Ireland by train

[onlyconnect]

I'm thinking of a holiday to Ireland in August. I'd like to fly to Dublin or Cork and then take a train to somewhere smaller and quieter, maybe with a beach or other attractions. I'd have my two children with me, one a young adult and one aged 9

Any suggestions please?

Honestly, I'd rent a car - it would be much easier to navigate your way around.. Was there any part in particular you wanted to see? There's no train at Dublin Airport so you're going to need to bus it from there..

unless you do a coach tour or something but our twin network is very expensive and not extensive . Car hire much better to take you to hidden beaches and pony riding and lost in the mountain roads..

It is really difficult to navigate around Ireland without a car. If you're hiring a car I suggest Westport. It's got the greenway cycle path, lovely beaches, lots of nice restaurants.

You knw the train goes to Westport right? And for whoever said its expensive..its vastly cheaper than the UK.

The train system in Ireland is good and very reasonable compared to the UK if you book in advance online. See www.irishrail.ie

Buses run from the airport directly to the main Dublin train stations - Heuston for trains to the west and south west, and Connolly for Sligo and the east coast.

Westport is a lovely little town, but there are nice places everywhere.

Car hire is insane price - we uhmmed about Ireland for a week in the summer and it's 500quid to hire a car for a week. Madness.

Car hire was extortionate last summer. No idea what this summer will be like.

You could go to Cork and go to Cobh by train. I think you can also access Fota Wildlife park by train. I definitely did about 10 years ago.

How is she going to get around places once she arrives in Westport? Not everything is in the heart of Westport. I'm sure OP would like to see some of the beautiful beaches, possibly go horse trekking, hill walking etc.

Train travel is cheap in Ireland and very doable if you are looking at a 2 or 3 centre holiday. Agree Westport is a great spot, but I would suggest Sligo also or Galway.

Hill WALKING, HORSE trekking...they don't use cars. You don't need a car, you just think you do.

A good trip from Westport is Maria Island. I seem to remember there's a minibus to the ferry, and once there you can just rent bikes.

We will agree to disagree on this one.

You can agree all you like, you're in the wrong. Lot's of tourists use public transport. I've personally gone to Westport for the weekend on the train, like plenty of other people.

That's nice dear.

Clare Island

Isn't it? Nicer still that you realise how wrong you were. Apology accepted

Co Clare has beautiful beaches but the train goes to Ennis (from memory) and you would then need to take a bus to another location e.g. Lahinch.
Co Galway might have a train to Salthill which is a seaside town and would be accessible via public transport. I can't remember if I was ever there during the summer season but its a popular place with Irish families and has amusements etc. You could rent a mobile home there and there would be enough to do for a few days.
Co Mayo is beautiful and is great for beaches.....but the issue is getting around. You could rent a holiday home in e.g. Achill and stay there for the duration of your holiday and it would be lovely but you wouldn't really be able to travel around other than perhaps take the bus into Westport. Westport House is popular with Irish families for camping and they have a fairground type set up during the summer so your younger kid would enjoy it.
Co Cork has fantastic beaches and somebody mentioned a train to Cobh. I have holidayed in that area but I don't think there are many nearby beaches that are accessible without a car. The nearest sandy beach located in an accessible area is Youghal which is almost 50km away.
Personally if you intend to travel I'd hire a car. The bus service isn't great but you could stay in one area e.g. Salthill or Achill and just relax. Take into account that the weather is mostly wet and windy and if you get a nice beach day, you will be one of the lucky few so don't stay anywhere too quiet or you'll end up sitting inside looking out at the rain!

Fly into Dublin - usual big city, not a fan myself but plenty to do. Train or bus from Dublin to Kilkenny medieval town - dinosaur Park (newpark hotel), reptile village, castle, medieval mile walk to find lego character.
On to waterford city train or bus - viking tour and vr movie. From there you can get a bus to tramore beach, it's a bit tacky with amusements and slot machines but kids adore it. You can also get away from it all down the other end of the beach. There is a beautiful little cove in Dunmore East and they have inflatable course out in the sea. All easily do able by bus.
Train from Waterford to Cork

Co Kerry also has beautiful sandy beaches - fly to Shannon and take the bus....most of the traditional seaside towns will be similar e.g. amusements but some have amazing cliff walks and nicer beaches.

Kerry is beautiful but extortionately expensive. I really think outside of Dublin that it is one of the most expensive places to holiday, between eating out and activities. I haven't gone back to Kerry in years. I used to love Dingle and Kenmare. My niece returned home from Australia after years of being away and went to Kerry for a week. She was shocked by how expensive it was. She has been travelling around Ireland since she got home and thought it was the most expensive places she visited.

If you fly into Dublin, you can get a direct bus or train to Galway City. It takes just over two hours. Galway is in west of country, with a vibrant pub, music, cafe, restaurant scene. It also has a beach and can get links to Aran Islands .

Thank you everyone. I am going to note all of these and look into the best option for us

Or fly to Kerry airport (small airport) with bus connections to Tralee and Dingle.
Lots to do for families on the Dingle peninsula