I have visited UK & Ireland links courses several times; Travel time for me being 4 or 5 hours from my doorstep to the courses (I live in A'dam). I also visited Bandon via Portland (10 and a half hr flight, 2 hours++ waiting for customs in the non-resident line....+4 hrs by rental car = 17 hours and vice versa 4 days later), did not regret it for one moment.
The courses at Bandon are a different experience to UK+Ireland golf, but each experience is unique, even between the Bandon courses themselves. And for the record: The courses at Bandon all play F&F and ground-game-friendly, comparable to most links courses in UK& Ireland (although these might be a bit more aerial-game-hostile). The course at Bandon that to me comes closest to feeling like an old country links experience is Old Mac, especially around the greens, with BD coming second and PacD third (which is not necessarily my order of merit for these courses, just the degree in which they resemble classic links to me).
Make sure to experience both, even if it is only once!