A fun, expert Dublin itinerary for families with kids. Written by a local mom!
Dublin is a great city to visit with kids.
Compact, easy and full of cool activities for kids of all ages, it is a city you can choose as a destination in its own right or add it at the start or end of a longer Ireland family vacation itinerary
I know Dublin well, and so do my kids: did you know that we live in Dublin most of the year?
We have been living in Dublin for many years and, during this time, we have explored the city ourselves and showcased it to visiting friends on many occasions.
So, if you are looking for a tried, tested and first hand experience itinerary to visit Dublin with kids, we are good people to ask!
On this page, share our favorite Dublin itinerary for families, with the top Dublin attractions and the best family friendly activities in Dublin for visitors.
We have this as a 3 day Dublin itinerary but each day also works on its own. I hope you enjoy it and it helps you plan your stay!
Please note: this post contains affiliate links and, should you make a purchase through them, I might make a small commission at no extra cost to you.
Table of Contents
Practical tips to follow this Dublin itinerary
To follow this three days in Dublin itinerary for families we recommend that you:
- Stay in the city center, so you can walk to most places and soak up Dublin’s vibrant atmosphere
Find here >>> our favorite family hotels in Dublin
- Get hold of a visitors’ Leap Card, the transport card that allows to save on Dublin’s public transport
- Bring a stroller for small kids – there is a lot of walking to be done but Dublin is reasonably stroller friendly!
Family friendly Dublin itinerary day 1
Morning in Dublin: Trinity College, Grafton Street, Stephen’s Green
I recommend starting your day with a visit to Trinity College and the Book of Kells, one of Ireland’s most significant treasures.
The Book of Kells is a medieval manuscript with incredibly detailed calligraphy and drawings and it is now preserved inside the historic Trinity College Dublin, one of Dublin’s most prestigious and ancient unversities.
The book is exceptional for grown ups to see but it is also easy to appreciate for children of primary school age or more.
To help younger ones to engage with it, we found it useful to see the book first, then stop at the gift bookshop to get for them some colouring books with drawings in the same style.
Advance booking mandatory >> click here for tickets
Just beside the main entrance / exit to Trinity College you find Grafton street, one of Dublin’s main commercial streets and a fantastic place to visit with children.
This is a fun, lively place for kids to experience and it is also full of shops (fashion, gifts, sports, Disney Store…)
Grafton Street is closed to traffic and is teeming with life: shops and cafes abound and the street is home to many street acts, with live music being played here almost non stop!
This is a busy street and later in the day it becomes very busy, but the mornings here are lovely.
The side streets (Wicklow Street, St Anne’s Street) are lovely and full of cafes: my favorite is called ‘Le Petit Parisienne’ on Wicklow street which while not traditionally Irish, as you may have guessed from the name, has good coffee and excellent pastries!
At the top of Grafton Street you have one of the best places in Dublin City center for kids: St Stephen’s Green!
St Stephen’s Green in a large park and it has a lovely playground, plenty of areas to sit and relax and a pond with ducks.
Lunch on South William Street / wicklow street
There are plenty of lunch options in the Trinity College / Grafton Street area and you won’t have difficulty finding what you like.
Some places to consider are Dunne and Crescenzi (Italian) and the Queen of Tarts In front of Dublin Castle), which is a local institution not just for tarts but sandwiches and light snacks, Gourmet Burger Kitchen or Poort House (Spanish) on South William Street and
As you walk in this area, keep an eye out for the famous statue of Molly Malone, now located just in front of the tourist office!
Afternoon: Dublin castle (Outside) and Dublinia
A place I love in Dublin for kids is Dublinia, where they can experience how Dublin used to be at the time of its foundation and in Viking and Medieval times.
Dublinia is only a short walk from the city center, so it works really well for your first afternoon, it is interactive, indoors and educational.
You can walk here via the courtyard of Dublin Castle which is free to access and nice to see.
Dinner on South William Street / Wicklow street
Finish your day with dinner in the Dame Street area and a pint in a traditional pub.
Again, you will be spoilt for choice when it comes to dinner options, but a couple to seek out are The Millstone (Irish) and the Poort (two Os) House (Spanish).
Dublin itinerary for families: day 2
This second day in Dublin is actually my favorite in this itinerary and very much my secret winning formula to wow visitors to Dublin: it’s my Howth Day!
Howth is now an elegant suburb of Dublin but it feels completely different from the rest of the city as it is still maintains the charm of its origins as a small fishing village.
It is a great place to experience coastal Ireland without having to drive or leave Dublin!
Here, kids can see seals in the wild (it’s a fishing port, so the seals come hoping for food!), you can go on a family hike along Howth Head, you can spend time at the playgrounds and have fish at one of the many restaurants serving the catch of the day.
You can red here >>> all about Howth with kids
Afternoon
Howth can easily take up your whole day and if you have little kids, chances are they will be tired at this point and ready for dinner and rest.
However, id they are not, you an also make the most of the afternoon by going to St Patrick’s. Cathedral and having lunch back in the center.
A fun area to go with kids is South Great Georges’s street, where you find the cute shops of St George’s archade and many family friendly restaurants such as Yamamori (Japanese), Brasserie 66, Nolita and many others.
Day 3
Morning: Dublin Zoo
One of the best attractions for kids in Dublin is Dublin Zoo, which is hosted in beautiful Phoenix Park.
The Zoo is an easy win for kids but it also works very well for parents as it is a great place to let the kids lose safely and where to get an easy hot meal (we love the Meerkat cafe, with the meerkats looking into you!)
Afternoon at the Guinness Storehouse
You may think that the Guinness Storehouse is not a place for kids but actually, it is a really cool place to visit a pretty much any age!
The Guinness storehouse is a beautiful space, worth visiting both for the significance in Irish culture and its location, industrial and with a very different feel from the Dublin you have seen so far.
The place is massive and very much geared towards tourists but despite this, it is still impressive and worth a stop.
The tour of the storehouse makes you see several parts of it and it includes a stop at the panoramic gravity bar, where you get offered a pint of Guinness (taste it, it’s lovely here).
The kids of course cannot have Guinness but they will be offered a soda.
The Storehouse is really popular so I recommend booking tickets in advance. You can do it here.
A fun place to end your stay in Dublin is the IFI, the Irish Film Institute in Temple bar.
Here, you can get a taste of Temple Bar but have dinner in the relaxed and family friendly IFI cafe, which has burgers and kid-friednly dishes (works apart from the messy atmosphere of Temple bar Pubs!
Excellent, comprehensive guide. Thank you Marta. I’ve been thinking about a family trip to Dublin and the surrounding area so this is wonderful inspiration! Thanks for linking #citytripping
Wow! Very detailed itinerary! Now itching to go with family. Thank YOU!