Ireland with an infant

Posted by Stacy (Grand Rapids, MI, USA) on 05/04/17 01:02 AM

Hello!
My husband and I will be traveling to Ireland with our son this June. He will be 11 months old at that time. We are going as part of a travel abroad program for the university where my husband teaches. We will be there for 2 weeks, based in the rural town of Tully Cross on the West coast (about 1.5 hours from Galway). Additionally, we will be making a two night trip to Dublin.

I'm wondering what advice people would have for traveling to Ireland with an infant. My husband and I are pretty experienced travelers (3 previous trips to Europe), however this will be our first time in Ireland.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

Posted by pat

victoria, Canada

05/04/17 01:16 AM

11507 posts

none.. have fun.. it will be easy, no language issues and they have all the same issues with kids so have all the same things you'll need. I always brought any OTC meds for my kids that we normally use.. not because they don't have them, but because young kids develop fevers at 2 am and its hard to find a store open at that hour!!

The worst part will be the flight over , that sucks.. good luck.

Posted by Claudia

Land of La

05/06/17 12:38 PM

9221 posts

There's nothing to worry about once you arrive.

Flying with a baby can be easy or frustrating if baby screams, fusses, etc.

Packing light with a baby is difficult. For instance you'll need to bring your baby seat for your car rental.

Establish a mindset In your head that it's simply going to take more time to travel.

Patience will be the key.

Posted by sharon

05/06/17 03:19 PM

1172 posts

I wouldn't say that there is anything particular about Ireland that you need to be aware of.

I have traveled with my kids since they were little and this is what has saved me:

1) bring any and all medication that you may use at home. As a previous poster has noted operating hours are not the same in Ireland ( especially in more rural areas) than they are in North America. The other thing is that even common OTC meds could have different ingredients.

2) Give your son a bottle or nurse on take off and landing. It really helps with their ears. For a longer flight, if affordable, I would get him his own seat and use his car seat on the plane

3) bring 2 change of clothes and bring layers so that he is not cold/hot... if he is doing finger foods like puffs or cheerios, bring a lot of those :)

4) change him right before you board.... changing a baby on a flight is one of my biggest pet peeves :)

5) rent as much baby gear as you can on site... no need to lug high chairs/booster chairs , cribs, strollers etc. I always brought my own bedding though

If you are flying overnight, hopefully he will sleep most of it. I found the hardest thing at that age was trying to stop them from wanting to crawl/walk everywhere :)

Above all, have fun!

Posted by Stacy OP

Grand Rapids, MI, USA

05/08/17 04:33 PM

15 posts

Thanks all!
The flight is definitely what I am least looking forward to! He did do surprisingly well on a couple hour flight a month ago, so I hoping that's a good sign! We really have no major plans for our time in Ireland, which makes things less stressful. Just explore and enjoy the people & culture.

It's always nice to hear encouragement for traveling with kids! (Most people said our traveling days were over!) We are planning to do our best to prove them wrong! ;)