How much should a term of dance cost? Is €17 a lot for a child's ticket to the zoo? Most providers publish their prices somewhere, but it's rarely in one place. We pulled together the prices on Kids Patch listings, each taken from the provider's own website, to give parents a realistic picture of costs in 2026.
The short version
- Weekly group classes usually work out at €11 to €20 a session once a term fee is divided by the number of weeks. Prices for baby and toddler classes sit at the top of that range.
- Football and coding classes are often paid monthly: about €50 to €57 a month for toddler football, and €144 a month for weekly two-hour coding classes.
- A week of summer camp costs €70 to €160. Club-run camps are at the low end and specialist art and fashion camps at the top.
- Child tickets for a family day out start at €4, and more than half of the 31 attractions below (17) charge €12 or less. Theme parks are the exception, at €25 to €49.
- At 5 of those 31 places, a child's ticket costs more than an adult's. This happens mostly at open farms, probably because the child's ticket includes the slides and play areas.
- Booking online is usually cheaper. Child tickets are €1 to €3 less online at Dublin Zoo, Fota, Galway Atlantaquaria, Dingle Oceanworld and others.
- Family tickets save real money. At Dublin Zoo, a 2-adult, 2-child family ticket bought online is €62.50, against €79 for four separate online tickets.
Weekly classes
Most classes are sold by the term, usually 7 to 15 weeks, so the headline price can look high. Dividing it by the number of weeks gives a fairer comparison:
| Activity | Example | Published price | Per session |
|---|---|---|---|
| Karate | WSKF Karate Academy, Skerries | €99 for a 12-week beginners' course, suit included | about €8 |
| Dance | Kate Buckley School of Dance, Rathfarnham | €165 for a 15-week term | €11 |
| Art | Wexford Arts Centre, Little Artist Club | €12 per class | €12 |
| Rugby (toddlers) | Rugbytots | €11 to €14.99 per session, depending on venue | €11–€15 |
| Kids' yoga | Yoga with Michelle, Greystones | €55 for 4 weeks | about €14 |
| Baby music | Bloom Baby Classes | €98 to €133 for a 7-week term, depending on venue | €14–€19 |
| Drama | Dublin Stage School, Killiney | €19 per 90-minute session | €19 |
| Baby and toddler development | ClapHandies | €133 for a 7-week term | €19 |
| Art | Catherine King Art, Donabate | €20 per class | €20 |
| Ballet | Dance Conservatory Ireland | €300 for a 15-week term | €20 |
| Music (one-to-one) | Dublin School of Music, Terenure | from €30 for a 30-minute lesson | €30 |
Some classes are billed monthly instead:
- Toddler football: €50 to €57 a month at Little Kickers, and €55 a month at Soccer Stars. Little Kickers Dublin & Meath also charge a one-off €33 registration fee, and at Soccer Stars Southeast the first month is €75 including a jersey.
- Coding and STEM: €144 a month for a weekly two-hour class at impact Academies, Navan.
Things to ask about: sibling discounts (10% to 50% among the providers above), registration or kit fees, and whether you can try a class before paying for a full term.
Camps
Prices for a week of summer camp in 2026:
- €70 per child at Ballyboden St Enda's GAA, or €130 for two children
- €120 at Kidspace Rathfarnham, less for siblings
- €149.99 for a 4-day week at Project Fashion
- €160 at Artzone
GAA clubs, sports partnerships and councils generally run the cheapest camps. Browse all camps for kids.
Days out: child ticket prices at 31 attractions
Sorted from cheapest to dearest child ticket:
| Attraction | County | Child | Adult | Family ticket |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kilkenny Castle | Kilkenny | €4 (ages 12–17; under 12s free) | €8 | €20 (2 adults + 3 children) |
| Caragh Open Farm | Kildare | €6 | €5 | €25 (2 adults + 3 children) |
| Achill Experience Aquarium & Museum | Mayo | €6.50 (ages 2–17) | €13 | €35 (2 adults + 2 children) |
| Clonfert Farm | Kildare | €8 (online, same price for any age 2+) | €8 | €26 online (family of 4) |
| Airfield Estate | Dublin | €8 (ages 4–17) | €15 | – |
| Irish National Heritage Park | Wexford | €9 (under 4s free) | €18 | €48 (2 adults + 2–3 children) |
| Malahide Castle & Gardens | Dublin | €9 (ages 4–17) | €17 | €48 (2 adults + 2 children) |
| Galway Atlantaquaria | Galway | €10 (online; €11 on the day) | €15 | €45 online (2 adults + 2 children) |
| EPIC The Irish Emigration Museum | Dublin | €11 | €22 | €57 (2 adults + 2 children) |
| Kia Ora Mini Farm | Wexford | €11 (same price for adults and children) | €11 | – |
| Wild Encounters Mini Zoo | Limerick | €11 (same price for everyone; under 2s free) | €11 | – |
| Marine Life Bray | Wicklow | €11.50 (ages 2–12) | €16.50 | €49.50 (2 adults + 2 children) |
| Dublinia | Dublin | €11.50 | €16 (€18 at the door) | €50.50 (2 adults + 2 children) |
| Blarney Castle & Gardens | Cork | €12 (ages 6–16; 5 and under free) | €24 | €65 |
| Secret Valley Wildlife Park | Wexford | €12 (2 and under free) | €13 | €45 (2 adults + 2 children) |
| Moher Hill Open Farm | Clare | €12 (€9 under 3s) | €10 | – |
| Stonehall Visitor Farm | Limerick | €12 (same price for adults and children) | €12 | €55 (2 adults + 3 children) |
| Irish National Stud & Gardens | Kildare | €13 (ages 3–16, online) | €21 | €57 online (2 adults + 2 children) |
| The National Reptile Zoo | Kilkenny | €13.50 | €16 | €43–€58 by group size |
| Fota Wildlife Park | Cork | €14 (under 16, online; €15.60 at the gate) | €20.20 online | €61.10 online (2 adults + 2 children), plus €3 parking |
| Turoe Pet Farm | Galway | €14 (online; €15 at the gate) | €9.50 online | – |
| Loughwell Farm Park | Galway | €14 | €7.50 | – |
| Leahy's Open Farm | Cork | €14.30 (ages 2+, online; €14.95 walk-in) | €15.50 online | – |
| Wild Ireland | Donegal | €14.50 | €18.50 | – |
| Dingle Oceanworld | Kerry | €15 (ages 3–16, online; €16 on the day) | €21 online | €68 online (2 adults + 2 children) |
| Ardmore Open Farm & Mini Zoo | Waterford | €15.50 (same price for adults and children) | €15.50 | €74 (2 adults + 3 children) |
| Dublin Zoo | Dublin | €17 (ages 3–15, online; €20 at the gate) | €22.50 online | €62.50 online (2 adults + 2 children) |
| Aqua Dome Tralee | Kerry | €17 (under 18; under 2s €3) | €19 | €64.80 (2 adults + 2 juniors) |
| Fort Lucan Outdoor Adventureland | Dublin | €18 (ages 2–13; €30 with ride wristband) | €7 | – |
| Funtasia Waterpark | Louth | €24.95 (general admission) | €24.95 | – |
| Emerald Park | Meath | €40 (Junior Zone ticket, early bird; €49 regular) | €44 early bird | – |
A few things stand out:
- Under-2s (and often under-3s) go free almost everywhere, and some places go further. Kilkenny Castle is free for under-12s, and Blarney Castle for under-6s.
- Adults sometimes pay less than children. This is the case at Caragh, Moher Hill, Turoe and Loughwell farms and at Fort Lucan, where the child's ticket probably covers slides and play areas that adults don't use.
- An OPW Heritage Card gets you into Kilkenny Castle free, along with other OPW sites, which is worth knowing if you visit heritage sites often.
- Watch for parking charges: €3 at Fota and €2 at Blarney.
Find more places to go on our farms, zoos and nature, museums and heritage and theme and water parks pages.
Free and low-cost options
Not everything costs money. About one in five of the parent-and-toddler groups we list is free, including most library groups, and the rest typically charge €2 to €5 per family. Some libraries also run free clubs, such as the Terenure Library Chess Club, and we list over 600 free public playgrounds.
How we put this together
Every price above comes from a Kids Patch listing. We took each one from the provider's own website when the listing was researched or last updated, between July and October 2026. We left out prices we couldn't confirm from the provider directly. Prices change, especially at the start of a new term or season, so check with the provider before you book.
Run one of these businesses and your prices have changed? Let us know and we'll update your listing.