Ireland itinerary with kids?

[dutchgirl678]

Has anybody been to Ireland and have tips on where to stay and what to do?

We are probably flying Amsterdam-Dublin and will go the first or second week of May this year. My MIL is coming from the US so we have to rent a larger car and can't just book one hotel room. Vacation homes are a possibility though. The kids are 4 and 7 and they love nature and science and good music. So far I am thinking:

- Dublin 2 days
- Drive to Cork (stop in Cashel / Kilkenny)
- Cork 2 days
- Drive to Dingle
- Dingle 3-4 days (or maybe stay near Killarney and go to Dingle from there)
- Back to Dublin to fly back

Any good websites to check out?

[CloudBee]

Let me know if you want the name/contact info for the private driver we had. He drove us all over the countryside for a day. Best decision we made on that trip, as we were based in Dublin and didn't want to drive ourselves.

[dutchgirl678]

I think we will rent a car. My husband is very good at driving in new places. Where did you go on your trip out of Dublin? Any good places to eat in Dublin or must-see things?

[mbcdefg]

Must you fly home from Dublin, or is it an option to fly home out of Shannon? Shannon is about two hours from Dingle, as opposed to the four-hour drive back to Dublin. I know it's not a huge drive, but I wanted to throw it out there as an option.

Kinsale is a cute little port town about 30 minutes from the city of Cork. I really wanted to try this restaurant called Fishy Fishy while we were there, but it was closed. We went to Jim Edwards instead and that was really good.

We did the Guinness Storehouse in Dublin and I saw a lot of young families there. We also went to Trinity College and saw the Book of Kells. Muckross House, outside of Dublin, was neat.

We loved the Ring of Kerry. The "Ladies' View" area is breathtaking.

There were lots of great musicians in random pubs around the country.

I wish I had more specific recommendations, but we went with my parents and they never made a plan, just did stuff on the fly and it wasn't always great. MH and I are uber-planners so we were frustrated for much of that trip, lol.

[frlcb]

We did it with our 3 and 6 year olds this summer. We flew into dublin and drove to kilkenny, and then kinsale, cork, visited blarney castle, Killarney, did ring of kery, then back to dublin. I've been many times before and would also recommend dingle peninsula and Galway. Glendalough in Wicklow is fabulous. I enjoyed Belfast as well.

[frlcb]

Check out:

irelandfamilyvacations.com


ciaobambino.com/ireland-with-kids/

[EmilieMadison]

My advice would be to find one "home base" to stay for 5-ish nights. Last year, DH and 2 of our friends stayed at the Adare Manor (in a 3 bedroom townhouse) and it was the PERECT location for day trips to Dingle, Ring of Kerry, Cliffs of Moher, Kilkenny/Rock of Cashel. It was wonderful to be able to all stay in one place, have a kitchen, not have to live out of a suitcase every day, etc. And then we rented a flat in Dublin through VRBO for 3 days and it was perfect. 

[EmilieMadison]

Jan 14, 2015 15:42:07 GMT -5 dutchgirl678 said:

I think we will rent a car. My husband is very good at driving in new places. Where did you go on your trip out of Dublin? Any good places to eat in Dublin or must-see things?

You will NEED a car in Ireland and driving around the countryside is just fine   But NOT in Dublin. Return it as soon as you plan to be in Dublin. You can walk or take public transportation, but you will not want to drive (or park) in the city. 

[lolo]

If you want to consider a day trip from Ireland, I took an 'Over the Top' tour to Glendalough and it was fantastic. There are only 12-16 seats so it's a small tour.

We also went to Kenmare for a wedding. We loved Kenmare--it was really lovely and relatively affordable. We didn't have enough time for the Ring of Kerry (which I still regret, but it is what it is). But we loved Killarney--just driving through and stopping at all the fabulous sites, from Muckross House and the Ladies View to just random cool old churches and gorgeous waterfalls.

[frlcb]

Glendalough is truly spectacular: