5 days in Ireland with two children right before Christmas - PLEASE HELP

A bit confused about dates - are you traveling on 12/15 and 12/20, or are those full days available for activities? Moving between Dublin and Belfast/Galway is going to take a chunk out of your extremely limited time, suggest picking one, or neither and just do day trips from Dublin. Winter solstice is 12/21 so it might be fun to try and go to Newgrange (though you're leaving before the full solstice show). Sorry don't have any other kid friendly suggestions, I spent my time in pubs and historical places that I don't think most kiddos would find interesting.

Arrive early on the 15th and leave the evening of the 20th, yes. We are all very comfortable sitting in a pub with a fire and just talking to locals. We've done that in numerous cities in numerous of the friendlier countries.

I've been told to skip Galway and the West in the winter and focus on Dublin and Killarney for the Christmas stuff. We'll do a day trip to Belfast for the black taxi tour and the Titanic Museum.

My husband and I are taking our children ages 11 and 15 to Ireland and London before Christmas. My husband and I have both been to Ireland before and my kids have been to Edinburgh and London. We got great airfare to Dublin and I was debating about whether or not Ireland would be fun for the kids at this stage and especially during the winter. I have done a ton of research and we decided to do one night in Dublin and then fly to London for 3 nights and back to celebrate Christmas Even in Dublin. Previous trips to Ireland driving around the coasts are exhausting and when you factor the kids in the car. My kids don't like driving around that much and seeing the countryside might not be interesting to that age group. Dublin is much smaller than London. Have you considered Edinburgh? Maybe you can fly there for a few nights. It's an amazing city and there's a ton for kids to do too.

We've done two brief trips to Ireland as my husband's company has occasional meetings just outside Dublin. We've stayed near St. Stephen's green, just because it was nice to walk in the park. Your weather should be dreary but I don't think they get tons of snow there.
Must do Dublin sights:
-Trinity College and especially the library and book of Kells. Your kids won't like the tour but just pop in to see this WOW sights. https://www.visittrinity.ie
-visit a pub, I think things are pretty relaxed in Ireland. We did a musical pub crawl that was great but maybe you could just visit one pub that had some music. The kiddos may enjoy a song or two!

On one trip we drove down to Kilkenny and really enjoyed it. One another we saw Powerscourt and Glendalough on our way down. Powerscourt is mostly outside, though, so probably just Kilkenny is a better bet. If it's not too rainy, you may consider driving home along the coast rather than main roads. We did that once and had fish n chips in a tiny pub and saw a beach with gorgeous smooth black pebbles. The kids might like to see that. I think it was near Bray.

ps, have you heard driving in Ireland is challenging, especially Dublin? Def prepare for that.

I have three ideas for Dublin. In November 2002, I was in the Irish capital with my sister as the Christmas season was getting under way.

We went to see a performance of A Christmas Carol at the Gate Theater off O'Connell Street. We were practically in tears by the end of the performance. I have seen probably 250 plays in my life, and the Gate's rendition of the well-known story was incredibly fresh and heartfelt. Both adults and children would enjoy this. However, I don't know if the Gate performs the Charles Dickens story regularly.

Go to an Evensong performance at Christ Church Cathedral -- or any other Christmas-themed event. St. Patrick's Cathedral probably does something similar. Evensong would appeal to adults more than kids, but maybe they'll like it.

Have a splurge and spend a couple nights at the Shelbourne Hotel. It's expensive! But the fireplaces, old-world charm and grand bar (for adults) would get you in the spirit.

I would skip Galway at that time of year and given the age of your children and limited time you will have in Ireland. I also wouldn't bother with a rental car. Driving in Ireland is not for the faint of heart. We found the trains and then the trams in Dublin very accessible so I might suggest seeing how public transit options might work with your plans if you are considering spending time outside of Dublin.

Also, as someone whose dose a fair amount of traveling with kids don't underestimate how jet lagged, tired, and cranky they can be once you get to your destination and having to adjust to the time difference. Just be mindful that for everyone's sanity you may need to par down your plans and be flexible.

Hi Kevin,

I would skip Galway for this trip, and either base in Dublin the whole time or go straight to Belfast upon landing. If you take option #2 you can spend 2 nights in Belfast and the final 3 in Dublin.

I think the kids might enjoy the EPIC museum in Dublin. It's interactive while also giving a good background of the Irish diaspora. Depending on the maturity of the kids, and how much you're comfortable with them learning, the Jeannie Johnson might be another good option. It's a solemn tour that focuses on the Famine, but one that I think could be powerful at that time of year especially, from the perspective of gratitude for all we have. I still think about it today.

If you do end up in Belfast overnight, make a reservation for breakfast at Harlem Cafe Belfast. It's very whimsical which I think all of you would enjoy and the food is scrumptious. The Titanic Experience is well worth the time, especially the add-on Discovery Tour if you have the time. The Black Cab tour is another experience I'll never forget- very eye-opening.

Enjoy your trip!

PQ

Although this might not be a high priority given your limited time, I remember observing that the EPIC Emigration museum in Dublin seemed especially child friendly with a number of interactive activities.

Thank you all very much. We’re very excited for our trip. We are staying at the Davenport.

We’ve booked the vintage tea trip bus / Dublin zoo wild nights / Epic / a Christmas show at the national theatre / the Dublin castle / and a couple of other children’s tour stuff. Still doing a day trip to Belfast for us (kids could care less).

Appreciate all the feedback.

And to those going to Edinburgh - you’ll love it I’m sure

The kids may enjoy the Titanic Museum in Belfast especially the ride where they’re building the ship with the rivets. We took our grandkids 6 and 9 to Ireland this past July and they loved it although a lot of what they loved like the rib boat ride is not something you’re going to be doing in winter.