Now that we’ve settled back in from our five days in San Francisco, we’re looking ahead to our next trip: Ireland! Since March will be here before we know it – and we have a lot more to consider with a baby in tow – here’s what we have planned so far:
- Our flights. I shared in May that we snagged some cheap flights ($401.75 roundtrip from Tampa) to Dublin for March 2022, so we’ll be “spring breaking” in The Emerald Isle for 10 days. We do still have to call the airline to secure our son’s ticket; even though he’ll be sitting in our laps for the duration of the flight, we still have to pay the taxes for his travel. Remember this if you’re flying internationally with a baby!
- Our stops. While our trip will start and end in Dublin, we’re planning on visiting Rosscarbery, Cork and Belfast as well. Rosscarbery is where my husband stayed when he was a kid, so it’ll be a throwback for him, though new for me. I went to Cork on my 6-day girls’ trip to Ireland, but since both of us have been to Blarney Castle, we’ll be able to explore a little more of what makes the city great (in addition to visiting my old boss). Belfast is particularly exciting because it gives us a chance to explore Northern Ireland for the first time.
- Our Dublin hotel. We were watching hotels and Airbnbs book up very quickly, especially over St. Patrick’s Day, so when we found the Hampton by Hilton Dublin Four Courts, we jumped on it. This is a new hotel, opening in January 2022. It’s technically on the “wrong” side of the river, but we stayed in that area when we visited in 2016, and it worked out perfectly – especially for that price! We’re just close enough to Temple Bar for St. Paddy’s. 😉
Next up on the to-do: ensuring our baby has a passport for that international flight! There are some special nuances to getting a child’s passport compared to one for an adult, so Tyler and I have to make an appointment to make sure we’re squared away.
We’re also planning on taking the train to both Cork and Belfast, though we haven’t booked those tickets yet. When I took the train to and from Cork in 2019, it was so convenient; plus, Cork is an easy jumping off point for our stop in Rosscarbery, where we’ll likely drive. We will then probably make our way back to Dublin for a night before taking the train to Belfast, but if you have suggestions on a better route, please share them!
Will we be taking a bus tour while there? Paddywagon offers some interesting looking ones for Belfast, but we’re still TBD on that front. We still have a lot to figure out; time to really dig into the planning!