Ireland with Kids

June 30th - July 31st, 2014

Our Story

Dublin

On our first day in Ireland, we stayed at Travelodge; a cheap, but nice little hotel near the Dublin Airport. While we had rented a car and could have easily driven to the city center, we decided to take the nearby bus, which was only about a 15 minute ride. We spent the afternoon wandering around Dublin and took in some the sights, such as the Book of Kells exhibit and the Dublin Castle, before eating dinner. Dublin seems like a nice city from the little we saw, but it isn't the reason we came to Ireland. We came to experience farm life on the west coast, and that's just what we did!

Devlin House, County Mayo

For the month of July, we found the amazing Devlin House using Air BNB. The house, located in County Mayo, is on a secluded farm right on the Atlantic Ocean. The hosts are a lovely family who live in a large house on the same property, and rent out their cottage, which is a great size for a family of four. The farm has many sheep, many chickens, two roosters, two horses, and a sheep dog named Sam. Our kids loved all the animals, but especially Sam, I feel they will miss Sam for a long, long time. There is a little beach down the road, only about a 10 minute walk away, which is nice and very private. There are also a number of other really beautiful beaches, all within about a 15 minute drive. The nearest town center is in Louisburgh, a charming little town with some restaurants and shops, which is about a 10 minute drive away. For a larger town experience, Westport is a real gem, and is about a half hour away. After touring a fair amount of Ireland, nothing tops the raw and untouched beauty of this lovely area.

Galway

We stayed one night in Galway during our road trip in southwest Ireland. Since we hadn't planned a detailed itinerary of the road trip, we weren't sure if we'd be staying in Galway for the night, and so we had not booked a hotel. We found Galway to be a lovely city, with a very lively city center filled with street performers and tourists, and decided to spend the night. While walking the city center, we found a little hostel right off the main street, which we spontaneously decided to stay in. The hostel was an interesting experience as a family, though it may not be something we'd want to do again. Galway, however, is absolutely a city we would love to visit again.

Ring of Kerry

On the second day of our southwest Ireland road trip, we planned ahead and booked the night at a bed and breakfast called the Kerry Ocean Lodge. This bed and breakfast is in a town called Glenbeigh in a region known as the Ring of Kerry. It was a nice place and provided a very large Irish breakfast in the morning. The Ring of Kerry is a beautiful area filled with vast mountains, and is conveniently located near the Dingle Peninsula, which features some very nice beaches. It is also not far from Killarney, which was the next leg of our trip.

Killarney

On the final day of our road trip, we showed up in Killarney, again without any hotel reservations. There are no shortage of Bed and Breakfasts in the town, and even though we were there on a week with a number of events, it only took a few failed attempts before we found the Kingfisher Lodge. The city of Killarney has a lot of charm, and offers a wide variety of things to do. We especially enjoyed the Traditional Farms near the Muckross House.

Ireland Travel Tips

Featured

Sep 11, 2014

Top 10: Reasons to Travel to Ireland with Kids

Sep 11, 2014

For the month of July 2014, our family of four lived in a small cottage on a farm in Western Ireland. We were all surprised by just how much we loved this experience, and hope to inspire more families to travel here as well. Here is a list of 10 things you and your kids can look forward to with a visit to Western Ireland. While we stayed for a whole month, you can enjoy all of these experiences in a 1-2 week period.

Sep 11, 2014