[Traveling with Kids] Ireland 2019 - Dingle, Killarney, and Cobh

Our Ireland travel continues! I am still in disbelief that we actually got to go on this vacation again! I have to tell you that going to Ireland a second time was actually better than the first time, we knew what to expect, where we wanted to go, and what we wanted to do.  Sure it was a little more chaotic this time around with three young children but seeing it all through their eyes and getting to experience this beautiful place with them was worth all of it!

As I mentioned in my previous post, we did a road trip of Ireland.  Hitting some of the major spots in Ireland.  This leg of the trip was my favorite since we were heading back to the Dingle Peninsula and my favorite Irish city: Killarney.

When we were in Dingle the first time, we happened into an Ice Cream shop.  We chose it because it was a local shop and boasted unusual flavors of ice cream: sea salt, Guinness, and gin for example.  This Ice Cream shop is called Murphy's and I've been dreaming of it ever since 2014.  The Sea Salt was my favorite and I was most looking forward to going back to Dingle this trip so I could have some.  Murphy's has become quite popular over the past 5 years that they have expanded their stores and now have TWO shops in Dingle, Killarney, Dublin, Galway, and they're building another shop in Kilkenny!  Also to be noted, we loved Murphy's so much that that is truly what inspired  Séamus's middle name.  So naturally our first stop in Dingle was to the Original Blue Storefront to get an ice cream (or four).

and getting a photo with Séamus outside his namesake was a must.

Then we were off to some lunch.  We ate at Murphy's Pub, the fish and chips, chicken nuggets, and seafood chowder did not disappoint.  We then made our way to our B&B, Ashe's Bed and Breakfast.  We had a quaint little room for the 5 of us, Séamus enjoyed climbing in and out of the "closet" as he did, and it was a short walk to downtown.  A great location for sure.

Once we got all settled in we walked down to the waterfront to the park.  The kids had a blast playing all over the place.  Our favorite was that there was zero sand or bark and getting to watch our kids enjoy themselves, play, and squeal with delight was perfection.

We walked around town a bit, stopped in a couple of shops where I found my beloved road signs, and then we all met up for dinner at The Dingle Pub.  We had been there before last time and the live music and food is not to miss.  I walked the kids back to the B&B to get ready for bed, while Thomas took his parents out on the town to do some bar hopping.  Setting up our diffuser and bedtime oil routine was so beneficial to us during the trip to help give us all the sleep support we desperately needed with the time change.  Thomas rolled in super late and managed to get his own bed!

Breakfast in the morning was so good, we were served French Press coffee - which is so good in Ireland, and once again enjoyed a Full Irish Breakfast!  The girls had fruit, cupcakes, waffles, and cereal.  Séamus enjoyed taking turns sitting on our laps and eating all our meats!  Then we loaded up our cars and took off to tour the Dingle Peninsula.  We stopped at the beehive houses, many of the view points, and at Ellie's very first beach: Coumeenoole Beach, this time we were the only one's there and it was just as beautiful as we remembered.  We were able to park our car right on the beach and left the sleeping Séamus in the car.  I am so bummed that he didn't get to come out and partake in all the photos, but it just ensure's a third trip to Dingle and I will NOT complain about that 😜.

love seeing her Irish name in the sand 😍

she wrote her own name in the sand 😍

Thomas performing his Leprechaun jump 😉

After we finished our drive through the Dingle Peninsula we made our way to my favorite, Killarney!! We stopped first at the Muckross House had some lunch, the girls went with my in-laws on a Jaunting Ride, while Thomas and I took Séamus and walked through the gardens where I proceeded to get all sorts of inspiration for our farm, and then we all toured the house (no pictures allowed 😔).  In all honesty the kids were a bit of a mess during the tour, it was hot in there, they had to be quiet as our tour guide was very soft spoken, and they couldn't touch anything.  We couldn't bring in the stroller and both girls just wanted to be carried, while Séamus just wanted to crawl around and get into everything.  It was a bit of a mess but also so fun to be back inside the house. Once again we didn't have enough time to visit the Traditional Farms on the property - so we're just going to have to come back to Ireland and do that!

We then made our way to our hotel, The Eviston House Hotel, in Killarney and that was an experience!! Once we found the hotel we then got directions to their attached garage and were warned that it was a very narrow alleyway to get in and that there was no guarantee that there would be any parking spots 😄....we had to pull our mirrors in to ensure they didn't hit the walls and we managed to find a tandem spot to park with Thomas's brother's car 😅.  Once we got to our room the size more than made up for the parking accomodations!  This is one of the largest hotel rooms I have ever been in! Lots of room for the kids to play, Séamus to practice his walking skills, and dance parties galore!  We got settled in, walked around the town and did some sightseeing, made sure to stop in at the Murphy's Ice Cream in town where the workers were blown away at us naming Séamus after the shop 😂,  and had some dinner at the attached Dannyman Pub to our hotel.  Dinner was great, the beer delicious, and Finnley knocked her glass on the floor shattering it every where.

There was live music outside of Murphy's and the girls would not stop dancing.

In the morning we had a breakfast buffet at the hotel, where Séamus insisted on feeding himself and preferred the entire sausage over the bites we cut up for him.  We then all parted ways, my in-laws to Blarney 😍, Thomas's brother to Cork, and we went to Cobh (pronounced Cove).  

Cobh's claim to fame is being the last port of call for the Titanic before is sailed off to cross the Atlantic. It was a beautiful drive from Killarney to Cobh.  We passed by the FOTA Wildlife Park on the way and plan to hit that up on our next visit to Ireland, as well as Belvelly Castle with their Golden Tree sculpture up on the roof.  Cobh was fantastic.  We stopped in at the cutest little coffee shop for a snack, the kids played at Kennedy Park, we went to the Cobh Heritage Centre, and then to the Titanic Bar & Grill for lunch.  Thomas had a burger, I got the Fish'n'chips, and Ellie got her favorite....mussels! I love her adventurous palate, while Finnley had a lollipop and Séamus ate some snacks (1 out of 3 ain't bad).

Belvelly Castle

Little Séamus was ready for a nursing session when we arrived in Cobh, so the girls waited next to me while Thomas paid for the parking.  The lady in the car next to us gave me major props for feeding my child!

Kennedy Park

Cobh Heritage Centre

After a lovely morning/early afternoon in Cobh, we got back in the car to drive to our next destination....Thomas's favorite, Kilkenny!

Traveling with kids is a little different than by yourself.  We still feel like we get to see and do the things we want, just know that we have to manage our time differently, allow for potty breaks, snack breaks, and to include parks/playgrounds into our itinerary.  It is actually quite fun and rewardign to travel with your kiddos and I am so grateful that it is as important to Thomas as it is to me.  You do have to change your level of expectation when traveling with kids and be willing to adjust your plans and have an adaptable attitude willing to go with the flow and go off of your schedule as needed.  Kids will get tired, there will be meltdowns, they will refuse to eat the food they ordered, and they'll decide that their legs weren't made for walking, they'll get hot, hungry, and thirsty at inopportune times but that is just life with kids in general.  Letting loose and going with the flow and being adaptable is going to be your best bet to traveling successfully with children.  It is all worth it in the end because the memories you've made while on vacation and the places you get to visit are just the best.  You can do it!!

Stay tuned for more posts of our travels!

Ireland post ONE

Other traveling posts here

♥ Ashley