<p>My 20yo S has wanted to go to Ireland forever. Figured this may be the last family trip we take with him so I booked our flight to Shannon for the beginning of June. I asked S if there was anything in particular he wants to see while we are there. “No.” So why did you want to go to Ireland? “I just do.” 13yo D piped in that she does not want to spend time in museums and doing “touristy” things. So I am looking for ideas on things to do with them. Other than the Cliffs of Moher (yes touristy I know) I have nothing planned. We are renting a car and I figured we would stay in B&B’s. H would like to hear some music and maybe golf. S would love to visit some pubs and legally drink. 13yo D just wants to have fun. I thought facolnry would be cool, but both kids dismissed it right away. </p>
<p>Anyone have any ideas on fun things to do on the west coast of Ireland in June with two teenagers? I am not worried about not seeing all the must see spots, H & I can go back another time if we want to. I am also interested in places to stay and eat. </p>
<p>I am not clear on the geography at this moment so this may not all be in the area you are interested in. We did a group tour and really enjoyed it
We did a farm visit (made scones -saw sheep dog in action)
Inch beach
Rock of Cashel
Kilarney and Muckross house (lots to do around Kilarney -it is a bit touristy
Ring of Kerry
Stayed a couple of nights in Dromoland Castle (has falconry -which the kids might like)</p>
<p>As well as Dublin -but it sounds like you are not doing Dublin?</p>
<p>I recommend that you ask your questions on the TripAdvisor Ireland forum. The TA forums have been most helpful for itinerary and lodging recommendations on recent trips of ours.</p>
<p>That said, you should start making your B&B reservations pronto! I made reservations for a June trip to Scotland last month, and most of the B&Bs I contacted for price and availability were already booked at that time. We had a hard time finding any type of accommodations at all in some of the more touristy areas. As a result, we ended up paying a great deal more than we wanted at a couple of stops.</p>
<p>What does your 13 yr old like to do? There are lots of great places to take pictures if she’s into photography. Hiking if she likes that. Not wanting to do touristy things when she is a tourist is a bit frustrating. It’s not like she can go to school or hang out with friends which is what 13 yr olds there would be doing. There are arcades in Salthill in Galway if she’s into that sort of thing though her brother would need to stay with her. Galway makes a great base by the way. Pubs with music, cultural stuff, beaches, and a gateway to the west of Connemara.</p>
<p>OPW runs the Heritage sites in Ireland. This websites organizes the sites by geographic area so it is easy to see what is located in the area you will be visiting. Detailed hours of operation are included when you click through to each OPW location. You can purchase a family pass for only 55 euro to cover two adults and a reasonable number of children! (They will probably want to charge your 20 year old as an adult.)</p>
<p>If you do visit the Rock of Cashel, you must visit Cahir Castle. It is not as well known as the Rock of Cashel, but a wonderful example in the very pretty town of Cahir. We enjoyed touring Cahir more than Cashel. You should go to Cashel though as the vista is GORGEOUS.</p>
<p>If your D does not want to go to museums, avoid Dublin. (But if you do go to Dublin, don’t miss Kilmainham Gaol, aka Jail. Fascinating. Also, historic walking tour of Dublin led my Trinity College grad students.)</p>
<p>I realize that you do not want to do too many touristy things but you have to take the children to a couple of castles b/c we do not have anything like that in this country. </p>
<p>The Muckross House and Traditional Farm were also interesting. If your D really does not want to tour the inside of the house, you can skip that as you could easily spend hours at the Farm. (The house was lovely, but a 13 year old may not appreciate touring a huge house, especially when the tour restricts movement.) The farm had several cottages representing different periods, farm animals, farm buildings and I think even a little village with school house. We spent a fair bit of time there but my boys were perhaps eight and ten then.
[Heritage</a> Ireland: Muckross Traditional Farms](<a href=“http://www.heritageireland.ie/en/South-West/MuckrossTraditionalFarms/]Heritage”>http://www.heritageireland.ie/en/South-West/MuckrossTraditionalFarms/)</p>
<p>Enjoy! Hope the weather cooperates. And, I assume you know that most rental cars are standards unless you request otherwise. Limited number of automatics available and significantly higher prices. If you have a hand held GPS, bring it with you. Valuable for harmony inside the car.</p>
<p>We are going to Ireland in the fall and are also flying in/out of Shannon. We have yet to figure out our itinerary but would suggest that you decide to go either the more touristy Southwest (Dingle, Ring of Kerry, etc) or the less touristy northwest (Donegal, Connemara, etc). I think both regions sound great. You might like to look at going out to the Aran Islands. Let us know where you think you may go and maybe we can share some notes.</p>