Family travel in Ireland?

My family and i have allways wanted to travel to ireland, but we would need to do so as inexpensively as possible...hopefully without having to resort to camping. Does anyone have any suggestions on places to stay or the best time to go? Thank You.

Ireland is such a lovely place to go.. so peaceful and the people there are(were at least) GREAT. Renting a car (if that was your intentions) would be cheaper than taking a taxi to go around places to visit outside of Dublin..

As far as staying... I do not remember the name of the HOSTEL that I stayed because there are SO MANY in Dublin... Hostel meaning in people's homes. I suspect that you can find out right there at the airport. That would be more fun and cheaper than a hotel. HOPE you enjoy

avoid Dudlin, and Bn B's can be pretty cheap

Bed and Breakfast places can be reasonably priced. We stayed in them when we were there, and they were clean, comfortable, and the host families were friendly and had good suggestions on what to see and do. Some of them have family rooms that sleep several people. Look online - google Ireland Bed and Breakfast, or contact the Irish tourist bureau.

Warning - we were there in the mid to late fall, and many of the b&b's were closed - apparently some are open just in the summer.

Ireland is such a wonderful place to go as a family. You will find that it is educational, beautiful, and relatively safe.
I suggest that you rent an apartment. A one-bedroom apt is about the same price as a hotel room in the city centre (as you pay per person in Europe) and you will have more room. A 1-bed averages $150/night in low season (winter) and $200/night in high season (March, summer) Also, you will have a fully-equipped kitchen in which you can store and prepare store bought food. Dining out in Dublin city (if that is where you want to go) is expensive. My family and I stayed at Christchurch Hall apatments when we drove down to Dublin from the North of Ireland. There were 4 of us plus a baby: we had loads of room in a 2-bedroom apt (about $210 a night). We went to the stores and bought food and ate in most of the time. The only problem was parking. If you rent a car, it will be expensive to park it in the city. You can leave it overnight but during the day, you will have to street park or pay a fortune for a garage.
The cheapest time of year is December. Dublin is nice that time of year, albeit dark and sometimes very wet. Neverthless, last year was pretty mild. The sun goes down at 4pm in December.
The most expensive time is St. Patrick's day. Rates for hotels March 17-18, IF available, will shoot 2, 3, 4 times as much, no joke! Plus, it's a madhouse then.
The summer is good, but more expensive. The days are long (sunrise at 5am, sunset at 11ish pm) and the weather is generally warm and dry.

B&Bs are a great and inexpensive way to discover the country. Experience the Irish welcome and get good advises from locals!

Good website for that is :
http://www.discoverireland.com/au/ireland-plan-your-visit/booking-agents/

Hope you'll have a good time.

cheers

Caroline