Over the course of the last few years, traveling as a family has become our absolute favorite thing to do.
We've managed to squeeze in trips to a few different parts of France, Italy and Spain in recent years as well as visits to Portugal and Norway...and we're hoping that our ill-fated Florida plans of 2020 will be viable next year. But having explored a fair bit away from home, we really want to focus on setting our sites a little closer to home next year with a visit to the place that I've fantasised about venturing to for most of my life.
Ireland.
I don't know quite what it is about Ireland that's always piqued my interest - as famous as it is for its rolling countryside and many shades of green, I can't say I'm that much of a scenery girl myself. But still I find myself drawn there - while tracing my ancestry I came to realize that much of my blood line can be traced back to Ireland, so perhaps this may go some way to explaining the pull that I feel?
I have some family members and family friends living there that we'd love to visit, and so a trip to Ireland certainly looks to be on the cards for us as just as soon as travel returns to normal.
With that in mind, I've been putting together some ideas for our visit.
Where To Stay
The main problem we have is narrowing down an area to stay in, and so I think we'd be most likely to split our trip - staying a couple of nights in a few different areas and doing a bit of a whistle stop tour.
One place that's caught my eye is The Inn At Dromoland - I became aware of this place when my good friend Fiona from Dolly Dowsie stayed there and I noted how family friendly they were. I think my children would love it here, and it seems an ideal base to explore from.
I also love the idea of renting some nice traditional Irish cottages in various areas during our stay as these can often be a much better option when traveling with young children, as they offer more privacy and less worry about disturbing other guests with late night wake ups and running about in the early morning!
Where To Eat
Ireland is of course famous for its cuisine and hospitality, so I'm excited to try it out for myself after years of reading about it in travel blogs.
Narrowing down the best places to eat and finding the best value options can be a little overwhelming as a visitor, especially when traveling as a family group so I'll be making use of Square Meal to find the best group dining options in the areas we visit.
Places To Visit
There are so many places that I'd love to see, it's hard to narrow it down but I'm going to list my top 3.
Titanic Museum - both myself and my eldest son have a big interest in the Titanic, and so I know that we'd both love to visit the birthplace of the grand ship and see all that the museum has to offer.
Blarney Castle - the Blarney stone is surely one of the most famous of all Irish landmarks, and my children would love to hear the legend of it and pay it a visit themselves.
The Cliffs Of Moher - Again one of the most famous of the Irish landmarks, and one that would have just have to be seen during a visit there.
After writing this post, I'm more excited than ever to visit beautiful Ireland - fingers crossed that 2021 will be the year for it, at last.
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