You will have to make inquiries as to the exact children's activities available at The Great Southern Hotel. Check with some of the other hotels too and check on the times. I just looked at your first post and see that you will be there in May. The kids activities may not kick in till summer break. I think there is more for kids in Killarney than in Kenmare. If you are more interested in a B&B Applecroft might suit. They have large rooms and are within walking distance of Killarney.

In Dingle you could try Emlagh Lodge, Tower View, Fiuise or Dunlavin House for B&Bs.

In Bunratty (near the airport) I like Headley Court.

If you decide to go out to Ross Castle, do consider Itallian_Chauffer's suggestion of the Gap of Dunloe. At Ross Castle, you can continue on to a boat ride on the Lakes of Killarney, where you connect by pony-drawn jaunting cart to pass over the gap to a shuttle to return you to Killarney. It is a bit touristy, or even more than a bit. But in the end, it's a ride through gorgeous scenery up the lakes from the bottom to the top and is very memorable. It's a simple open wooden motorboat, but safe and still feels adventurous. And usually the Irish boat and cart drivers add some color to the trip. Anyway, it's fun and I bet children would love it.

Also agree Cahir is a great castle to visit because it's intact, but not "hands off". But maybe too far for a short visit like yours.

Hello all,
I enjoyed reading your posts and recommendations on travel tips for Ireland. My fiance and I will be visiting Ireland for our honeymoon in November, realizing it is off-season. Have any of you visited during that time of year? Sparks, how was your trip? We are booking B&B's for lodging and are also looking for some wonderful farmhouses as well. Any recommendations? We have 2 weeks to play with and hope that we are able to see the Cliffs of Moher, Castle Blarney, sites in Cork, Killarney & Limerick. We don't really want many "touristy attractions" and prefer to "blend" in with the locals in "real Ireland". We are really interested in the many beautiful castles (such as Birr Castle in Co. Offaly and Trim Castle in Co, Meath) but are very concerned about wasting too much time driving (especially with the different driving conditions). We will arrive in Shannon the evening of November 22nd...something tells me this will be the first trip of many since there are so many beautiful things to see!!

This response is for the last e-mailer.

The Midlands are a little bit overlooked but I love it there. Two weeks ago I arrived in Ireland with three of my kids and we headed to Dooly's in Birr - nice town, very good hotel, and you can take a nap and then check out Birr Castle.

The next day we went to Clonmacnois, which was everyone in my group's #1 favorite thing we saw in Ireland (and we got around, we were there 12 days, saw Kilkenny, Dingle, and had a week in Clare).

We also drove through Laois - beautiful county. I would recommend a little lunch or visit to Abbeleix, a very charming town. Have fun!

You can easily get from Shannon to Kerry in a couple of hours, Sparks, but if you spend the night in Ennis, you can visit the Cliffs of Moher the next day(you'll only want to be there an hour or so anyway) and take the coastal route down.

This allows you to take the ferry across the Shannon, something we highly recommend.

If you need help, we have lots of information on our travel site.

Have a grand visit,
Jim Kelly
www.tourclare.com