First Family Trip to Ireland!

I would look into booking apartments/self catering homes instead of hotels... will provide more space, more possibility to hang our during down time and some meal making opportunities

Definitely do not drive in Dublin. Also, for the Gaol, you will need to get advance tickets to be certain you can see it, very worthwhile. I would skip Doolin, there is really nothing to see there and during the day it is really crowded with tour buses, our last trip we used combination of bed and breakfast and VRBO. We had nine of us in two groups and we were off season and were able to get three places for two nights each. Don't know if you can get two nights during the height of tourist season but if you can, it is certainly a great option. Best of luck and enjoy.

Haven't been to some of the places on you list, but you'll drive through the Burren on your way to the Cliffs of Moher. Just a note, I didn't find the roads to be well marked in Ireland and definitely not in the Burren. Rock of Cashel was nice.

Are you expecting to see all four of the Dublin items on your list in one day, the day you arrive in Ireland? That's exhausting and I have a feeling some members of your family will not be up to all that. It's a lot of time to spend on your feet. Kilminham Gaol is on the other side of the city from Trinity college (the popular Dublin tourist map makes it look much closer than it is--we walked there and almost missed our reservation).

We've been fortunate to have had two great holidays in Ireland in 2016, and while we didn't get to all your sights we really enjoyed the Rock of Cashell and Kilkenny, which is a cute little town with enough to see for a whole day. Cliffs of Moher is gorgeous, out four teenaged/young adults loved it too.

We had a fairly big car and found driving much easier than expected. We had spent the previous month driving in England and Ireland was so much better! Lots less traffic and mostly well-paved roads.

One final bit of advice traveling with a large group--we had a "when one person 'goes', everyone goes" policy. This definitely kept the number of bathroom breaks down!

This is all great advice--thanks! I like the idea of self-catering, though I think I've found hotels in each locale that will meet our needs. I appreciate the insight on the marking of Irish roads--we will have to look more into whether it makes sense to rent a GPS or rely on our iphones to get where we need to go--and what roads are wider than others. Lots to learn still!

Yes, the more I think about it, the more I think that we're better off making our way from the Dublin airport out west rather than trying to go into Dublin that first day. Now my big decision is where to stay that first night--I'm not sure I want to drive 3 hours all the way out west after getting off the plane. If we did that, we could see Knock Shrine and even Croagh Patrick (go to Westport)--looks good on paper, but not sure how reasonable this is given that, with jet lag, it'll feel like midnight or 1am when we get the car from the airport. Not sure it's the safest decision to get on the road for that long that first day. I also don't want to hole up and lose a whole day, though I'm beginning to think staying in Dublin and exploring city center with our group that first day may not be the best decision either. Trying to think of a locale that will give us flexibility to explore and take into account that we are going to need to adjust to the time difference. Perhaps driving to Trim and explore Trim Castle that first day? Any recommendations for easy to access areas from the Dublin airport that can afford some things to explore at a more leisurely pace?

I'm totally with you on the when one goes everyone goes rule--my 11 year old is notorious for pulling fast ones on us in that department! l also have a pretty basic question that I can't seem to find anywhere--I know that you drive on the left side of the road and the steering wheel is on the right side of the car--what the gas pedal/brake situation? Is that also opposite (from an American vantage point)--Is it break then gas or gas then break?

Thanks!

Gas and break pedals are the same as in the states. Also, with the price of renting a GPS it would be cheaper to buy one and load European maps onto it. It would pay for itself in 1 or 2 trips. (I'm optimistic you'll enjoy your trip and will want to travel more.) Trim castle is nice, more from the outside than the inside. Part of the movie Braveheart was filmed there. We've visited dozens of castles in many countries and we didn't find the inside of Trim to be anything special.