Family trip to England / Ireland
 

Hi - I'm planning a trip for myself, my wife and our 17, 15 and 11 year old children for this summer (early July). We will be using frequent flyer miles (United) for the air & hotel points (Marriott) to the extent possible. Thinking of flying into Dublin, spending a day there, then to Liverpool (daughter is a Beatles fan) for a day and then to London for 5 days. ANY thoughts/tips etc would be greatly appreciated; specially those related to things to do, things to avoid & ways to stretch the budget. THANKS in advance!

I'd re-think your plans a bit.One day in Dublin is essentially no time there. You arrive after an overnight flight, maybe get to your city centre hotel by late morning and spend the rest of the day acclimating and recovering from jet lag. Then the next morning you either head back to the airport, or take an all day ferry to Liverpool.

So if it was me, I'd skip Dublin and fly into Manchester and home from London, spend the first 2 nights in Liverpool and the rest in London. First day semi-low key seeing some of Liverpool and recovering. The next day serious sightseeing. The third morning take a train to London.

Can't really help w/things to see/do until you tell us what sorts of things (other than Beatles stuff) you enjoy.

I'm with janisj, the arrival in Dublin will be undermined by exhaustion and planning how to get to Liverpool.

Even the trip suggested will be tough as Liverpool may pass in a Blurr while Manchester will be an Oasis before you Beetle over....

Sorry lost the plot there. The next question you may ask is about cars and public transport. I'd use the train but you need to book the tickets soon to get a good price. The train comes right into Manchester airport so you can easily get into Manchester Marriot and then onto Liverpool. Then down to London.
http://www.marriott.co.uk/hotels/tra...-albert-hotel/

Have a search on this web site for how the rail system works, but basically use http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/ to understand and book deals. Do watch out for an outfit called BritRail (it is some marketing thing) and the prices seldom (but sometimes) make any sense.

Oh and mind my manners. Welcome to Fodors

Your plan will give yuo 1/2 day in Dublin, a few hours in Liverpool and 4.5 days in London. I would definitely bag Dublin - since yuo won;t really see anything to be able to have a little time in Liverpool.

Sorry 7 days just isn;t enough for that many places - and the more you move rom city to city the higher yuor costs will be.

It might make sense to fly into London take an overnight to Liverpool and forget about Dublin unless its just to get a stamp in your passport

Thanks everyone... new plan is 2.5 days in Dublin, no Liverpool and 4 days in London. That said, our first night in Ireland is at the Ritz Carlton Powerscourt and 2nd night is at the Shelbourne hotel in Dublin (Marriott points). Late flight to London on 3rd day. Looking for suggestions for things to do outside Dublin but not too far like castles etc. We will have a rental car in Ireland. Have heard Kilkenny & Trim castle are good & not too far. Also any suggestions about driving there would be great.

If you are staying one night at Powerscourt, you will be close to Glendalough National Park which is well worth seeing. (However, I'm not sure I'd recommend this drive right after getting off a plane from the States.) The remaining time could easily be spent just in Dublin.

Personally, I would not use such limited time in driving to Trim or Kilkenny when there is so much to see in Dublin, but if you want to do this, my recommendation would be to see Trim Castle. It's a closer drive from Dublin and, to me, a more interesting castle.

As you are going to be using "local" air travel then you will have to pack and suit the baggage restrictions for these steps. Why not fly Dublin to Liverpool and train to London from there. 2hrs Lime St to Euston

As long as you're IN Dublin why not see some of it. It has a hots of fascianitng sights - starting with Dublin Castle, the Book of Kells at Trinity (central to understanding Irish history and culture) and a number of great museums. Also the theater there is wonderful - esp if you can see something by a local like Shaw or Wilde.

If there is any way you could extend your holiday for a week after traveling so far—do it. If you can't, consider just going to one stay (Ireland) and doing a self-catered holiday rental. The expense and trials of traveling with a multi-aged family can be great or awful but my own experience with travel with children has been that is a whirlwind if we try to cover a lot and they forget most of it but if we make it a week stay they enjoy it all and feel they "know" the locale and remember it fondly.
Seeing Dublin in half a day, Liverpool in a day and exploring London during the high season (when it costs the most and is most crowded) just sounds unappealing, well at least to my sense. Feeding the ducks, exploring wherever the day takes you and shopping and cooking your own meals make for a memorable stay!

Irish self-catering can be found throughout the country on a number of sites including home away.