babies/toddlers — check the schedule
- Waterford Academy of Music and ArtsMusic
A warm, welcoming academy run by people who care, with a super selection of classes — many musical instruments plus dance, drama and art — and its own in-house theatre with open-mic nights, shows and grades, encouraging students to their own level; ~3km east
- Waterford Centre of MusicMusic
A warmly loved music school where patient teachers (Jean, Ellenor) adapt to each child's learning ability and make learning music (and singing and dancing) fun, highly recommended for kids; ~1km west
Afternoon-focused weekday hours; closed weekends
Adventure2
- Busy Barn Mini FarmPetting farm
A lovely little mini-farm with a large indoor play area, a cozy café with a warm stove, good food and hot chocolate, and a small outdoor farm with friendly animals (a pony a highlight) and an open play area with a swing set, a relaxing, good-value family day out (under-7s); ~12km southeast
Best for younger children; open Sat-Sun only
- World of Bounce & Mini FarmPetting farm
A great-value day out with loads to do indoors (soft play and bouncy castles) when the weather's bad, plus a great outdoor playground and a mini-farm where you can buy feed and get to know the animals, a walking trail, a party area and good, well-priced food, with lovely staff; ~20km northwest
Can be a bit cold at the café area off-season; open Sat-Sun only
Other cities
- Aarhus
- Alicante
- Amsterdam
- Antwerp
- Apeldoorn
- Barcelona
- Basel
- Bergen
- Berlin
- Bern
- Bilbao
- Bremen
- Brussels
- Copenhagen
- Cork
- Dortmund
- Dresden
- Dublin
- Düsseldorf
- Enschede
- Essen
- Frankfurt
- Galway
- Geneva
- Gothenburg
- Graz
- Hamburg
- Handen
- Hannover
- Helsinki
- Innsbruck
- Klagenfurt
- Köln
- Lahti
- Lausanne
- Leipzig
- Liège
- Lille
- Limerick
- Linz
- Lyon
- Madrid
- Málaga
- Malmö
- Milan
- Munich
- Napoli
- Nuremberg
- Odense
- Oslo
- Oulu
- Palermo
- Paris
- Rome
- Rotterdam
- Salzburg
- Sevilla
- Stavanger
- Stockholm
- Stuttgart
- Tampere
- Torino
- Tromsø
- Trondheim
- Turku
- Uppsala
- Utrecht
- Valencia
- Vienna
- Zaandam
- Zürich
Every place here is in the Kindering app too, on one map with the rest of Waterford, sorted by how far each one is from you.
Missing a place, or one has closed? Tell us.