Dublin - Why go
Set around the sweep up of Dublin Bay and divided by the river Liffey Ireland’s capital bursts with youthful energy and is a vibrant, thriving and active place with plenty to see and do for families. It is very family friendly with a young and growing local family population and full of fun activities for adults and children alike and well as great day trips from the city. Dublin was also voted the friendliest city in Europe in a recent Trip Advisor survey.
There are lots of things to see and do with the kids including historic buildings, castles, museums, parks, splash tours and spending time soaking in the cosmopolitan ambience. Children will find Dublin's mixture of old and new fascinating and you can walk through the whole of central Dublin easily although traffic at rush hour in the city centre is an issue. Transport is by bus, by train - the Dart or by tram - the Luas.
Dublin - When to go
Dublin is a great city all year round but is probably at its best between February and October. Dublin has many festivals throughout the year filled full of fun and things to do for the family. The Festival of World Cultures in Dun Laoghaire is generally held in August and features a wide variety of international performers. About half of the events are free and there are special activities for children organised. Have a look at our Family Events section for forthcoming family friendly events and things to do with the kids.
The St Patrick's Day festival is celebrated around the 17th of March and is a week - long festival of activities. The parade is the highlight of the festival and there are many other events including a firework display.
The Street Performance world Championship is to be held in June 2008 in Dublin. It is free and brings the best street entertainers in the world to Ireland to compete for the title of the Championship. This free weekend event in Merrion Square will see acts such as sword swallowers, mime artists and award winning clowns come together to entertain all ages. Add in Ireland's premier face painters, an international Balloon Artist team, world foods, and much more, this weekend is certainly a great one for all the family.
Saving money
Families should consider the Dublin Pass if they are going to be spending a concentrated amount of time sightseeing. It provides free entry to more than 30 tourist attractions, bypassing queues and discounts in some restaurants and shops. It also includes a trip on the air coach from Dublin airport. This can be bought here online at dublinpass.com before arriving.
Ireland visitor discounts is a fantastic free downloadable discount voucher for leading Irish cultural and heritage visitor attractions. You should download a form for each member of the family and bring this with you when you are travelling. Discounts include two for the price of one in leading tourist attractions, free admission at some attractions and between 10 and 20% off other attractions. This really could make a considerable saving for your family.
You will find lots of family friendly travel tips and advice in our research and advice section to help you book the right family holiday. Check out also the experiences of other parents and travellers in our parents forum and add your own experiences as we are a great believer in real parent's experiences as the best measure of whether somewhere will suit you for your family holiday.
Sign up for our free newsletter to be kept updated with all of the latest special offers for family holidays and family travel news. Remember to enter our fantastic competitions which have super prizes and best of all are free.