IRELAND - Family holidays any recommendations?

[clottedcreamteawithscone]

of where to go, what to do , where to stay with hub and ds age 10

Really not enough to go on ! Do you want beach, farm, city? North or South? Hotel or rental house, when, how long for, will you have a car etc etc.....

Rathmullan in Donegal is great amazing beach, there's also horse ridng, sailing, nice ice cream. close to Derry for a day trip.

A week, probably countryside/beach self catering maybe...things to occupy DS 10

You'll never go wrong with [[http://www.kellys.ie/m/hotel-sitemap.html Kellys]] in Rosslare.
Su jest spot in Ireland, golden beach, loads of kids and adults, bring elasticated trousers, the food is fab!!

Sunniest spot and for kids

is it family friendly?

Family friendly? I've never been anywhere more family friendly. There will be other kids there his age, and they tend to hang out together.
There are organised activities if they want, it is right on a gorgeous golden beach and there is kayaking a 1 min walk down the beach.
There is a crazy golf throughout the gardens which is very popular. It is so safe that he will be able to go with his pals whilst you relax. Our kids are allowed to go off with pals as long as they stay on site and don't go onto the beach on their own. But tbh,if you're not watching them someone else is, just that kind of place.
Look at trip advisor, the reviews are excellent.
Food is fab!!
There is a spa on site if you enjoy that?

Here ... www.theharbourmill.com/

he is 10 so an inbetween age - will the activities be too babyish for him?

we'd have to fly into Dublin Airport then it looks liek a 2 hour so dont think we can do Kellys

Definitely westport will suit everyone, great town , wonderful beaches, surfing, theme park, pools. Scenery lovely people
Horse riding really it's perfect we took our four there every year for years they still talk about it

Westport is great and Westport house has loads to do. One of my favourite places...long distance though.

Galway is fab

Are you looking for Dublin area

we will have to fly from the Uk and flights only go into West Knock or Dublin

If you are willing to spend Kellys in Rosslare is fabulous for families but its not self catering. www.kellys.ie

Self catering wise Castlemartyr in East Cork has lovely houses on the grounds and is a short drive to the beach. Lovely local markets in Midleton and a beautiful part of the country. www.castlemartyrresort.ie/

Also in Wexford is Seafield House, hotel and houses are nice, its on the beach but children cant use the pool. www.seafieldhotel.com/

Otherwise there are lots of options on these kind of websites www.irish-country-cottages.co.uk/

Personally Castlemartyr was one of my favourite breaks in Ireland

It is along a lovely coastal route down to Kellys though.
The kids activities are decided into groups. Over 4yo, over 8 yo and teenagers. Although I have noticed that the tweens seem to go in the teenage bit. The kids all hang out together, and the older ones are adored by the little ones.
I know the travel seems tough, but we drive 4.5 hours to get there. Worth it.
Also, you can get the ferry to Rosslare Harbour? Kellys only 5 mins from there.

Hi there -Ireland West airport is great -arrivals and baggage take all of ten minutes and you are on the western sea board of IRELAND -so much to do and avoids a DUBLIN drive -: 3 hrs to westport etc. Westport is just fab -so much to do there and beautiful scenery - we were in westport house last weekend -the pirate adventure place might be bit tame if your ten yr old has done the theme parks in the uk ( think only 2 rides etc ) but the park also has archery -brilliant zip lining -paint balling etc - surf schools are also in the area -bike hire along sone fabulous scenery -hill walking -there is so much to do plus plenty of galleries - trad music etc
The west coast of Ireland to me is the must see - Kelly is meant to be lovely but I think where it is is the tip of the Ireland ice berg so to speak !!
Westport is a tourist mecca as is to a lesser extent Newport a chill and Louis burgh - westport less than an hr from Ireland West

If you are driving around Ireland with kids there is an excellent free smartphone app for finding activities for kids, like outdoor playgrounds and indoor play centres. www.playgroundsgps.com has all the details.

I stayed in Kelly's a few years age without kids - it seemed like the kids and the adults are kinda separate - different activities and even different dinner times. Looked like the children ate early and went off to activities while the parents went off to the adult only dining room. Might not be the case and that might be what you're looking for, but just letting you know.

A DC of ten would be allowed in the dining room.
Most of the kids prefer the kids tea, to eating formally in the dining room.And we go swimming, golfing, table tennis and to the beach with our kids.