How to Take Your Kids to Ireland--Itinerary and Housing

Planning a trip to the Republic of Ireland with your family? Let our experiences traveling with two tween-agers help you see the country, meet locals, connect with history, and keep to a modest budget!

  
Previous: Steps 3-5: Dublin and Car Rental

Step 6: Fun!!! Make Basic Itinerary
 

Castles and music and lakes, oh my! This is my favorite part of planning. For this, I like to get out an old-fashioned pencil and paper and draw a calendar grid with the days of our trip. Pull out the wish list you started at the very beginning of all this, and start plugging things in.
(For a list of family-friendly destinations we enjoyed, see "Sights and Sites.")

Gallarus Oratory has withstood weather, war, and children for about 900 years.

• Good news! Dublin is already planned.
• If there are shows or events on specific days you know you want to attend, mark them in and plan your stays around those.
• Make sure to check opening/closing hours and any holiday or other closures.
• Checking-in/checking-out of places takes an effort, so keep your one- and two-night stays to a minimum. Also, read more about time it takes to travel distances in "Transportation."

I write the town we'll want to stay in on the bottom of each day, and then pencil in the places we most want to see. It doesn't have to be pretty.

You could use a calendar template on a computer if you're fancy.
(Our actual itinerary was a little different from the one pictured because we started in Iceland and took a side-trip to Wales.)

Notice that most of these towns are three-nighters. There's also a lot of daily space left...which is good. You're not planning your trip to the minute--you're just getting a feel for how much time you want in each place.

Step 7: Book Housing for Remaining Nights

When Jay and I went to Europe pre-kids, we debated whether or not to book rooms ahead or keep maximum flexibility and breeze in and out of places on a whim. In my experience, if you're traveling with children, this isn't a debate. The answer is--book ahead. True, you may fall in love with the Dingle Peninsula and decide you just have to stay two more nights, and if you've already booked a non-refundable room in Doolin, that could be inconvenient.

But the alternative to not booking ahead is that you'll have fewer places available (especially if traveling in summer), rooms will be more expensive, and you'll spend precious time on the phone trying to find a place when you could be walking around the local castle with an ice cream. And kids do not like sitting around while their parents make phone calls.

So use your time before the trip to research the best places for your family to stay. And if your time on the Dingle Peninsula ends up feeling too short, you can say, "Next time we'll stay longer!"

We would not have had this window and view if we hadn't booked ahead!

 
There are different kinds of places you can stay. Because I love lists (shocker), here are some pros and cons about staying as a family in each of them.

Hotels

Find recommendations through internet reviews and guidebooks

Pros: Room service, maid service, near airports and city center locations, pay with plastic.

Cons: Blech! You can stay in a hotel in Detroit. Hotels are often expensive, and if you come into contact with other people, they'll mostly be tourists too. You'll need to eat most (or all) meals out. ($$$) You might worry about your kids disturbing the room next door with all their wrestling.

Bed and Breakfasts

Rick Steves' guidebook is a fabulous resource

Pros: Hot breakfast served! My family of men love a good full Irish breakfast (hey, so do I), and there are usually lighter fare options as well. You get to chat a little with the local host/ess if they're not too busy, and you don't have to do dishes when you're done.

Cons: You're likely sharing the house with a few other tourists (or maybe that's a pro, depending on your personality). You probably have to pay cash. You might worry about your kids disturbing other guests with their wrestling.

The boys had their own little bunk bed room at this B&B.

Airbnb

www.airbnb.com

DING DING DING!!!!! For traveling with kids, this is the best thing ever. For a family of at least four, there are two basic kinds of options.

1. Whole house/flat rental

Pros: Um, WHOLE HOUSE. (Or flat.) For a similar price as a single hotel room. Mom and Dad get their own room...includes a kitchen...you get your own living area...you might have a yard for the kids to run around in...you might not be sharing walls with anyone else...you might get a washing machine. WASHING MACHINE. (Quick side note: We used a launderette once in Dublin. It cost 12 Euros to wash and dry one load. That adds up fast.)

Best conservatory cum laundry room ever!

Cons: You won't have local hosts in the same building (or maybe that's a pro, depending on your personality). No one cooks or does dishes for you. It might not be as clean as a hotel. As guests, the host can rate you afterward on airbnb.com, and you'll get a poor review if you don't respect the space or follow house rules.

2. Room(s) in a family home

Pros: Get to know locals! (Breakfast may be included too.) In contrast with traditional B&Bs, Airbnb hosts tend to have a much more we're-visiting-friends vibe. At all three of our stays, our host families invited, "Would you like to sit and have a cuppa tea?" One of them drove me to another part of town and hunted through headstones at a cemetery with me. One hostess made my kids crepes with Nutella, and her husband let them run around chasing his sheep. He also called and got us tickets to a concert at a local venue. Another hostess invited us to tour their dairy farm and showed my kids how to get under the electric fence so they could play on the swings.

We loved our farmer Airbnb hosts!

Cons: You don't necessarily have access to kitchen or laundry. You may be sharing a bathroom and common living space. It probably won't be as clean as a hotel. As guests, the host can rate you on airbnb.com, and you'll get a poor review if you don't respect the space or the host's guidelines.

One hostess served us this beautiful continental spread.

 Summary of Housing and a Few More Comments

Book your housing ahead of time. During our trip, we stayed at all three of the non-hotel kinds of housing, and it was a great mix. The farm house we had all to ourselves on the beach was our favorite. But staying with Irish farmers in their home on the Dingle Peninsula was also our favorite. Before you book, just keep in mind the following basics: 1. Read reviews. 2. Find out what's included. (My 10-year old's first question at each new place was, "What's the WiFi password?") 3. Understand the cancellation and payment policies.

Next: Steps 8-9: Luggage and Logistics