Hi all — I’ve been reading through the sub and would appreciate some guidance.
I’m an American, fairly experienced traveler, planning our first trip to Ireland with my husband and two sons (5½ and almost 4). We’re looking at late June / early July and will have 5–6 nights total.
We’re currently considering Dublin as a base, at least for part of the trip, but I’m trying to sanity-check that plan with kids this age.
A few questions I’d love input on:
For a trip of this length, how many nights in Dublin typically makes sense with young children?
Activities in Dublin that work well for this age range — parks, museums, short cultural activities, easy wins.
Good day trips or excursions from Dublin that aren’t overly long or exhausting for kids.
We’re undecided on renting a car — would love perspectives on whether it meaningfully improves what we can do on a short trip, or if public transport/day tours are more practical.
We’re not trying to cover the whole country… this is more of a first introduction. Priorities are ease, scenery, history in digestible doses, and not spending the whole trip in transit.
If, for a 5–6 night trip, it makes more sense to split time between Dublin and one other location, I’m open to that too.
Appreciate any guidance, especially from those who’ve traveled to Ireland with kids of a similar age.
Thank you!
Personally I would base yourselves just in Dublin and do day trips. Hotels are expensive and getting one place where you can relax and have down time with the kids sounds the best.
*Car*
Renting a car might be a good idea if you are staying not in the city center and at a bnb / air bnb, but I would not recommend if you are in the city centre as you can bus/train to loads of places and most hotels do not have parking.
*Dublin city things to do:*
- The three National Museums (Art, Archaeology, and animals) -> all are free and in good locations
- Old Library at Trinity College -> book in advance
- walk around St. Stephen's Green park -> beautiful park and can be a great place to picnic and burn off some steam
- Dublin Zoo -> located in the beautiful Phoenix Park which is one of the largest enclosed public parks in Europe and has loads of buildings and deer
- Croke Park experience for sport lovers
- EPIC museum if you are of Irish decent / like history
*Day trips from Dublin:*
- DART out to Howth -> seaside town in county Dublin with fish & chip shops, places to walk and hike, and a small market. Travel to it via the train ("DART" line)
- DART to Dun Laoghaire, Dalkey, Greystones and/or Bray --> seaside towns steeped in history with lovely beaches, places to swim, cafes and small local museums
- Bus Tour to the Cliffs of Moher - have not done it with small children myself but I know it is popular with families
- Train to Galway from Dublin for a day in a different city with great food and museums
These are all brilliant suggestions. I might also add Dublinia and the Viking splash tour.
Great suggestions, they could also conceivably do a night or two in another location in the middle (like Killarney/Dingle or Galway) and then come back to Dublin
For some reason, a lot of people on here hate to recommend Dublin 😅 Dublin is the most logical place for you to base yourselves and it is full of things to do, it’s stress free on arrival too since our airport is in Dublin. All the trains leave from Dublin too.
I’ve lived in Dublin all my live but I still remember going to Dublina as a kid. It’s a viking and medieval museum in the city centre. They have a Viking experience where they’ve rebuilt a Viking village and it just fascinated me as a kid, and I wasn’t even in to vikings. They have some performances on too.
The national gallery has a kids section with kid friendly exhibitions and interactions as well as a place they can draw themselves.
Consider getting the dart to Howth, a seaside town and have fish and chips in Beshoff Bros, sit at the harbour to eat them and they can watch the boats.
Only rent a car if you are confident driving on our side of the road and are prepared to experience how narrow most of our roads are, don’t do it if you’re not confident as I image having two young kids in the car won’t help you concentrate.
Consider getting the train down to Galway for a day or two
Powerscourt Gardens (20km south of Dublin) were classed 3rd in the world by National Geographic some years ago, after Versailles and Kew.
W5 is a real fun kids ‘museum’ in Belfast. Got the titanic exhibits right beside that as well. Compaxt downtown. Might be slightly far for a day trip, 2 hours each way on the train. But the train journey is nice.
On a smaller scale, the Explorium in Dublin is also lovely for kids, my 5 year old really enjoyed it. The W5 is brilliant though.
Emerald Park.
Just want to put in a plug for Belfast as a potential second base. Easy train ride from Dublin and there is a lot for kids to do there with lots of interesting history for adults. The W5 museum is INCREDIBLE for kids, and the titanic museum is one of the best we’ve ever been to.
Leprechaun Museum!!
dublin zoo is huge and also the 3rd oldest zoo in the world, would be great for kids if you’re interested in it
Dublin- viking splash tour from Stephens Green followed by an icecream and walk around the park [great activity, easy, good playground in the park, ducks, walkable and good food options around there]
Little museum of Dublin is right on the Green too if you fancy it- mire for Green ups but full if curiosities for kids to look at so they might last ok!!
Check out The Ark in Temple Bar - it's a kids theatre and art space that might have something on during your stay. Same for the National Gallery and National Museum- often have kids events on, and Merrion Square is beside both- great playground.
Patricks cathedral is worth a tour, as is Dublinua for viking dublin, kids love it!!
Day trips- get the dart to Bray for fish and chips and a walk up bray head- pint for the parents in the harbour bar on the way home. Bray has a brach, playground, lovely cafes, kids bookshop and harbour. In July there are rides and amusements on the seafront for that very seaside summer town vibe- check the dates for Bray Summer Fest. Also the views from Dublin to Bray are absolutely stunning- you go along the train track right on the coast for amazing scenery.
Dart to Dun Laoghaire also an option - Sunday food market in people's park followed by playground and seafront or garbour stroll and amazing library overlooking the seafront [Lexicon]
Consider doing 3 or 4 nights in Dublin and a couple elsewhere- check out Amber Spings and Newpark hotels for very good family hotels- you could rent a car for two days and do drives to see castles/ forests/ woodland walks. Dunmore East in Warterford another option for a couple of days, or somewhere in wexford for sandy beaches.
My outside of Dublin recs- kilkenny, waterfird or wexford, are all less than 2hrs from Dublin.
If you like city bus tours, choose the viking splash tour. Kids love it!
With children so young, I would recommend keeping to Dublin and Wicklow.
As your first activity, do a bus tour of the city. That will give you a good overview of the city and ideas for things to do while you are here. Dublin Zoo, Dublinia, some museums, the Viking Splash Tour and the many parks and seaside are all good for the kids... and adults. Take the rail service known as the DART, north towards Howth and south towards Bray and Greystones. The DART goes along the coast and through the city centre. Day trips away from the city, like the Cliffs of Moher, would be long for the kids and the weather might not be favourable. Glendalough would be a closer option. For another base, think of Galway for a couple of nights. Head to the seaside suburb of Salthill for things for the kids to do, plus a massive beach. A cruise on the river Corrib might be nice too.
Dublin is a good base with young children and lots to do for a few days without over planning. As well as the zoo and other suggestions I’d also recommend Malahide Castle which has a great playground and picnic area as well as a cafe. Also beaches in Malahide and Portmarnock. Sand castles are not weather dependent!Accessible by Dart and bus or a good base for access to the city centre. Definitely check out the Ark in Temple Bar. It is a cultural centre for children and they run a summer programme every year. My children loved it when they were similar ages. Also check out Dublin City Council summer programme. There will be lots happening because of the school holidays. Merrion Square park across from the National Gallery and Natural History Museum has a good playground and is a nice place to relax between stops. It has a food market at lunchtime on Thursdays. Hope you have a lovely time
Viking splash and dream point experience are a must with little ones.
You could fly in to Shannon instead of Dublin. Spend your 6 days in a small town along on of the greenways, rent some bikes with the kids. https://greenwaysireland.org/ Westport would be a good shout. Lots of nice restaurants and activities for families.
Edit: you can get a train from Dublin to Westport as well.
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I would split my time between Dublin and galway. The latter is a much much nicer city and the former has more things to do but isn't as friendly.
Apart from its tiny noisy expensive “Medieval” core consisting of about 4 streets, Galway is a an unplanned traffic choked mess of bleak characterless suburban housing estates and tatty strip malls
AirBNB in Ireland leads to homelessness and its a social ill. Curses on people who do AirBNB in Dublin. There are children homeless in Dublin as a result.
You're planning on being in Ireland at the PEAK of tourism so expect crowds at all tourist places. Schools will be closed - expect crowds at places where children go.
I wouldn't consider time with small children a holiday but its your choice.
Newgrange is essential. Stay away from the Guinness money pit. Its a long day indoors spending money.
www.heritageireland.ie
We took our daughter when she was 5. If you can get North to Giants Causeway and Carrick A Rede it was a big highlight. My daughter loved every second. And you could base in NI for a night or two.
Or if you can get West Bunratty Castle is truly wonderful for kids. They do Medieval dinners which our little one adored. The guard opened the door and said “Welcome Back to your castle my princess” and there was singing and fun stories. The grounds have place spaces, so many animals, and fairy trails. One of the care takers saw my daughter and picked up a small baby goat and walked it over to her to pet. It was a very memorable experience and your kiddos would love it!
You don't need a car if you're staying in Dublin. Trust me, public transport is WAY EASIER.
Be advised that the bus trip to the Cliffs of Moher will be 4 hours EACH WAY on a bus.
The viking splash is a really good laugh. Corkagh park is my favourite park in Dublin with kids. Howth is gorgeous and so is Enniskerry if you are looking for the village feel. I don't paticularly love the city centre but the Merrion Square area is lovely. The zoo is in phoenix park. Beyond the trees Avondale is really cool at night and that is only about a 50 minute drive from Dublin. Brittas Bay is a lovely beach about a 55 minute drive outside Dublin. I would probably rent a car for 2 days and do the outside Dublin stuff then. The rest of the stuff can be done on public transport. If the luas is an option go with that as the bus system is hit and miss. Tip for you Irish weather has a sense of humour so if you leave the house without a raincoat it will probably rain. Please don't expect Irish people to say top of the morning to you as we don't say that ever. How's the craic means how are you and what are you up to, it is not a reference to drugs. We also talk very fast as a nation and we don't take ourselves very seriously. We love a good laugh.
I’d add on either location, since a priority is scenery. Consider Killarney or Dingle. You can get the train there (fun with kids). And both locations are extremely walkable, from Killarney especially there is plenty to do by foot, bicycle, horse trap (cart), boat, tour bus.
Come to Waterford, irelands oldest city. We've some of the best coastline in ireland, and loads to see and do.
I'd definitely recommend at least a day in Kilkenny! It's handy enough to get to from Dublin (1.5 - 2 hours depending on how you get there) and is a great spot for kids, especially at that time of year.
An hour and a bit on the train and such a nice town to explore
I was going to recommend that too. I live in Dublin but I’m from Kilkenny and the train trip with the kids is fun. We always find there’s lots to do and see in Kilkenny. Some great history to see there too.
Having traveled with little ones, i think having one home base for the trip is paramount - kids and things spread out and the stress of changing where you sleep is not worth it. Having an Air bnb over a hotel is ideal for easy breakfasts, multiple spaces for people including parents to get down time is important. I would find one place that will fit for the whole trip - I like the ideas of a seaside town with a daytrip to Dublin
Would be a big mistake. Dublin is a big, expensive city. Young kids would enjoy getting out into nature and staying at hotels and guest houses with a lot of room to run around and play. Rent a car and visit a couple of villages.
I'm with you. My family, with a 3yo and a 1yo, is traveling to Ireland this summer, and we're skipping Dublin entirely. Flying into Shannon and staying along the west, without too much driving. Definitely prioritizing time in nature over cities, which I think will be both easier on us and more enjoyable for the kids.
thanks. not sure why i was downvoted. i bet you'll have a great time.
Terrible advice. Do you have kids? What are you going to do in a tiny village with kids for 4-5 hours? How does that compare to something like the Viking Splash tour or Dublin Zoo?
They can visit a zoo or a water park in America. In a small village? Hiking, running around, seeing new stuff.
Viking Splash isn't a water park. You're not even from Ireland or you'd know what it is. Also, as far as I know they have hikes in America too but I could be wrong.
Again, what stuff specifically is there to see in a small village in Ireland that a four and a five year will find engaging for a few hours? When you say "running around", where exactly do you envisage a four and a five year old running around that they won't get bored of within fifteen minutes?
I'd say pipe down and let actual Irish people continue to give advice! :)
Good trips around Dublin for adults and kids would be the: -Viking Splash Tour. It’s an amphibious bus that tours with a speaking guide around Dublin City and goes into water and the streets and teaches you about when Vikings settling in Dublin. Enjoyable for both adults and kids.
-Croke Park museum and sky walk. Teaches the history of the GAA and the sky walk is where you walk around the roof of the stadium and get a full view of the city from above.
-Guinness tour/museum. Goes without saying really.
-Kilmainham Gaol (jail). Teaches Irish history and the formation of the free state and a beautiful old jail to boot too.
For the parents - go to a proper Irish pub and not a tourist trap type bar. Don’t worry, you don’t have to order Guinness if you don’t want to.
Phoenix park - biggest park in Dublin (and Europe I think) so would be a car job or cycling if only on a short stay. Has Dublin Zoo and our “White House” within its land so you could take pictures of where the president of Ireland lives.
Leprechaun museum - it does exactly what it says on the tin.
GPO (general post office) - O’Connell St, north side. Even to just stand outside and get pictures or look at the bullet holes still visible in the pillars from 1916.
Bit of a personal choice here, but instead of going to a McDonalds or Burger King for a quick bite to eat, try a SuperMacs, it’s an Irish fast food chain, so something to change things up a bit.