Destinations

Hi 
We are visiting Ireland in April with our daughter and son in law and their 11 month old baby. We are travelling to Larne by ferry from Cairnryan and driving to Dundalk for 2 days to attend a wedding. We then have 5 days before we travel home and we are wanting to see some of  the north west coast. Donegal and Sligo are a couple of places we have heard of. Can anyone give us some suggestions of where we could base ourselves, probably in self catering accommodation which is baby friendly and not in the middle of nowhere. We are looking for somewhere that we are able to walk to a pub or a restaurant at night.
Any help would be gratefully received!
Regards

Alison

Hi Alison, 

It's so lovely you'll be over this spring with your whole family for a wedding in Dundalk! It's a great idea to take this opportunity to spend some time exploring the north-west coast too. :)

Donegal and Sligo have some wonderful sights to see, and I definitely recommend County Mayo as well. Is there anything in particular you wouldn't want to miss? Depending on where you'd like to go, you can look into the perfect place for your family to stay. Are you thinking of staying in one place and using it as a base to explore the area, or would you like to move from location to location and stay in different accommodations along the way? 

You can find some recommended self-catering suggestions for Donegal here, and for Sligo here. Most will be suitable for children of all ages, but it's always handy to reach out beforehand for more information. 

Also, have you thought about how you'd like to travel from the east coast to the west coast? There is a great trip idea here that takes you along all of the hidden gems between Dublin and Galway. :)

Hi Melin

Thanks for getting back to me so quickly. In answer to your questions we would like to stay in one place and use it as a base - it saves the hassle of packing up and moving on with a small baby and all that entails!
Thank you for the links to places to stay I will have a look at them. We had thought we would drive part of the way from the East and stop half way for some food and then carry on to our destination on the West coast.
Also we don't really know what there is to see so if you have any suggestions of must-dos then please let me know

Thanks again for your advice

Alison

Hi Alison,

We understand completely about staying in one place!

As Melin suggested, Donegal Town or Sligo Town would be great bases or as an alternative, Enniskillen would also be good as it will allow you to go either way and cut down on some travel time.

There are plenty of places to visit on the way from Dundalk towards the west coast. Enniskillen is only 1.5 hours drive from Dundalk so you could venture up towards Belfast and the Causeway Coast, Armagh, Derry~Londonderry or head down a bit into County Cavan.

All these locations can also be visited once you have your base sorted so if not on the way then maybe on the way back to the ferry!

I hope this helps, we have plenty of trip ideas on the website too.

Best wishes,
Martin

Hi Alison,

It's lovely to hear that you'll be visiting in April!

As Martin has suggested, depending on where you base yourselves, you could venture towards Belfast and beyond to the Causeway Coast.  The A2 heading north from Belfast is known as the Causeway Coastal Route.  This well sign posted road follows the stunning coastline of the North Antrim coast.  It is studded with gems such as historic castles, quaint harbours, glens, golden sandy beaches, unique geology and friendly towns and villages.  There are many places to stop and explore as time permits!

For more information please see our website: https://www.visitcausewaycoastandglens.com/

The Causeway Coastal Route extends to the City of Derry in the west and from there you could link onto the Wild Atlantic Way to continue your journey.

I wish you an enjoyable trip!
Alison