WHAT ARE THE BEST THINGS TO DO IN DUBLIN WITH KIDS??

I am constantly asked by families on tours, what are the best things to do in Dublin with kids?

I believe there are many great things to do with kids in Dublin and from my experience guiding and living here I’m well aware of what is good to visit with kids in Dublin and I’m very aware what is not so good to visit with kids in Dublin.

And in this post I am going to share with you 10 things I would recommend doing with your children if you are visiting Dublin or living here!

NUMBER 1 – VISIT THE ARK

The Ark is Dublin’s dedicated cultural centre for Children. Not only do they put on events for children like high quality arts, theatre and music experiences but they also offer interactive age-specific workshops too.

Most of what they offer is aimed at kids between 2 to 12 but they are centrally located on Eustace Street in Dublin’s Temple Bar area and a lot of their events are free. Just be aware that you may need to book some events in advance.

Click on this link for their website.

NUMBER 2 – VISIT PHOENIX PARK

Phoenix Park is one of the largest walled parks in the world. It equates to 7 kilometers in total and is full of green space for kids to enjoy themselves.

They also have kids playgrounds, places to buy coffee and you will get to see wildlife like Deers and Squirrels in the Park, though you are not supposed to feed the Deers!

You can get there by tram on the Red Luas line from Dublin City Centre and get off at the Museum stop near the entrance and also numerous buses go there from the City Centre too. Taxis from Temple Bar area should take no more than 15 minutes and cost no more than €20.

Bikes can be hired at the entrance for those who get to see as much of the park as possible and I would recommend half a day is ideal with your children.

NUMBER 3 – VISIT DUBLIN ZOO IN PHOENIX PARK

Dublin Zoo is consistently one of the highest ranked tourist attractions on Trip Advisor in Dublin and very popular with local families. It is also considered one of the better Zoos to visit in Europe!

At the time of writing it is 15% cheaper to book online than to pay at the gate and kids under the age of 3 go free!

Click on this link for their website.

NUMBER 4 – VISIT THE ILLUSION MUSEUM DUBLIN

There are two Illusion attractions recently opened in Dublin City which are very close to eachother so please don’t get confused but the one to book is definitely The Illusion Museum Dublin.

My sister went to both attraction recently with her 3 kids aged between 5 and 9 and was adamant that the Illusion Museum was the better of the two and more suitable for children. She also said there was more to see and do in the Illusion Museum and it was also way better value. I called in there recently myself and the staff are also super helpful which is a bonus!

Click on this link for their website.

NUMBER 5 – VISIT CROKE PARK MUSEUM & STADIUM TOUR

Croke Park is Ireland’s National Stadium which hosts our National Gaelic Sports being Gaelic Football & Hurling. It is also the 4th largest capacity stadium in Europe which accommodates just under 83,000 people.

They offer a fantastic tour starting with a great video of what it is like on big matchdays and you get a close up of the speed and skill of the sports.

The main stuff on the Tour that the younger boys and girls will enjoy is that you get to visit the players locker rooms, walk thru the tunnel entering the pitch with accompanying matchday noise and also get to lift the important trophies, where everybody gets their photo taken.

The Museum also has an interactive games area which will easily keep kids occupied for 30+ minutes. In that you can also get to try some of our Gaelic Games in a safe environment, which is great fun for the younger age-group.

Look up https://crokepark.ie/gaamuseum and https://crokepark.ie/stadiumtour for more details

NUMBER 6 – TAKE A DAY TRIP TO MALAHIDE VILLAGE

Malahide is a pretty village on the edge of Dublin.

They have a medieval Castle that you can visit on a Tour which is cool for kids.

The Castle is also located in a big Park that has lots of space for kids to play in with a kids playground, a pitch and putt short par three golf course where you can hire clubs and also close to the beautiful Malahide Village where there are lots of food and drink options.

The easiest way to get there from the City Centre is on the DART Train. You get off at the Malahide stop and a return ticket will cost less then €6 return per person. The train journey takes less than 40 minutes to get to Malahide from Connolly Station in the City.

NUMBER 7 – VISIT THE LEPRECHAUN MUSEUM

I would not advise the Leprechaun Museum for adults on their own but do think it is a suitable attraction for kids.

They specialise in fairytale and mythology storytelling and bring you into different rooms with different themes related to the stories they share with you. For example in one room it is full of super large tables and chairs and the idea is to give you a sense of what it would like to be a Leprechaun where everybody else is much bigger!

Look up www.leprechaunmuseum.ie for more details!

NUMBER 8 – DREAM POINT EXPERIENCE

Dream Point Experience is an immersive indoor family friendly attraction that has 7 themed rooms focusing on light, art and play. It includes a ball pit with 250,000 pearl balls, an inflatable forest, a balloon room, interactive projection walls, a glow corridor and a unique draw alive room!

Dream Point Experience is located in the 3 Arena which is in Dublin Docklands on the edge of Dublin City. It is accessible from Dublin City Centre on the Luas Red Line and you get off at The Point stop.

Visit www.dreampointexperience.ie for more details

NUMBER 9 – VISIT DUBLINIA

Dublinia is Dublin’s Viking Museum and is located next to Christchurch Cathedral.

They have three floors and on each floor there is a different theme. The ground floor is all about Viking History in Dublin, the first floor all about the Medieval History in Dublin and the top floor explains how Archaeologists work and research.

It has some interactive sections and would be of particular interest to kids interested in Viking and Medieval history and also kids who are interested in Archaeology.

Look up www.dublinia.ie for more details.

NUMBER 10 – BOOK A TOUR WITH DUBLIN PRIVATE TOUR

If you have kids are interested in history or studying history, Dublin Private Tour can organise a Tour that would be of interest and benefit to them.

I have dealt with numerous families on my Tours over the years so I know how to make the Tour interactive for them so they can not only learn but equally enjoy the Tour!

Dublin Private Tour can also arrange a discounted family Tour rate so for more details please email me at dublinprivatetour@gmail.com or simply send me a whatsapp message at (+353) 872859028.

I hope this gives you some ideas of things to do in Dublin with your children! If you have any further questions about things to do in Dublin with kids then feel free to email me at dublinprivatetour@gmail.com 🙂

LOCAL DUBLIN ADVICE ON HOW TO GET THE BEST OUT OF ST PATRICKS DAY & ST PATRICKS FESTIVAL 2026

Dublin City will be thronged with Tourists over the coming days for the St Patricks Festival!

I have prepared a short video below with some local Dublin tips and advice for those visiting Dublin to get the best out of 2026 St Patricks Day and the St Patricks Festival.

But for those who don’t wish to watch the video or don’t have access to it, then I have written below some bullet points of local Dublin advice on how to get the best out of St Patricks Day and St Patricks Festival in 2026.

  • The St Patricks Festival 2026 in Ireland and Dublin is being celebrated from Saturday March 14th to Tuesday March 17th
  • There will be hundreds of different variety of events taking place all over Dublin City Centre for the St Patricks Festival. A schedule of the St Patricks Festival 2026 events is available on this link……………………….. https://stpatricksfestival.ie/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/SPF-26-Digital-Brochure-LIGHT.pdf
  • For those wishing to go the official Dublin City St Patricks Day parade then get in early (probably an hour before it starts) and go to the area closest to where you are staying as there will be a lot of restrictions getting around Dublin City during the St Patricks Day parade. The Dublin City St Patricks Day parade starts at 12.00 and lasts approximately 2 hours.
  • A link to the Dublin City St Patricks Day parade route is https://stpatricksfestival.ie/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/St.-Patricks-26-Parade-Route-Map-scaled.png
  • Local advice on where to find a more authentic experience for a St Patrick’s Day parade then head to any of these outside Dublin City Centre: Dun Laoghaire, Bray, Stepaside, Swords, Skerries, Balbriggan and Blanchardstown.
  • And for those who want to have the best craic on St Patricks Day in Dublin, then hang around Temple Bar area, the surrounding streets and Dame Street. This area will be full of Bars with traditional Irish music, though it will be mostly Tourists.
  • Local Dublin advice on where to find local bars with locals on St Patricks Day in Dublin City Centre then go to any of the following areas: Georges Street, Camden Street, Dawson Street, Baggot Street and Capel Street. And Harcourt Street too if you are out a bit later, as that is where a lot of the nightclubs are.
  • Please do not under any circumstances call the day St Pattys Day to local Dublin or Irish people if you are visiting Dublin for the St Patricks Festival. Irish people call it St Paddys Day for short and really dislike the phrase St Pattys Day. That is the best advice on WHAT NOT TO DO in Dublin as a Tourist on St Patricks Day!!!!
  • If you are here in Dublin on the weekend leading up to St Patricks Day 2026, then ladies are definitely in for a treat. We are expecting close to 10,000 Scots travelling over to Dublin for the really big rugby game between Ireland and Scotland on Saturday March 14th. They will be mostly men wearing kilts, which always gets the ladies excited!!! The game is being played in the Aviva stadium, which is a 20 or so minute walk from the City Centre and kick off is 2.10pm on Saturday March 14th.

Regardless if you are travelling over to Ireland and Dublin for the 2026 St Patricks Festival or just for the 2026 St Patricks Day then you are more than welcome and make sure you have the craic, which does mean fun by the way!!!

And to make sure you get the most authentic Dublin and Irish experience for St Patricks Day & St Patricks Festival then book a tour with https://dublinprivatetour.com/

HOW TO UNDERSTAND DUBLIN & IRISH PEOPLE

In Ireland, there is no doubt that we speak our own version of English. It is often referred to as Hiberno-English.

But what most people who move to Ireland to live or who visit Ireland don’t learn is the amount of differences in accents and phrases across the Country. Arguably every 20 or so minutes you will hear a different accent in Ireland and each locality has its own unique phrases and sayings.

I always describe it to my Guests on Tours that Ireland is a similar size to the state of New Jersey in the US and where there would only be a handful of accents but there is arguably anywhere up to 50 here on the island of Ireland!

I have highlighted below influences on accents in three different areas below:

  • The accents in the West of Ireland are definitely influenced by the Irish Language and how letters are pronounced in that Language. That’s a lot to do with the Irish Language being more prevalent in the West of Ireland or as they say “The Whhhest”!!!
  • The accents in the Northern Provence of Ulster would be influenced by the Ulster Plantations in the 1600s, mostly coming from Scotland. So there is a lot of Scottish influence in how people sound and speak with examples being words like “wee” and “aye” being commonly used in both.
  • And the (posh) accent of Dublin’s Southside is influenced by the aristocracy of England, with elongated vowel pronunciations, who had Dublin as the centre of their historic rule until our Independence.

But Dublin itself has two clear different accents, generally perceived by which part of the River Liffey you live on.

Dublin’s Southside is easier to understand and as outlined influenced by England’s posh artistocracy and arguably Californian TV today. I joke it is Dublin’s version of “Valley Girls”!! Bob Geldof, of Live Aid fame, is a great example of somebody with that accent! Others include Brian O’Driscoll (famous rugby player) and Leo Vardakar (our former Taoiseach/Prime Minister).

But the more authentic (Northside) Dublin accent, which is in truth heard all across Dublin, is much harder to understand for non Dubliners as those with stronger versions of that accent speak fast and with lots of slang. And the joke in Dublin is that those speaking with a true Dublin accent don’t speak English but speak their own version of English, we call “Dublinese”!!!!!!

The (Northside) Dublin accent generally doesn’t pronounce “t” at the end of the sentence and if a word starts with a “th” then that is often pronounced as a “d” like “this, that, these and those” would be pronounced like “dis, dat, dese and do-se”.

Even the word “the” is simply pronounced as the letter “d”!!! The most well known person worldwide with the accent would be UFC Fighter Conor McGregor, but the less we say about him the better.

But what really make Dublin people hard to understand is the amount of slang we use! That is what makes it like a Language in itself. I know that when I speak to a friend I speak so differently that what I would speak on my Tours. If I tried to deliver a Tour speaking our version of “Dublinese” than all I would get from Guests is blank faces!!!!!

These videos give you a flavour of some of Dublin’s most common phrases and their meaning. They are in truth just a small flavour of the multitude of phrases we have but it will give you an idea!

If your looking for something unique to do in Dublin and have a real fun. laid back experience in Dublin then book on Real Dublin Culture Private Tour. The Tour will allow you to really understand Dublin and get the real authentic Dublin experience when you’re visiting Dublin!

On the Real Dublin Culture Private Tour you will get to learn about common Dublin slang, fascinating historic Dublin characters, funny Dublin stories and for a bit of craic possibly get to try out the phrases sitting down in a local Dublin setting!!!

The Tour will enable you to really understand Dublin people but also will be able to really converse with Dublin locals and it will enhance your experience in Dublin tenfold!

G’wan ya good thing, for the love of jaysus, get ur man and ur wan signed up to the Tour!!!!!

IS PHOENIX PARK IN DUBLIN WORTH VISITING

As a local Tour Guide in Dublin, I would strongly recommend visiting Phoenix Park!

BEST WAY TO GET TO PHOENIX PARK FROM DUBLIN CITY

For a start from Dublin City Centre, Phoenix Park is easy to get to!

  • WALK – It is within a 30 minute walk from Christchurch Cathedral, Temple Bar, Dublin Castle and O’Connell Bridge.
  • BUS – There are numerous Bus services to Phoenix Park from Dublin City. The Journey time will take anything from 10 to 30 minutes depending on traffic. Download the TFI Live App for the best up to date travel information on which Bus to take nearest to where you are and for real time arrival information.
  • TRAM – Take the Red Line Luas from Dublin City (Abbey Street or Jervis Stops) to the Museum stop, which will take less than 10 minutes and it is a 5 minute walk from the Museum Luas stop
  • CAR – Again depending on Traffic but from Dublin City Centre the journey should be less than 20 minutes.

HOW BIG IS PHOENIX PARK & HOW BEST TO GET ROUND THE PARK

Phoenix Park is one of the largest walled/enclosed parks in the world measuring circa 11 kilometres/7 miles inside.

You could easily spend a few hours walking in the Park and still not get to see everything inside.

If you don’t want to walk it then you can hire a Bike at the main entrance (just off Parkgate Street). Look up https://www.phoenixparkbikes.com/ for more information.

WHY GO TO PHOENIX PARK

There are so many things to do and see in Phoenix Park including the below:

  • Visit Dublin Zoo which is one of Dublin’s best attractions and in particular a great thing to do if you are looking for something to do with kids in Dublin.
  • Get to see Phoenix Parks Deers up close. Please do not feed them!
  • Get to see the outside of the private residence of the Irish President.
  • Visit the natural beauty of the numerous Gardens located every few minutes as you walk around.
  • It is accessible for most of the day and there are small cafes on the grounds.
  • Get to do some people watching of Dublin people.
  • In my opinion the best place close to Dublin City Centre to go for a run if you are looking to do so.
  • Possible to watch some free open sports matches taking place including Gaelic Football, Hurling, Rugby, Soccer, Cricket, Polo and many more.
  • Enjoy the Nature and take in the fresh air with little or no noise or pollution.
  • And of course take in some exercise either walking, running or cycling around the Park.

Lastly, feel free to visit dublinprivatetour.com to learn about the best things to do in Dublin!

Watch this video below to get a visual reference of why Phoenix Park is worth visiting when in Dublin………

WHERE TO FIND THE BEST GUINNESS IN DUBLIN

Many Tourists often ask me “Where can I find a good pint of Guinness”???

And for many this would be like the search for the Holy Grail!! But fear not in Dublin a good quality Pint (or glass) of Guinness is omni-present 🙂

Despite this, it is still true to say that certain Bars in Dublin are renowned to have better quality Guinness than others.

I have simple premise on looking for the best place for quality Guinness and it is to find bars/pubs that do not serve food (don’t have a kitchen) and that have full time bar tenders.

If you work as a Full Time Bar Tender you take great pride in your work and in Dublin they are often judged by their Clientele by the quality of Guinness they offer.

The smaller bars generally don’t have room for a food offer/kitchen so they focus on the quality of the Beer and in those bars you are more likely to find a Bar Tender who works full time and has done so for many years.

The Guinness quality in these Bars is probably going to be of a higher quality than even the Guinness Storehouse itself!

The experience having worked for many years pouring Pints of Guinness enables them to know all the intricate details required to know how to get the Guinness quality the best like getting the basement temperature correct, ensuring the Guinness lines are clean, cleaning beer glasses properly, getting the Guinness pour correct with appropriate level of nitrogen head on the Pint etc………..

WATCH THE VIDEO BELOW TO LEARN MORE

To finish, I have highlighted below 12 of (in my opinion) the best Pubs for Guinness quality in Dublin:

NORTHSIDE OF LIFFEY: McNeils, Jack Nealons, Pipers Corner, The Cobblestone

SOUTHSIDE OF LIFFEY: Grogans, The Dame Tavern, Mulligans, The Long Hall, The Lord Edward, Kehoes, Bowes & The Palace Bar (Fleet Street)

To learn more about Guinness look up one of our two Guinness related Tours below:

ENJOY!!!!!!

DO YOU HAVE TO TIP IN IRELAND? IS TIPPING EXPECTED IN IRELAND? HOW MUCH SHOULD I TIP IN RESTAURANTS IN IRELAND?

Working as a Tour Guide in Dublin, these are the questions I get asked a lot by Tourists!

So first thing to say, tipping is NOT mandatory in Ireland but there would be an expectation to tip in certain circumstances and in certain industries.

I will cover below how it generally works in the 4 most common Industries that I asked about and where Tipping is most common.

RESTAURANTS (TIP 10-15%)

In general, it is standard practice to tip at a restaurant in Ireland but again not mandatory.

The general rule would be adding circa 10-15% to your bill as a tip. I would advise to add less or more depending on the quality of the service that you get.

It is important to check if there is a Service Charge already included in the bill and personally I always ask/check that the tips go to the staff.

BARS/PUBS (TABLE SERVICE ONLY & TIP 10-12%)

In a Bar if you are ordering food from somebody who works on the floor (like a waiter/waitress) then most people in Ireland would add a tip of around 10-12% of their total bill. Again it is not mandatory to tip in this situation in Bars and not everybody does it but the majority of people will tip for this service.

My advice in this situation would be that if you feel the service given was good then tip the 10-12% but if the service was poor then feel free to not tip or reduce the amount. Again I would check to see if any service charge has been already added to the bill but that is unlikely to be the case at a Bar/Pub.

But you don’t tip a Bar Tender who takes your order at a Bar and gets you the drinks you order at the bar counter. If you decide to offer a Bar Tender a tip then they will nearly always happily accept it but they will definitely not expect you to tip them.

CAFES (TABLE SERVICE ONLY & TIP 10-12%)

My advice is to treat Cafes very similar to Bars & Pubs.

No need to tip if just ordering at a Counter and taking the product away, like a Coffee or something small to eat.

But I would tip if receiving table service like you would receive at a restaurant and again anything from 10-12% or lower if the service is not deemed to what you expected.

TAXIS/UBERS (TIP 5-10%)

When it comes to Taxis you will hear differing opinions on whether it is standard to tip or not.

In my experience most, probably 60 to 70% of people, will tip a Taxi driver but the amount is likely to be smaller, like anywhere from 5 to 10%.

I would advise to follow the rule of thump of 5 to 10% but again if the Taxi service/ride did not meet your expectation then it is totally acceptable to not tip the driver.

#Ubers in Ireland are normal Taxis by the way so there is no cost savings in using them

Look up https://dublinprivatetour.com/ for more details on what we offer!

Watch this video for more details about Tipping in Ireland…………

LEARN HOW THE VIKINGS NAMED DUBLIN & WHERE IT ALL HAPPENED

One of the greatest legacies The Vikings leave in Ireland is the creation of Cities and the naming of them.

The Vikings first arrive in Dublin sometime around 800/850 AD. They come from Norway and Denmark and make their way down the Irish Sea, which separates Ireland from Britain. Those Vikings who settle in Dublin would have taken a right turn off the Irish Sea into the River Liffey, which dissects Dublin today.

They settle in the large pool of water a short distance from the River Liffey, park their Long-Boats and start to explore.

That same big pool of water becomes a focal point for the Vikings and they later name the City after it.

Learn more in the short video below………….

Learn more about Dublin’s important sights & get to visit them on any of Dublin Private Tour’s Main Sightseeing Tours below:

UNIQUE HIDDEN HISTORY OF DUBLIN’S SHELBOURNE HOTEL WHERE HITLER’S BROTHER WORKED

The Shelbourne Hotel on Stephens Green in the heart of Dublin City Centre is arguably Dublin’s most famous and most upmarket five-star Hotel in Dublin.

Aside from that, it is also home to some bizarre and hidden history.

My favourite obscure story about The Shelbourne Hotel is about one of its former staff members, a man called Alois Hitler Junior.

The surname is a give-away but believe it or not Alois Hitler Junior, the half-brother of Adolf, worked in The Shelbourne Hotel as a waiter in 1909. Alois Hitler Junior had served time in prison in Austria for theft before he ended up in Dublin. Regardless, it was here in the Shelbourne Hotel in 1909 that he would meet his future wife Bridget Dowling.

Bridget & Alois eloped to London in 1910 and the following year 1911 Bridget gave birth to their only child, William Patrick Hitler who was born in Liverpool.

Later on in the 1930s William Patrick visited his Uncle Adolf Hitler in Germany hoping to take advantage of his Uncle’s growing prominence and popularity in Germany at that time.

Initially their relationship was cordial but something changed that lead to a disagreement between the two leading to Adolf later describing William Patrick as his “insufferable nephew”.

William Patrick escaped Germany soon after just before the outbreak of World War Two and headed back to the UK. Later he emigrated to the United States and the irony of all ironies he then joined the US Army in 1944 to fight against his Uncle for the Allies in World War Two.

William Patrick served three years in the US Army as a Pharmacist’s Mate and was awarded a Purple Heart for his endeavours. He later got married to a lady called Phyllis, where they settled in New York raising four children and he ran a successful healthcare business.

So it may seem bizarre to learn that Hitler’s nephew fought against him in World War Two and the story all started in Dublin’s most famous Hotel being The Shelbourne Hotel.

If you found this interesting then look up details on Dublin Hidden History Private Tour where you will learn all these bizarre and unique stories of Dublin City’s History.

Feel free to watch the Video below outlining more details on the story of Alois Hitler in The Shelbourne Hotel and also more unique and bizarre stories about The Shelbourne Hotel

IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR TOURISTS VISITING DUBLIN

Most Tourists come to Dublin and when they listen to conversations on the street or converse with the odd local they can’t understand a thing and just assume the local Dubliners are speaking in the Irish/Gaelic Language.

In short they are mistaken!!!! We do speak English here but in Dublin it is our own version, that as a joke we call it “Dublinese”.

In Dublin we have two different distinct accents, generally considered to be separated by the famous River Liffey. In truth the real Dublin accent is found in all parts of Dublin. The other accent, being the not so famous “posh” southside accent, is generally just found in the leafy suburbs of Southside Dublin and in a couple of similar Northside suburbs if we are being honest.

But the real strong Dublin accent is particularly prevalent in Dublin inner City and without doubt definitely hard for the majority of Tourists to understand. And to make it more difficult and confusing for our overseas visitors, we have tons and tons of unique phrases and slang, which are not easy to follow.

The Dublin accent added to the slang is what we refer to as “Dublinese”.

Learn a bit of Dublinese in the videos below and for more information look up our Real Dublin Culture Private Tour where we explain and explore this in much more detail, among so many other Dublin Cultural aspects relevant to those visiting here.

In short, please don’t come to Dublin and experience the place on a superficial level like most Tourists do.

Learn some Dublinese and your experience here will be enhanced tenfold and you will get to experience the real & authentic Dublin that Dubliners value & love so much!!!

REAL DUBLIN CULTURE PRIVATE TOUR – Nicknames for the Spire Monument, Dublin’s Characters & Amazing Irish Sport

Learn about the great Dublin wit or sense of Humour in the Video below

Dublin is a place full of Characters where the Language spoken is not English, nor Gaelic/Irish but as we say we speak “Dublinese” as you will get a flavour of it below

Ireland has the oldest Sport in the World called Hurling, dating back to the Celts. It is also the fastest field sport in the world. The important games are played in our National Stadium (Croke Park) which is the 3rd largest in Europe and all players are amateurs with day jobs. which means they don’t get paid. THIS IS REAL IRISH CULTURE!!!!

To Learn how to speak some Dublinese, more about Dublin’s great characters, the uniqueness of our Sporting Culture, about all the many varied and wonderful idiosyncrasies we have and so so much more then Book our Real Dublin Culture Tour by clicking on links below: