Dublin with an 11 year old

[motheroreily]

I was thinking about going to Dublin for a couple of days in the summer with my daughter who's 11. I'm a single parent and she likes doing things just me and her
But sometimes gets lonely / bored. Do you think Dublin would be a good place to go?
She likes sightseeing and museums if they're interactive!

Hmm a few years ago I would have said yes. But honestly at the moment it’s extortionate and not much going on, compared to what it was like. London would be a better call for getting around and more to do I think. Unless you already live in London then it would suck lol

Thank you that's good to know. We're not in London but it's only 1 train away. We do go a couple of times a year. But maybe a proper tourist break would be nice.

Should have said a proper tourist break in London!

I love Dublin in the summer. I love being by the sea.
We do seaside walks, get ice creams, climb Bray head, get chips, get the DART from one end to the other.
Dead Zoo, art gallery, viking bus tour. Usually something on to go and see.
Expensive though.

I’d def do Dublin. Book somewhere like the Spencer hotel which is reasonable but a shortish walk to main attractions. There’s a good interactive famine museum beside it and a ship nearby you can look around too. The bord Gais theatre is 5 min away if you check what’s on. Penny’s (primark) great too plus shopping on grafton street.

I'd pick Belfast over Dublin. Never been a fan of Dublin

Epic museum would be a must. We also have the art and history museums which are free and the overpriced but funny leprechaun museum and wax works ones. If you are staying in the city there would be the disney shop on grafton street and you have the park there at st stephens green to feed the ducks and what not. Dublin is expensive but if you plan properly it can be done. Prebook where possible for everything.

If you choose Belfast it is cheaper and you wont have to change currency so you will know exactly what you are getting. Titanic museum is fantastic as is W5 right beside it which gives nearly a full days entertainment.

Have fun :)

Thank you all so much for your advice. Belfast is another good idea too. Cheaper is definitely appealing to me too 😀

Belfast is a stunning city. You will not be disapointed going there and I say that as a Dub!

We went with our dc when they were 12 and 15 and to be honest we found it quite a boring city break. They enjoyed the Viking bus tour but it certainly wasn’t amazing. We struggled for things to do. Eating and drinking was very expensive too. We did three days and were definitely ready to come home. We’ve had a much better time in York and Edinburgh when our dc were a similar age.

Belfast would have more interactive museums (w5)
Dublin is really expensive and not as clean or pleasant as it once was

Id go to liverpool over dublin with a tween. Cheaper and loads of great museums.

@ScarlettDarling Viking tours have gone bust now too. I am a Dub myself and do not recommend it to be honest. We have so so many other lovely places to go in Ireland that I am loathe to recommend where I live.

Id do 2 days Dublin and if you can manage 2-3 in Cork. Cork and the south have so much to see and you could ferry back from rosslare to Wales and do the mountains.

Belfast is a good choice.
Titanic museum is awesome and you could take a trip up to the Giant's Causeway. You may want to avoid going in mid July.
Colder and wetter than Dublin, but you might be lucky!

Belfast over Dublin for sure.

Cheaper
No euros
Good hotels (Premier Inn Titanic is good if you are looking for budget)
Open top bus tour
Ulster Museum
W5
Titanic museum
Excellent restaurants
Day trip to giants causeway?
Beautiful parks
Everything is walkable

Thank you all so much. I seriously considering belfast now. I saw there are companies offering trips to giants causeway which I'd love to see while there.

I'm excited now!!! It will only be a short break but looks like there's too much to fit in

Good choice. Just to reiterate a PP's comment, avoid 12th July and the days around it. Not necessarily just because of "issues", but it is a public holiday here too and services may be limited.

What about York?

I was really disappointed in Dublin. I expected a really beautiful Georgian city. And it's as traffic choked as every other big city.

My colleague has just been to Belfast and loved it. She did a tour of the murals and the troubles. And said it was excellent.

If you go to Belfast try and fit in a trip to Strangford Lough if you have a sunny day. It’s beautiful, and I had the best fish and chips of my life there. Think it was in Portaferry.