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Ireland Trip in Sept - questions inc. where to stay and traveling w/ 3 y.o

Posted by (Oregon) on

Hi All,

My husband and I will be traveling to Ireland in September with our 3 year old and my mother in law. We would like to lodge in one location for one week, rent a car and do day trips out like a spokes on a wheel. We are thinking of doing a self catering as that would allow us to have a place to unwind and plan our day trips rather than being cramped in one person's room. Does this sound like a good idea or would a B&bs work just as well. We are also thinking of flying into Shannon and then staying somewhere around Killarny as that seems pretty central to being able to do many day trips. I have heard it is overly touristy and am not thrilled about that but not sure where else would be as good as far as being central. We are hoping to stay either in town or close enough by that we can easily walk into town and not use a car.

We then would like to take another few days to drive up and see the Cliffs of Moher and any other areas of interest, then head over to north of Dublin to check out New Grange and then fly out of Dublin. Does this seem reasonable. Is New Grange worth checking out or is there something close to the West /SouthWest you would recommend and that we fly out of Shannon instead?

As I mentioned in the title, we will be bring our 3 .5 year old with us - does anyone have any advice - as far as things to do that would interest us as well as him? Also - any advice on safety - I see pictures of the cliffs of Moher and wonder - am I going to have by a kiddie leash to keep him near me at all times while there - are most of the sites generally safe for a young child to wander/run about but within a several feet to mom and dad?

Thanks so much in advance!
Nicole

Posted by
1358 posts

Hi Nicole -- just came back from a week and a half in Ireland with my 2 kids, ages 7 and 3. We spent a week in a cottage in Doolin and then a couple of days in Dublin. We stayed in Doolin Holiday Homes, which may be a bit big for you all, they're 3 bedroom cottages (we had other family we were traveling with, too). If you do a search for "self catering (name of county)", you'll come up with some cottages. You should get good rates for September. I prefer doing self-catering to B&B's, since we get more room and can make our own meals. After a day of running around, my kids are no good in restaurants.

We all went to the Cliffs and I was happy to see that the whole park has walls and fences by the cliffs. When my husband and I were there 12 years ago, there were NO walls. We kept my daughter in close range of us, but I felt safe with her there.

As far as things to do with the little one -- the Cliffs are great, exploring the Burren (lots of rocks to climb on, but can get a bit treacherous in spots), spending some time playing in the sand on the beaches (Lahinch has a nice one, but make sure the tide's out, or there's no beach), there's a GREAT playground on Inisheer in the Aran Islands. Bunratty Castle and Park is a good stop -- you'll have to keep him close in the castle, but he can explore around the cottages in the park. There's lots of old plows there for him to climb on, lots of animals, and a castle playground with a maze.

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