Going to Dublin (3 nights), London (4 nights), and then Paris (4 nights). We've never been to any of these. Suggestions/Ideas welcome on where to stay (we did all vrbo's on our Italy trip last year and they were all wonderful), must see or must do, places to eat, etc. We also planning a day trip to Normandy.

Agilaw said:

---

Going to Dublin (3 nights), London (4 nights), and then Paris (4 nights). We've never been to any of these. Suggestions/Ideas welcome on where to stay (we did all vrbo's on our Italy trip last year and they were all wonderful), must see or must do, places to eat, etc. We also planning a day trip to Normandy.

---

Dublin is pretty meh. Are you planning to get a car and get around the countryside at all in Ireland?

If not, have you thought about Edinburgh for a couple days instead?

Skip Dublin. I'd add those days to London but others would say add to Paris or split the days between the two.

Our family traces back to Ireland, so we wanted to drop by. Also, the flights were better going through Dublin. I may knock off a day in Dublin. We have contemplated getting a car to get out in the countryside, but haven't decided yet.

Then just go to Ireland this trip and save London/Paris for the next. Getting to Europe it's that expensive.

whasty said:

---

Then just go to Ireland this trip and save London/Paris for the next. Getting to Europe it's that expensive.

---

As lovely as country Ireland is, you don't need 11 days in Ireland.

Depends on how you like to travel. I did 9 days and it was rushed but drove the entirety of the coast. If you want to stay a few days in somewhere nice like Killarney and relax / hike, 11 days would be great.

We went to Ireland and England in 2023 and had 10 days in each place, which for us worked out well.

I just have never seen the appeal of Paris, so we made no effort to add that on. For me, at 11 nights abroad you are already on a tight schedule. Rather than cut Ireland, I would cut Paris.

We only spent a couple nights in Dublin with one being the night after arriving. I would recommend doing that just to get yourself acclimated and sorted. We then went over to Galway for a couple days, then spent the night in a castle in Clifden, then down the coast seeing the Cliffs of Moe, few nights in Killarney, a night in Kilkenny before heading to England. Based on your overall schedule, I would spend a night in Dublin then head to Killarney for a couple of days.

Keep in mind that you should not have to clear immigration again between Ireland and England, sop we just took a RyanAir flight.

So much to see in London and the surrounding countryside. Prioritize what your family is most interested in. We spring for a private guide in London that packed a ton into one day. Highly recommend. We also had a guide take us through the British Museum. He is an Egyptian archaeologist and he brought the museum alive - even quizzed our 13yo on what he learned with right answers allowing steps to exit and wrong answers meant taking steps back. Priceless experience.

We also had a guy take us on a day trip out to Avebury to see the stones, Glastonbury to visit King Arthur's (supposed) grave, and Stonehenge. That was pricey but for us it was again worth it.

Enjoy the trip. You cannot go wrong if you focus on what interests you the most and remember to have a little downtime on vacation even if it's an afternoon at a pub to plan the next day.

OP, I don't know if you can flip your trip to do the reverse order, but it was worth it to us. Granted this was several years ago, but I doubt I has changed much.

Paris airport sucks to get to/from and is crazy busy.. Paris in general is chaotic and less friendly (IMO). Train/to from London is easy. London is fine. Dublin is fairly chill and we enjoyed ending on a relaxed note with a shorter flight back.

As far as things to do, there is plenty everywhere and age dependent..