jbrose

We are planning a trip to Ireland in June 08 with my 3 sons (6,8,& 10) and my in-laws - that is 4 adults and 3 kids. We will be there for about 9 days. I need some suggestions for family friendly B&Bs that have larger rooms (sleeps 4 or 5). We don't want to stay put at one place for the whole trip so I think that rules out most of the rental cottages. I would also love any suggestions regarding our itinerary. We are budgeting about $500/night for lodging but that # is flexible. Here is our tentative schedule:

Day 1: Arrive in Shannon (8:50 AM). Drive to Rock of Cashel. Sleep in Blarney (Kinsale & Cork are options too).

Day 2: Tour Blarney Castle, visit Kinsale, spend the next 3 nights in either Killarney (or Kenmare).

Day 3: Ring of Kerry

Day 4: Muckross House, Ross Castle, shopping

Day 5: Drive to Dingle; stay 1 night

Day 6 & 7: Drive to Ennis (or Doolin). Visit Cliffs of Moher (Is the boat tour worth the cost?), The Burren & any other interesting sites. Maybe go up to Ballyvaughn.

Day 8: Visit Bunratty Castle and go to Medevil Banquet at night. Stay in Ennis (or somewhere else close to the airport) for the night.

Day 9: Depart from Shannon Airport

I would also appreciate any suggestions on car rental. We will most likely be renting a 9 passenger van (yikes! - scary from what I hear about the narrow roads). Also, I would love any suggestions for fun places for my 3 very energetic boys to see.

Thank you for any help!!!

jent103

We stayed at Emlagh Lodge in Dingle and loved it. Five-minute walk from the town center, right on the harbour. In Ennis we stayed at Glenomra House - walking distance to town, not quite as nice but still completely fine. Mary also fixed us an early breakfast the day we left for our early flight to the States.

You might think about doing the Gap of Dunloe in Killarney rather than the Ring of Kerry - we had the perfect day for it and it was just amazing. We took a tour for 20€ that included a boat ride on the three lakes. We only drove part of the Ring of Kerry (from Killarney to Kenmare), but looking back I'm glad we spent that day walking through the Gap rather than driving the narrow roads of the ROK. I'm sure either will be great, though!

chip

I would suggest Kinsale for your stay in Cork. Charles Fort is fun to explore and they also have a fun "ghost" tour that everyone would enjoy. We enjoyed eating at Jim Edwards...pub side.

I like Kenmare. Stay in town in order to be able to walk everywhere. I would spend one day taking a boat ride out to Garnish Island (short ride, harbour seals, and the kids enjoyed the gardens and tower) then do a bit of the Beara Peninsula crossing the Healy Pass. We had a nice late lunch on the other side of the Healy Pass in a small little town then back to Kenmare. Kenmare is very walkable and has nice places to dine and shop. Check out the small stone circle on the edge of town. We had a nice meal at Davitt's. We stayed right in town at Hawthorn's B&B. Landsdown Arms would probably be a nice hotel alternative in town.

Everyone really enjoyed our day exploring the Gap of Dunloe (tour out of Killarney to Kate Kearney's Cottage, jaunting cart through the gap to Lord Brandon's cottage, and boat ride through lakes to Ross Castle (you would need to plan another day for touring inside of castle because tour then takes you back to Killarney...you may be able to arrange to catch the last tour and get a ride back since you are a group...we did). This is a full day but an extra special one with good weather.

You could stop and tour Muckross and Ross Castle on way to Dingle. I would definately spend two nights in Dingle vs Ennis. That way you would have a whole day to drive the Slea Head Loop. Again, I would stay in town in order to take advantage of nice dining, strolling, and shopping. There is also a boat ride to see the local celebrity, Fungi the dolphin. You could also arrange horseback riding at the nearbye Long's Stables. We have had nice dinners at The Half Door and the Olde Smokehouse.

Be sure to take the ferry across the shannon on way to Cliffs of Moher. You could stop in Doolin for some great Irish stew at one of the pubs. I would stay in the Bunratty Castle Hotel or one of the B&B's within walking distance of the castle. Our B&B, Bunratty Woods was nice. They had a nice sitting area and big yard that the boys would enjoy running around.

My nephew got a hurling stick and balls (get extra balls) that kept him busy in between activities (they wrapped it for him at the airport so he could bring it back as checked luggage on the plane). Be sure to pull over often and get out so the kids can run around and explore. I think that was what our niece and nephew liked the most...especially the beaches.

The last day you could spend the day at Bunratty then go to the banquet. We all thought it was fun and a great way to end the trip. There is also great shopping in Bunratty at the Woolen Mills.

Just FYI...the kids loved the B&B's. You may want to check...many of them had Video players for them to watch TV at night. The kids also enjoyed eating in pubs. They will love the ice cream and of course lots of chips(fries) with everything.

crazychick

I think you need more than 1 night in Dingle.

janisj

finding rooms for 5 will be pretty darn difficult. There are some of course, but very few. You will want to search for family rooms - but those usually sleep 3 or 4 people, seldom 5.

It is too bad you want to move around so much because a cottage would solve your accommodations problem. A well placed rental cottage in the SW would let you do day trips w/i 75 miles or more which covers a LOT of territory. And then you'd go "home" every night.

Also, having a cottage means having a washer/dryer, which means needing a lot less luggage, which means you won't have such a hard time finding a vehicle that will hold all of you.

mamamia66

when you are near the Cliffs of Moher, I would highly recommend the Doolin Activity Lodge http://www.doolinlodge.com/ We stayed there in January & had the whole place to ourselves. They gave us a 3 bedroom even though there were just 2 of us. The wood floors were heated...heaven!! If you stay in Doolin, go to Gus O'Connors for a great night of traditional Irish Music. We also stayed at hotel associated with Bunratty Castle. it was nothing special but we LOVED "Dirty Nellies" which is a bar/restaurant in the castle. Lots of people joining in a sing a long, etc. We are dying to bring our kids so please write a trip report & let us know what they liked/disliked.
Enjoy!

IrishEyes

Had you thought of getting three rooms? One for the in-laws, one for the three boys and one for yourselves? Even with three rooms you will be well under your budget at B&Bs. It would give you some much needed privacy too.

I can think of some B&Bs with rooms holding a double bed and two twins. That would mean one boy sleeping on a folding bed (if available). Do not ask for a cot. In Ireland a cot is a baby crib.

Padraig

IrishEyes wrote: "In Ireland a cot is a baby crib."

Not that I have ever heard!

NEDSIRELAND

In Ennis, we stayed at Rose Cottage B&B. We asked for a room away from the Pub and Carmel Daniels gave us a Family Room w/2-doubles and 2-twin beds ensuite far away from the Pub. There was just the two of us.

Many B&B's and GuestHouses have such facilities available. When you book in advance, ask for a Family Room.

IrishEyes

Padraig, I stay at a lot of Irish B&Bs and if I requested a cot I would be 98% sure to get a baby crib in my room. My husband would not be amused.

Child Friendly B&B (Baby cot on request). http://athyaccommodation.com/

We welcome children of all ages, and are happy to prepare separate meals if required. A cot and high chair are provided for your use. http://www.bandbnorthernireland.com/home_page.php

Our house is very child friendly with a high chair, baby cot & babysitting: http://www.mountshannon-clare.com/facilities.html

Please contact in advance if you require the use of a baby cot: http://www.mulhollow.com/rooms.htm

Baby Cot upon request is for free. We can supply a camp/roll away bed subject to availability: http://www.leesonbridgehouse.ie/faq.php

Children are welcome and there are cots, high chairs and cot covers available and a babysitter if needed: http://www.familyhomes.ie/view_more.php?id=187

It is best to tell B&B owners exactly what you need so as not to be misunderstood.

crazychick

Maybe it is just me but why would they be asking for a cot for boys aged 6,8,and 10? Or does the term Cot in the USA have a slighlty differrent meaning. If I asked for a Cot it would be for a baby or toddler but I would not be expecting a cot for a 6 year old.

janisj

I'm not sure about Ireland - but in the UK a cot is definitely a crib or toddler-sized bed. I've never needed to request a cot in Ireland so not absolutely sure if the word has the same meaning.

In the States a cot would be a portable bed like a camp cot or a folding bed - and full sized.

I know folks who have booked B&Bs where the room description said something like "sleeps two plus cot". They assumed it meant some sort of rollaway -- and their 13 yo son was REALLY surprised to find a baby crib where he expected to sleep.

crazychick

Now that makes sense to me. Yes a cot is a cot and you would have to ask for folding bed. I am sure that is the same in Ireland.

jbrose

Wow! Thanks for all the great responses. We definitely don't want a "crib" so I won't ask for a "cot".

I would like to do the Gap of Dunloe - I've heard it's beautiful. Would we have time to do that and part of the ROK in 1 day?

Has anyone been on one of the Cliffs of Moher boat tours? We were wondering if it is worth the cost. I know the kids would think it would be cool to be out on the ocean and I've heard the views from the water are great.

I'm still thinking of keeping my original plan:

Night 1 - Blarney/Kinsale
Night 2, 3 & 4 - Killarney/Kenmare
Night 5 - Dingle (tour the day before & after)
Nights 6, 7 & 8 - Ennis

I'm hoping we can do some laundry at one of the locations that we will be at for 3 nights.

Irisheyes - Thanks for the websites, I found the familyhomes site to be very helpful. I haven't had a chance to check out the others but I will. I'm definitely leaning towards either 2 large family rooms (1 sleeps 3; other sleeps 4) or we will get 3 rooms. I wonder if B&Bs let kids sleep in rooms without an adult.

Thanks for all your help, I'm looking forward to anymore input any of you have to share.

Happy New Year!!!

IrishEyes

jbrose, I do not actually recommend those B&Bs. I was just posting to show that there could be confusion about the term "cot" and that most B&Bs use the term to refer to a baby crib.

Do a search for places with family rooms. Here is another B&B website:

www.townandcountry.ie

If you want to do the Gap of Dunloe you will be better off staying in Killarney. It might be nice to be walking distance to town so if you and the in-laws want to split up you can.

Many B&Bs will lend you a baby moniter (if you want to moniter your kids in another room). You should ask if they allow the kids to be in a room without adult supervision. Each place probably has their own rules.

jent103

When we did the Gap of Dunloe tour, it took most of the day. The van left at 10:30, and we got back probably around 4:00. The tour was 20€ apiece, which I thought was worth it. After rereading your post, the only thing I'd be worried about is how active and into hiking your in-laws and kids are. It's about a 7-mile walk, or you can hire jaunting carts (small carts with a driver, pulled by ponies) for about another 20€ apiece; you do that once you're dropped off at Kate Kearney's. Anyway, you couldn't do the entire Ring of Kerry that day, but you'd see some beautiful countryside.

We also did the Cliffs boat tour and again, I highly recommend it *if* the weather is good. We kept an eye on the forecast and called to book the day before. It's probably still a great view if the weather is cloudy or rainy, but I don't know how much fun the actual boat ride would be in that case. Probably depends on how much motion sickness everyone gets.

My trip last summer was pretty similar to your days in Killarney and Dingle, so if you want more detail, here's a link to my trip report:

http://tinyurl.com/2arksj

Those days are toward the end. Have a great trip!