Family holiday in Northern Ireland

skint98

Hi just wondering if anyone can offer some recommendations for places to stay and visit in Northern Ireland with kids during the Easter holidays. We are travelling by boat to Belfast taking the car and ideally I don't want to have too far a journey from the ferry terminal. Our kids are aged 8, 5 and 2. Any suggestions/recommendations would be very much appreciated.

JoJoB

We stayed at the Premier Inn in the Cathedrale Quarter when we stayed last summer and it was quiet, cheap, central, and about ten minutes by cab to the ferry.

It was a stop-off for us before we got a coach to visit family in Fermanagh, but we spent a day on the open-top bus tour which my little girl enjoyed, and it was interesting seeing Stormont and all the murals down the Falls and Shankhill rds etc.

susancs

We stayed at the Travelodge in Beflast city. Parking outside was free from 6pm to 8am (as metered) and the room was huge. We had hired a car so were out all day between those hours. I would recommend the Ulster Folk and transport museum. The folk museum has a whole outside village with demonstrations such as weaving, turf fires and a nice cafe. We drove to the Giants causeway and also Down is worth a visit as it has a free museum set in an old gaol and cathedral etc. A drive around the city to see the artwork on the walls is worthwhile. Belfast itself is a small compact city (we are from London), so everything was easy walking from the hotel. 5 mins walk you are in the shopping area and about 10 minutes at the Quay. If you look at Premier Inn, Travelodge, Holiday Inn and Days inn you should find some reasonably priced family rooms. The only problem may be that family rooms are usually for a maximum of 4 People, so you may need to book two rooms and ring around to see if you can get interconnecting rooms. Although other people in the past on MSE have mentioned that they just book a single family room and don't draw attention to the fact they are a family of 5 by not waiting to book in together at reception.
http://www.downcountymuseum.com/home.aspx
http://www.nmni.com/uftm
http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/giants-causeway/

skint98

Thank you both for your replies. Sounds like there will be plenty to keep us occupied. Think premier inn/travel lodge is the way to go. Hopefully we can just take the wee one in bed with us so one family room should be enough. Will have a look at those links you posted. Thanks. X