If you are just tuning in, we spent eight days in Ireland with our two young children, 2 and 4 years old. We chose Ireland for a few reasons: 1) easy flight direct from our local airport in Hartford, Connecticut (no need to drive to New York or Boston for a direct flight). 2) It is a relatively small country that makes it easy to explore with kids, we knew we could rent a car and see a lot . 3) English is spoken making it easy to communicate and navigate. 4) We heard it was a beautiful country with friendly people 5) it was relatively affordable (cheap car rentals, affordable airbnbs, and food).
I am here to report that Ireland exceeded every expectation. We had 8 days of absolutely perfect weather (a perfect sunny 70 degree day every day in the first week of May). The people were lovely, kind, and welcoming. The food was actually amazing. The country was so beautiful and we loved exploring it with our kids and my in laws. It was such a beautiful trip and easy enough to get to that we know we will be back to explore the country in the not too distant future.
Are there things we would have done differently? I would love to spend more time in the Connemara region and more time hiking. I would definitely take a boat tour out to explore some of the islands off the west coast. I would have skipped the detour to the Cliffs of Moher. If I didn't have the kids I would have spent a half day in Dublin before heading out to see the rest of the Country. We also did not have enough time to explore northern Ireland, or the eastern coast. What we did do was the areas high on our wish list, spending a few days in two different home bases to really enjoy the area and not be on the go with the kids every single day. While we spaced out the timeline to enjoy the area, there is a decent amount of driving and if you are from the US (and a lot of the world) you will be on the wrong side of the road on the wrong side of the car on very narrow winding country roads.
We loved Ireland and if you are planning a trip (especially with kids) this guide might be helpful for you. I really truly hope these posts also inspire you to get out of your comfort zone and travel abroad with your kids.
Day 1: Red Eye, Rock of Cashel, Aherlow and Mallow Castle
Day 2: Killarney, Ireland (Castlerosse Park Resort and Killarney National Park)
Day 3: Gap of Dunloe and Boat Ride through the Lakes of Killarney
Day 4: A Day Trip to the Blarney Castle and Kinsale
Day 5: Southern section of the Dingle Peninsula
Day 6: Drive from Killarney to Galway (stops at Cliffs of Moher and Limmerick)
Day 7: Exploring Galway the with kids
Day 8: Connemara and Kylemore Abbey
Video
Trip highlights
Evening drives on the Gap of Dunloe in last light while the kids fell asleep in the car. With the time change and the red eye it took a while for everyone to adjust to the new time zone. This meant a lot of evening drives (with melatonin) to help the kids fall asleep.
Watching my kid explore all the playgrounds, especially the zip lines, and playing with all the amazing playground features like the mechanical sand filler, obstacle courses, and awesome climbing structures. European playgrounds are amazing and there are so many elements we brought home to include at our home.
Watching them dance and play in the pedestrian streets. Watching your just just soak up and adapt to a new culture is really magical. They loved the live music, the cobblestone streets, the business of it all.
The boat tour in Galway. Parenting is hard. Traveling and parenting in a new country on a different time zone is very hard. It was a lot of time with our kids (often amazing) but... a lot of time with our kids. The boat ride was an easy and contained adventure. The kids loved the boat, we loved the peace and soaking up the sun.
Watching them enjoy ice cream around Ireland. Like any vacation, we adapted the "ice cream every day" strategy and we loved watching their little ice cream stained faces enjoying a treat all over the country.
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