Where to stay with kids in Ireland

Family hotel picks in Ireland

• 

  Smithfield / Stoneybatter€€Mid-range

  Apartment in Smithfield or Stoneybatter

  A two-bedroom apartment on this side of the river costs less than two central hotel rooms and adds a kitchen and a washing machine, which is what makes several days in an expensive city affordable rather than merely possible. Phoenix Park and the zoo are a walk away rather than a journey.

  • Kitchen and washing machine
  • Luas red line into the centre in under ten minutes
  • Phoenix Park and the zoo within a 15–20 minute walk
  • Supermarkets rather than tourist-priced cafés

  Fitting a family in

  Two-bedroom apartments sleep four to five without a rollaway, and sofa beds in the living area are common for a fifth.

  Watch out. The tram is the only quick link to the south side, so museum days start with a transfer, and the blocks between here and the north quays are patchy — some back onto late-night premises. On-street parking is scarce and mostly permit-only.

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• 

  St Stephen's Green / Merrion Square€€€Higher-end

  Family rooms around the Georgian squares

  The free national museums, the National Gallery and two large parks with playgrounds are all within a ten-minute walk, which removes the transport leg from the best days of a Dublin trip and makes an afternoon back at the room realistic rather than an hour of travelling.

  • Walking distance to the Kildare Street and Merrion Square museums
  • Two parks with playgrounds at either end of the area
  • Quiet residential streets after dark
  • Airport buses stop within a few minutes' walk

  Fitting a family in

  Much of the stock is converted Georgian townhouses where a family room sleeps four in one fairly tight space. Interconnecting rooms suit five better and should be confirmed in writing rather than requested on arrival.

  Watch out. This is the most expensive part of the city and the rooms are small for the price. Townhouse conversions typically have several flights of stairs and either a very small lift or none, which is a real problem with a pushchair and luggage.

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• 

  Dún Laoghaire / Sandycove€€Mid-range

  Guesthouse on the DART line at Dún Laoghaire

  A seafront town with two long piers, sea-swimming spots and playgrounds gives children somewhere to run before dinner, which no central location does, and the rates are lower for more space. Parking is straightforward, which matters on the day the rental car arrives.

  • DART into the city centre in 20–25 minutes
  • Piers, seafront walks and a public park
  • Cooked breakfast usually included in the rate
  • Parking at or near most properties

  Fitting a family in

  Guesthouses here often have genuine triple and quad rooms in older seafront houses, which are rarer and dearer in the centre.

  Watch out. Every sightseeing day begins and ends with a train, and DART frequency drops in the evening with earlier last services than the city's nightlife assumes. Seafront rooms take the full brunt of wind and gulls, and some older houses have steep stairs and no lift.

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• 

  Killarney€€Mid-range

  Family room in Killarney town

  Killarney is the one base on the peninsula where a family can have a car-free day: the national park starts at the end of the main street, and bike hire, boat trips and jaunting cars all leave from the town. It also has the only real choice of food and wet-weather options for an hour in any direction.

  • National park, bike hire and jaunting cars within walking distance
  • The widest choice of restaurants in the region
  • Indoor options for a wet day
  • Clockwise start for the Ring without a transfer

  Fitting a family in

  Rooms sleeping four are relatively common here compared with the rest of the peninsula, often as a double plus two singles; family suites and interconnecting rooms are the option for five and are limited in number.

  Watch out. Killarney is the coach hub for the whole south-west, so the town centre is busy from mid-morning and the main street is a drinking street in the evening. Rooms that sleep four fill from early spring for July and August, and the cheapest rates are often on the ring road rather than in the walkable centre.

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• 

  Kenmare€€Mid-range

  Self-catering house near Kenmare

  A kitchen and a drying space matter on this coast, where a day out generates wet coats and sandy towels regardless of the forecast, and Kenmare sits at the junction of the Ring of Kerry and the Ring of Beara so two very different driving days start from the same door.

  • Kitchen, washing machine and space to dry wet clothes
  • Off-street parking
  • Small town with good restaurants within walking distance of central lets
  • Two peninsulas reachable without repositioning

  Fitting a family in

  Two and three-bedroom houses sleep four to six. Bunk rooms are common and are usually the smallest room in the house, so it is worth knowing which child is sleeping where before booking.

  Watch out. Peak-season lets frequently run Saturday to Saturday with a seven-night minimum and rates well above the shoulder season. Many houses sit on narrow lanes with one parking space, and anything more than a few kilometres out means driving to the town for every meal and every loaf of bread.

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• 

  Salthill€€Mid-range

  Family rooms on the Salthill promenade

  A flat two-kilometre seafront with a playground, an aquarium and diving boards gives children an hour of running that costs nothing and needs no planning, and the area has the parking and the family-sized rooms that Galway's medieval centre cannot offer.

  • Two-kilometre promenade with a playground and an aquarium
  • Parking at most properties
  • City bus and a 25–30 minute walk into the centre
  • Rooms sleeping four more widely available than in the centre

  Fitting a family in

  Seafront properties here carry a reasonable stock of rooms sleeping four, and larger apartment-style units for five appear away from the promenade itself.

  Watch out. The promenade is fully exposed to Atlantic wind and rain, and a sea-view room carries a premium for a view that is often grey. The walk back from the centre is long with tired children, and the coast road is busy enough that crossing it needs care.

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• 

  Clifden / Connemara coast€€Mid-range

  Self-catering cottage near Clifden

  Connemara is wet often enough that a kitchen, a washing machine and somewhere to hang coats stop being conveniences and start being the difference between a manageable week and a miserable one. Clifden is close enough to the national park and Kylemore that neither is a long drive.

  • Kitchen, laundry and drying space
  • Off-street parking
  • Twenty minutes from Connemara National Park and Kylemore
  • Shops and restaurants in Clifden itself

  Fitting a family in

  Two and three-bedroom cottages sleep four to six, and many have a sofa bed in the living room for a fifth.

  Watch out. Anything described as being on the Connemara coast rather than in Clifden may be fifteen to twenty minutes from the nearest supermarket or restaurant, and rural kitchens stop serving early. Access lanes are often single-track with passing places, and mobile coverage has genuine gaps, so directions should be downloaded rather than streamed.

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• 

  Clonakilty / Inchydoney€€Mid-range

  Self-catering house near Inchydoney

  A beach week here produces wet wetsuits, sandy towels and salty clothes every single day, and a house with a washing machine, an outdoor tap and somewhere to hang things is what keeps that from taking over. Clonakilty adds playgrounds, a supermarket and enough restaurants that self-catering is a choice rather than an obligation.

  • Kitchen, washing machine and drying space
  • Off-street parking, which the beach car park cannot guarantee
  • Lifeguarded strand a few kilometres away
  • Working town with shops and playgrounds

  Fitting a family in

  Three-bedroom houses sleeping five or six are the common stock here, usually with one bunk room.

  Watch out. High-season lets run week to week with a Saturday changeover and rates well above the shoulder season. Houses on the Inchydoney road share one route in and out with everyone heading for the beach, which is slow on a hot weekend, and the properties closest to the sand are the first to book and the dearest.

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• 

  Kinsale€€€Higher-end

  Guesthouse family room in Kinsale

  Kinsale is about thirty minutes from Cork airport, which makes it the natural first and last night of a West Cork trip, and it is compact enough that a family can eat, walk the harbour and reach a fort without getting back into the car after a flight.

  • Half an hour from Cork airport
  • Walkable harbour town with a wide choice of restaurants
  • Cooked breakfast usually included in the rate
  • Harbour walks and a star-shaped fort across the water

  Fitting a family in

  Rooms sleeping four exist in the guesthouses and townhouse conversions but are limited in number; five usually means two rooms or a self-catering unit.

  Watch out. The lanes are steep and narrow, summer parking is genuinely difficult and often paid, and popular restaurants need booking days ahead in August. It is also the most expensive base in West Cork and the furthest from the good beaches.

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