DAY 1
Hotel: The Morrison in Dublin
“This small but nice hotel is in a great location and safe area. You’re close to Temple Bar, but it’s not noisy, and it is family-friendly. The ‘Family Rooms’ include two rooms, which was nice for a family of four, and each room had a small mini fridge. This hotel, like most in Ireland, comes with a free breakfast. The staff seemed educated and brought out meals for us after checking if they contained any nuts. They also advised what on the buffet contained nuts (only 1 thing that I can remember). We missed breakfast the first day due to timing, but it was so good we ate here the remaining mornings.”
Breakfast: Jay Kay’s Cafe
“Some limited nuts on the menu. Kids got crepes with Oreos and white chocolate in them without issue. They do have Nutella for crepes, but I didn’t see any peanuts. Menu was well labeled.”
Dinner: Bunsen Temple Bar
“We had takeout burgers, fries, and shakes from this spot while very jet-lagged. I had emailed ahead, and they didn’t use peanut oil to fry, and there are no nuts on the menu. The restaurant is very close to hotels in Temple Bar.”
Sightseeing: National Museum of Ireland – Archaeology
“The museum is free (donations accepted).”
Sightseeing: St. Stephen’s Green
DAY 2
Breakfast: Morrison Hotel
Dinner: Gallagher’s Boxty House
“The menu at this place is well labeled for allergens. I emailed to ask what kind of oil they fry in and got a swift response that they only use sunflower oil! Food was good and the kids had sausage, mash, and a burger with no issue.”
Sightseeing: Trinity College
Sightseeing: Guinness Storehouse
DAY 3
Dinner: The Spaniard Inn
“This place had one of the most educated and cautious waitresses we’ve had so far. She warned us the hamburger buns were not made in-house when the kids got burgers and fries. They ate them safely, but we appreciated her warning us. The food was amazing, and I’d highly recommend it.”
Sightseeing: Kilkenny Castle
DAY 4
Breakfast: Cosy Cafe
“We ate here a few times. No nuts on the menu other than Nutella. The staff was cautious about allergies, and I heard them alert the kitchen. Everything was very good and reasonably priced. The sausage was fantastic.”
Dinner: Kitty O’Se’s Seafood and Grill
“The kids menu had pasta with Mac and Cheese sauce or tomato sauce, which my youngest enjoyed. My oldest had yet another burger. Food was decent, but not amazing, and the waitress noted allergies, but that was it.”
Sightseeing: Rock Of Cashel
“Getting to the castles for their first slots of the day was amazing. We practically had them to ourselves.”
Sightseeing: Cahir Castle
“Take the tour!”
Sightseeing: Cobh
“Beautiful seaside town worth seeing, but be ready to walk up some steep hills.”
DAY 5
Lunch: The Chunky Chip
“This place was tasty but the person working spoke limited English and we were a bit nervous, though nothing on the menu seemed to contain nuts. We skipped the ice cream due to the language barrier but ate safely.”
Dinner: Mario’s Kinsale
“No nuts on the menu and the staff seemed to understand allergies. The pizza was quite good and we enjoyed taking it back to our Airbnb.”
Sightseeing: Dunworley Beach
Sightseeing: Clonakilty
“Visit the town…and also the great distillery by the same name.”
DAY 6
Breakfast: Cosy Cafe
Lunch: The Laurels Pub & Restaurant
“We ended up at this pub after the one we’d planned to go to was slammed. It was very cute inside and the waitress seemed knowledgeable and careful. I did see nuts noted in some dishes, but my oldest had a burger she enjoyed and the youngest got a pasta off the kid menu which had lots of kid-friendly options. My only caveat is I got the shepherd’s pie and it wasn’t great. Very plain, tomato-y and basically just meat and sauce with mashed potatoes on top.”
Dinner: Foley’s Bar and Restaurant
“Both kids got the burgers (again) and there was just walnuts in one salad. The burgers looked sad but the kids claimed they were the best of the trip. The fish and chips were amazing, and I’d recommend ordering them if fish is safe for you!”
Dessert: Murphy’s Ice Cream
“There is a peanut ice cream flavor. The risk for cross-contamination during scooping felt high because they can scoop half one flavor half another. The woman working warned us about possible traces of nuts and also warned us the brownie flavor contained almond flour. We ate safely but I felt pretty nervous about this one. It’s good though!”
Sightseeing: Killarney
“We stopped in the town of Killarney on our drive to our next Airbnb. We loved the town and hope to stay there next time—great shopping for souvenirs, too.”
Sightseeing: Killarney Falconry
“We met up with Killarney Falconry and got to hold several owls and a hawk (you feed the hawk raw chicken FYI). The setting was beautiful and we were so glad we did this.”
DAY 7
Lunch: Bean & Batch Killarney
“Risk of cross-contamination here but staff made sure we were aware. Great waffles, scones, and lattes. Very clean bathroom too!”
Sightseeing: The Gap Of Dunloe
“We hiked part of the Gap Of Dunloe but you can ride in a carriage or even drive (the road is shared so I am not sure I would). It was absolutely stunning.”
Sightseeing: Inch Beach
“Inch Beach is a long, flat, sandy beach with mountain views. We loved staying at an Airbnb in Inch and would again. We went to the beach every chance we got.”
DAY 8
Lunch: The Fish Box
“The waiter assured us they don’t use nuts, but warned they can’t promise there’s no cross-contamination in things like hamburger buns. This place was so good. Best fish and chips yet, and the kids said the burgers were great. Staff was nice, bathroom was clean. It’s a small spot so get there when it opens!”
Sightseeing: Dingle Peninsula
“The Dingle Peninsula was the most beautiful place we’ve ever been. The drive isn’t bad if you get going early before the tour buses start going in (it’s a narrow road to drive on with a bus!). Don’t miss the Beehive Huts, Coumeenole Beach, views of the Blasket Islands, or the town of Dingle, which was very nice as well. This could well have been a few days of exploring even though it’s not a huge place.”
DAY 9
Lunch: Brogan’s
“This was the cutest and nicest pub we’ve been to yet. The waitress said they didn’t have any peanuts on site and no tree nuts. Kids had a BLT and a hot dog (they were way too excited about that) safely. We also tried the Irish coffee and beef roast. They had the best brown bread we’ve tried.”
Dinner: Gus O’Connor’s Pub
“The kids got burgers. Again. This was a large place that felt more like a bar than a restaurant but we also ate on the early side. The shepherds pie was good and portions were huge. This is right on the main strip next to the famous thatched buildings in downtown Doolin. Food was decent but not amazing but we ate safely.”
Sightseeing: Ennis
“We stopped in the town of Ennis on our way from Inch to Doolin. Ennis was a great city and we wished we had more time here. We lucked out and had an Airbnb with a view of the Cliffs of Moher. Doolin was smaller than we realized, but cute and a nice stop.”
DAY 10
Lunch: Stonewall Pizza
“This is a hip little pizza and coffee shop inside a nice hotel. The pizza was delicious and the pesto was NUT-FREE.”
Sightseeing: Fanore Beach
“We started the day by visiting Fanore Beach, which was so beautiful.”
Sightseeing: The Burren
“We drove through part of the Burren before grabbing a fantastic pizza for lunch. Since we were staying so close to the cliffs, we were able to visit them just before sunset. It wasn’t very busy and the lighting was fantastic.”
DAY 11
Dinner: StockHouse Restaurant
“This restaurant has a large menu and the staff was well aware of cross-contamination risks. They also communicated to us that they don’t have any nuts for us to worry about. The kids got a burger and pasta and even had a brownie with ice cream for dessert. Definitely some cross-contamination risk but that’s okay for us. I was pleased with how allergy-aware the staff was.”
Sightseeing: Athlone
“After leaving Doolin, we stopped in the town of Athlone to get coffee and have a pint in Sean’s Bar, which is supposed to be the oldest bar in the world. Trim isn’t the prettiest town but we chose it to save money rather than staying in Dublin again, plus we were able to see the castle. Trim is less than an hour from Dublin’s airport.”
Sightseeing: Sean’s Bar (the world’s oldest bar)
“It was touristy but worth doing, but we didn’t have any food. “
DAY 12
Dinner: Med Street Food
“The pizza we shared in Trim was a great end to our trip.”
Sightseeing: Trim Castle
“While exploring Trim we walked over the oldest functioning bridge in Ireland, and the tour at Trim castle was very educational.”
Sightseeing: The Hill Of Tara
“The Hill Of Tara was a beautiful view with plenty of history.”
Sightseeing: Bective Abbey
“We stumbled on Bective Abbey, which was crumbling ruins we got to explore completely alone.”
