9 Day Itinerary with Kids (Galway, Killarney, & Dublin bases) Feedback?

re: dublin
We (2 adults/4 older teens) didn't love Guinness (very crowded, multimedia experience mostly), though view was lovely on sunny day. Jamesons had been recommended and do wonder if that would've been better?

My kids (again, older) liked walking tour with Little Dublin museum and Kilmahain. We missed (but wanted to visit) the archeological museum for the bog people. We ran out of time but I imagine it's good for your age range.

We also considered the famine ship (perhaps a tad dark) and EPIC, but I did hear it was mostly multimedia as well (not sure if that's accurate though). B of Kells wasn't available but I've been on earlier trip and would've gone again if possible.

In Dingle, our grandkids 6 and 9 at the time in 2023 totally enjoyed the rib boat ride with Dingle Safari that took us out to around the Blasket Islands by water. We saw dolphins, seals and puffins, highly recommend. The Raptor experience at Milltown House was big hit with the kids, as the 9 year old is a big birder and thrilled to be able to hold the different birds. They liked the Kissane Sheep Farm demonstrations in Killarney National Park and the trap ride back to the waterfall. We did not get to go back into the Gap of Dunloe because it was pouring down rain and the creeks were high. Back in Dublin, three of the adults did the Guinness Storehouse tour, not the kids. It was really crowded. There were a few interactive activities like learning to play the bodhran that the kids might enjoy but in my opinion the best part was the tasting rooms at the top with the 360 degree view of the city. The Archaeological Museum with the bog people was another hit. And if you guys enjoy ice cream then checkout Murphy’s. We hit the shops in Dingle and Dublin several times…
We didn have time to do the Epic Museum with the kids and regret it because my husband and I did it before and it’s very interesting with interactive activities. And re-reading what I wrote, it makes me think it’s time to plan another trip with all the kids and go north to show them, the Cliffs of Mohr, Giants Causeway and Belfast.

That's helpful. Maybe we'll skip the Guinness tour and my husband can do that on his own instead before we arrive. I have the National Museum of Archeology on our list of possible attractions in Dublin. I think some of what we do will be determined by the weather. Any idea how far out we need to book tickets for things in Dublin?

In Dingle, I haven't been able to find a wildlife boat tour that has an age limit lower than 9 or a height minimum below 130cm (4ft 3in) and my daughter will be newly 8 and is tiny at 3ft 11in right now. But I'll keep looking.

Driving Time?

I've read over and over that Google maps is not good at estimating how long it actually takes to drive between places in Ireland. For example Google has the Dublin Airport to our potential hotel (I haven't booked it yet) in Galway as taking 2hrs 10mins. Is it best to add an hour to the estimate? Or it has 3.5 hours to go from Galway to Killarney via the Aillwee Burren Experience? Again is adding an hour on to the travel time reasonable?

Thanks so much!

I just checked the Dingle Sea Safari website and see the age and height limits. It’s interesting because our granddaughter was just 6 and I doubt she was over 4 feet at the time. But if I remember correctly we stood and chatted with them for quite awhile the day before (we hadn’t even considered going out on the ocean in a small boat) and because there was six of us, the owner took us out in a smaller rib boat other than the big ones. Hopefully, you can find something because the kids still talk about how much fun they had.