Dublin & vicinity with 13-year-old

Renting is the best way to go in Ireland, particularly in the west. There is little to no train coverage in the west (which is the "real" Ireland in a way that Dublin is not). It really doesn't take long to get used to driving on the other side. If you want to take a train, you could travel to Galway from Dublin that way, then rent when you got to the west coast. You won't want or need a car in the Dublin. If you are going to spend time in Dublin, be sure to see Kilmainham Gaol. I would suggest you spend the bulk of your time in the west. Don't worry, there will be plenty of sheep! If you drive out of Dublin, you could go via Cashel to see the Rock of Cashel, drive down through Cahir to see the castle there, and continue on to Blarney. Or you could see Cashel and continue on to the west to see Bunratty and the Cliffs of Moher.

Don't be fooled by the name of the Dublin Castle tour - there are about 5 minutes of underground foundations of a castle, but most of it is touring rooms where heads of state visited and slept. Definitely not the thing a 13 year old would be interested in unless he's an Irish history nerd. You might try one of the more interesting churches like Christ Church - it's not exactly a castle but it has and extensive crypt underneath that has old things and a little cafe. It might just be macabre and different enough to interest a teenage boy. http://www.christchurchdublin.ie/ The Archeology Museum has some great things in an amazing building and is free! A lot of history of Ireland stuff with Viking and Norman exhibits and even some Egyptian. http://www.museum.ie/en/list/visit-us-overview-archaeology-ethnography.aspx There is a good castle at Trim which is not far from Dublin and can sometimes be done as part of a tour of Newgrange/Knowth. The castle is fairly complete and has platforms built to replace floors so you can go all the way to the top when you take the tour. Parts of castle and gates played York in the movie Braveheart that was shot there. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trim_Castle http://www.knowth.com/newgrange.htm The West of Ireland is great and is quiet in way that London and York will not be and I can absolutely guarantee sheep, but it may be tight with your schedule and transportation. You might consider a tour south to Wicklow mountains for dramatic scenery and the castle at Cahir gets great reviews and is near the Rock of Cashel if that fits into your plans and are probably just over 2 hours straight drive from Dublin. Have a great trip and congrats on taking your grandson - international travel at an early age can easily change one's entire perspective on the world.
=Tod

Sorry Kim, I forgot to add the links so here they are: - Hop On Hop Off tour - Kilkenny And Wicklow Tour - Blarney and Cork Tour
- The GhostBus Tour Oh and we stayed at Wynn's Hotel which is just off O'Connell Street. It was right in the middle of the city, just 2 or 3 minutes walk from on of the Hop On Hop Off bus stops and about 5 minutes from the pick up stop for the out of Dublin tours.

Hi Kim, Let me start by admitting that I'm Irish and I lived in Dublin for 11 years so I might be a bit biased on this topic :-) Anyway, I took my two kids (11 & 13) to Dublin last summer and they enjoyed it very much! Here are a few things we did: - Dublin Hop on Hop off tour: Make sure you get the two days for one offer as it is handy for getting round the city. We did an entire loop first, so the kids could hear about everything and decide where they wanted to hop off. The main things they wanted to see were: Dublin Castle, Kilmainham Gaol, Trinity College and St. Stephen's Green, Christchurch and St. Patrick's Cathedral. - The GhostBus: This one went down so well that they want to do it again this summer. - Kilkenny And Wicklow day tour: They were impressed by the round tower at Glendalough and Kilkenny castle. And yes there were plenty of sheep around! - Blarney/Cork: Blarney Castle and the English market in Cork city went down well with the kids. I was surprised though at what they voted the best thing on the trip - The Irish House Party! I had wanted them to enjoy some Irish music, but not in the typical pub scene. So I choose this and was delighted to see that it went down so well. The food was good and the music was great, but what was also important was that they to the time to explain all about the instruments and the songs as well - something you usually don't get at a pub. Guinness Storehouse took the "Complete Waste of Time" award as my daughter called it! It's very multimedia rather than showing the real thing, so apart from the view at the gravity bar, there was not much for them to do there. I hope this gives you some ideas to be getting on with. Jim. PS - Feel free to send me a PM if you wish.

Bunratty Castle has a great Castle dinner with singing entertainment. It is very fun! Be sure to make reservations.

"Bunratty Castle has a great Castle dinner with singing entertainment. It is very fun! Be sure to make reservations." Yes but from what I remember it was something like 50 Euros per person, unless you were under 12 years of age. Call me cheap, but I was not going to pay that kind of money for teenagers.....

hi, i only spent time in Dublin. saving the rest of Ireland for another day. Theres alot of things to do/see in Dublin. Just google. But i did this stuff in 3.5 days and it wasnt a rush trip either since it was my getting my feet wet on my first solo travels. Nation Museum - Archaeology & History Kilmainham Gaol - jail (use tour bus) Dublin Castle
Irish National Stud - Kildare (tours @ 1200,1430,1600) with regards to transportation. If youre staying in Dublin, you really dont need a car. There are trams, busses and the hop-on/off bus. Walking isnt that bad either. you can drive if you choose, but if you havent driven on the "right side of the road (as my boss use to say)" then sometimes it can get tricky especially if youre trying to navigate and watch traffic at the same time. having a good navigator would be of help. happy trails.

Hi, Kim... I can't recommend the gaol in Dublin highly enough. Or having a car if you plan to venture outside of the cities. In the eastern cities, I particularly liked walking around North Belfast. The recent struggles of a war torn country were made poignantly evident by the amazing murals. memorials and the wall that runs throughout residential neighborhoods. When we were there a few years ago, there was a ferris wheel (it may have a name but I don't know it) near City Hall, I believe. The HO/HO tours are great for an overview. You pass a dry dock where construction on the Titanic took place. Just beyond Belfast, along the North Antrim is Giants Causeway and an amazing rope bridge that would impress anyone. If you wanted to devote less time to urban Ireland and more to rural, it is great fun biking your way around Inishmoor (the Aran Islands) just off Galway. Inishmoor is a wonderful combo of island life inc. at least one lovely beach, rolling farmland, masterful stonework, and the ruins of forts set atop mind-numbingly steep cliffs. You can get up clcse and personal with all of it. We were there in June and experienced zero crowds. Just my two cents. Do enjoy.

I've been thoroughly enjoying all the responses and am looking up all your great suggestions. We're really excited about this trip! Jim, the Paddywagon Tours look wonderful. There are so many different tour companies vying for my euros; it's nice to have a solid recommendation. Kim

I think you would all enjoy the Boyne Valley/Newgrange day tour by Bus Eirenn (out of the downtown bus station). It's a great value. Newgrange is a must see, plus you will stop at the Hill of Tara, another historical area now mostly covered in grass and dotted with sheep. They show a short film to acquaint visitors with the history of the area. Bus Eirenn also runs another day trip to Glendalough. Which would also be a great trip to see some important Irish history. I haven't been to Trim Castle since they did work on it (about ten years ago). It's very imposing looking (some of Braveheart was filmed there, which probably provided money for the restoration work) so may be just what you're looking for. Blarney is also worth seeing, but it's 150 miles or so from Dublin - so "vicinity" may be stretching it. I liked the tour of Bunratty castle and the houses displayed there, but also clear across the country near Shannon airport. I didn't do the dinner at Bunratty, it seemed a little beyond my "touristy" limit - which is saying something because kissing the Blarney stone wasn't beyond my limit.

Our daughter was 12 when we visited Dublin. One of her (and our) absolute favorite excursions was Walkabout Wicklow (http://www.walkaboutwicklow.com/). It's a 4 to 5 hour guided hike in the Wicklow Mountains, challenging but not overwhelming (bonus for your grandson, we were up close to lots of sheep and other animals!). The tour groups are limited in size (it was a max of 9 when we went)and pick up right in front of the tourist office in Dublin. Great commentary en route, and a really wonderful opportunity to get off the bus and really explore.

I didn't do the dinner at Bunratty, it seemed a little beyond my "touristy" limit - which is saying something because kissing the Blarney stone wasn't beyond my limit. OK, I busted out laughing at this, Brad! And Ruth, thanks for the idea of the Walkabout Wicklow tour. I think a day outdoors sounds lovely! Checking it out now. This board was so helpful two years ago when we visited France. I can always trust the travelers' tips here at Rick Steves' site. Kim