Family Trip to Ireland - October 2011

kirchmurphy · Member

Family Trip to Ireland - October 2011

CowboyCraic · Guru

Dia Duit, Anne,

With two small children of that age, you will want to stay in the larger towns so that there activities within walking distance. You are smart to try to book into Dublin and out of Shannon. I would suggest in or near Killarney & either Cobh or Cork, although Kilkenny would also have family friendly activities.

In October, you may find some places that will do short break rentals for self-catering. That would mean that you could let a small cottage or apartment for a three-night stay. Brewsterfield Lodge House is one that I can recall off the top of my head. They are just outside of Killarney and have a play area and pony rides for the older of the small ones. Also, you might consider a short break stay in Doolin at the Doolin Activity Lodge just prior to the wedding, as there may be festivities prior to that they will want to attend.

I would suggest the van, as it would be easier to wrangle everyone in one vehicle. However, It might be logical to have two cars in light of nap schedules and/or adults wanting a pub night.

That should get you off to a good start anyways. I am sure the rest of the Irregulars will chime in soon.

Slan Beo,

Bit

Judy · Guru

Hi Anne,

Since you will be traveling off of high season you may be able to self cater for less than one week, which is the norm. I would suggest emailing various places now for information about shorter stays and inquire how far they are located from the town centre.

We are staying at a self catering in Killarney in June for one week. It was hard to find a self catering place close to the town center. We did find a house that is a ten minute walk from the town centre.

If you cut the stay in Kilkenny to one or two nights and base in Killarney for 4 or 5 nights, you might find that it would be less expensive to rent for the week and only use the house 4 or 5 nights vs. a hotel for a 4 or 5 nights stay. Also, I would opt for Killarney over Kenmare since there will be more opportunity for day trips from Killarney.

Not sure if local bus tours will take a 15 month old. You can check on that also.

One thought for the children, there is a water park in Tralee, The Aqua Dome. Also, you can take a stroller (push chair) and check it with the luggage. If the 15 month old is occupying a seat on the flight, you can take a car seat on the airplane, since you will need it in Ireland. If you are flying Aer Lingus, let them know if you want child meals in flight.

Judy M.

murphy · Guru

You might want to consider a full week lease on a self-cater and then elect to only use it 3 nights....and come out comparable or better on price. For example, on the 31st of March, we are renting a 1 week self cater for 270 Euros for 4 adults (2 couples) inclusive price.

That same week in B&B's would cost us 980 Euros total for 4 people (average 35 Euros/person/night).

Just 3 nights in B&B's for those same 4 people at 35 Euros/person would be 420 Euros total, compared to 270 Euros at the self cater....so you could afford to pay more for the self cater. (ours is an off-season rate)

One downside is that you wouldn't get the full Irish breakfast.

However the use of the washer and dryer for doing laundry, instead of doing sink laundry in the B&B or paying someone to do it, would be the upside.

Just something to ponder smile

....Dan

Michele Erdvig · Host

Anne,

Welcome and thanks for becoming a forum member...at last! With that group I think I would opt for staying in one self-catering place for the entire time (except for Dublin and Doolin). Staying a week at a time is much more cost-effective than breaking it up into 3 days here and 3 there. As the other forum members have suggested Killarney would be ideal. Kenmare also has a lot to do and see from there. Take a look at my Self-catering page and also my Links page (under Accommodations). You can start searching for places to stay.

Check out the prices for two car rentals as opposed to a van or people mover. That may determine which you do. With your group having a car or van is much easier than doing everything via public transportation.

Michele

Roy · Guru

Dan- you can have the full Irish breakfast, you just have to cook it youself!

kirchmurphy · Member

Hi everyone,
Thanks for all of the great suggestions. We have a family dinner this Friday to start discussing options...I'm now leaning towards suggesting a week in Killarney with a few days in Dublin/Doolin on either end. I've found some nice available houses on various websites.
With small kids, laundry will be a must, as will having space to keep food. I do think two cars will be more ideal than a van...pricing is a bit more for a van vs. two cars and as suggested, will give flexibility if we decide to divide our time. I know the guys will want to do a golf day and as I've been looking closer at the map I'm realizing how much we can easily dp out of Killarney as a base. Part of what I struggled with initially is wanting to see new things for my husband and my second time to Ireland, but still giving the rest of the family that first time experience to see some of the things we saw and loved on our first trip. As I'm looking more, I think we can find that happy medium.

My husband did all of the driving when we were in Ireland in 2007...and though he's a bit anxious to attempt it again I'm hoping to persuade him...we survived it once, we can do it again! As I said before, I need to get re-acquainted with all of the CDW/insurance stuff...also, we have a few GPS units between us, are they worth bringing if we get the Ireland software for them?

As for ending up in Doolin - is it realistic to think we can get to Shannon for an outgoing flight in the same day or should we consider getting back closer to Shannon prior to departing? Most of the flights I'm looking at are late morning departures back to NY.

Thanks again for all the helpful advice.

Michele Erdvig · Host

Anne,

International flight check-ins are suggested to be 3 hours in advance of your flight departure. Dropping a car will add another 15 minutes or so. Even if your departure time is noon you would have to be at the airport by about 9 am. I would personally stay in Bunratty (ten minutes to the airport), have a nice breakfast and then go for my flight. I don't like to rush around with lots of driving just before catching a flight.

Michele