staying one month with 4 kids

krdabney · Newbie

staying one month with 4 kids

Michele Erdvig · Host

Karen,

Welcome to my forum. No need to be overwhelmed. You have found the right place for help. Think of your trip as a bunch of small steps instead of thinking of it as running a marathon.

I visit Ireland for a month at a time too. Your idea of renting a house is excellent. Generally they rent from Sat to Sat. Take a look at my Self-catering page for more info. If you have a full 4 weeks, I suggest you stay in four different areas and rent a house for a week in each area. If you do not have a full 4 weeks, choose three places and then fill in the remaining partial week with a few stays at hotels or B&Bs.

Go to my Getting Started page for some tips now. As you begin planning we are always here to walk you through the process. Ask any questions you want. You have plenty of time to make your trip a success.

Michele

tony2phones · Guru

Personally I would opt for 2 fixed spots which could be used as hubs possibly one for 2 weeks to start and another for 1 week at the end with the middle week as a tour between them. The main problem I can see is cost. You are going to need at least 3 bedrooms? and August is peak season also the price of car rental for a month. Avoid looking at peninsula's as base camps (these restrict your day trip options) look at places with good transport and road links. Naturally the children will need to be kept occupied and this link might help,

http://www.dayout.ie/things-to-do/families

It's early days so dont pannic, look into the options, narrow them down a little and ask as much as you whant.

Michele Erdvig · Host

Karen,

Tony makes some good points. Vacationing anywhere for a month is always more expensive than doing a week. But you have probably budgeted for that. Renting a self-catering place is more cost-effective (usually) because you can cook some of your own meals. A lot of people get sticker-shock at Irish restaurants. Especially Americans who are used to competition among eateries and lower prices.

Some places that might be good bases for you:

Killarney or Kenmare
Galway
Westport
Sligo
Kilkenny
Northern Ireland (although hard to choose one base)

Anyway, get your free map from Tourism Ireland and you can begin looking. Also look at my Links page for links to accommodation and self-catering.

Michele

krdabney · Newbie

Thanks so much. I'm sure you will hear more from me between now and then. :) I will look into all you suggested. I was definitely thinking about doing a lot of the cooking...That's another reason I wanted a house.

CowboyCraic · Guru

Are there family ties to any one area? If, for example, your family emmigrated from Co. Clare, you would probably want to do a week of self-catering in the Clare region to explore your roots.

The 11 year-old might like to lend a hand when choosing the lodgings, as they are old enough to know what they would like to see and do, in most cases.

Bear in mind also that when you make a transatlantic flight with children, driving any distance on the first day may not be the best experience. Since most airlines fly into Dublin, you might consider at least an overnight in Dublin to give everyone a chance to acclimate.

When traveling with my teenagers, I always booked at least one week of self-catering, as it gives everyone room enough to spread out and have some breathing space.

I will pull my file on the family friendly self-catering cottages in which I have stayed or friends have stayed. Once you have an idea of the areas in which you are most interested, we can offer up lodging and activiy suggestions.

August being High Season, you should make your self-catering inquries by mid January just to make sure you get your choices.

Slan Beo (Take Care),

Bit

krdabney · Newbie

We have no family ties to the area, just always wanted to visit... So there is no special place we'd like to see. We do want to visit castles... but other than that, I just want to have the best experience we can for the kids.

tony2phones · Guru

Information on Irish Castles and Heritage

http://www.heritageireland.ie/en/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_castles_in_Ireland

Being based on the Slieve Aughty above Lough Derg most of my bookmarks are local to Galway, Clare and ajoining areas but these are those I found for my grandchildrens visits.

http://www.galway.net/directory/classification-list.jsp?code=activity.children

http://www.fundays.ie/listings.asp?county=Galway

http://www.mykidstime.ie/

http://www.familyfun.ie/things-to-do-in-galway/

http://www.clare-tour.com/activities/children/

http://www.fundays.ie/listings.asp?County=Clare

http://www.clarefocus.ie/index.php/component/option,com_jcalpro/Itemid,88/

http://www.discoverloughderg.ie/

Bit of information overload but just a selection from my local area, there is a lot more all over the Island of Ireland so sort yourselfs and then pick the bits for the youngsters.

With young children you are not tied to being in the heart of things or late nights at the local so there are multiple choices for accomodation. Two site I have used over the years are

http://www.shamrockcottages.co.uk/

http://www.imagineireland.com/default.asp

Judy · Guru

Karen,

We have been to Ireland (twice with grandkids) and have found Killarney as a weeks base to be kid friendly. There is so much to do with the kids in and around Killarney. There is horseback riding, jaunting cart tours, boat tours, and Ross Castle has a great educational tour. In nearby Tralee there is a museum, train ride, and water park ( www.aquadome.ie )
For another day trip there is the Ocean World Aquarium in Dingle
( www.dingle-oceanworld.ie ) and dolphin watching boat rides.

There are many week rental places in Killarney. Check out www.killarneyhoildayhomes.ie .
For general information go to www.vacationkillarney.com

We will be traveling to Ireland again next summer with a grandkid and will base in Killarney for one week and Galway for another week. The first and last night we will stay near Shannon Airport. This gives us two opportunities to visit Bunratty Folk Park.

Have fun planning and the kids will be just fine.

Judy M.

Zstep · Veteran Member

Just went in June and had a 6 year old to entertain so a couple of suggestions.

Dublin Zoo was surprisingly outstanding. If you spend any time in Dublin, you might take a look and Phoenix Park is not difficult to get too.

Ocean World Aquarium in Dingle was decidely "meh". Very small and limited. That said, not too expensive. It is what it is but if you are acquarium veterans, you might think skipping this one.

Ailwee Caves and Bird of Prey Center (Ballyvaughan, northern Co. Clare) was a big hit with Junior. The cave tour was fun and just the right distance. The Bird of Prey center was definitely interesting and the show was entertaining. Def worth a look if you're in the area.

Agree about Killarney being kid friendly. We didn't spend enough time there to really get a good look but the grounds of Muckross House were fun, Ross Castle was good, there were boating opportunities, horseback riding, lots of nature hikes, etc.

Another note on castles... I'd guess approximately 50% of every tour is close to identical, i.e. this is a murder hole, the Irish built square towers because..., they left their clothes to hang above the midden heap because... We did the "Green Blur" tour so crammed 5 castles into about a week and by the end, we were all castled out. My wife flat out refused to do the last 2 tours because so much of the info was the same.

Anyway, hope you enjot it, I envy you a whole month...