This Family Travels: Our stay on a houseboat in Sallins, Kildare

A unique family stay.

It feels like an absolute age since I've been able to write about somewhere that we've travelled to but I finally can again! Over the glorious weekend we just had, my family and I spent the weekend on a houseboat in Sallins, Kildare and it was a family vacation that we will never forget.

Where we stayed

We booked the Roisin Dubh Houseboat through Airbnb and it was a great find. The Roisin Dubh is comprised of a Kitchen/Living area, master bedroom is in the bow cabin, a bathroom, and a smaller bedroom in the aft cabin with a double bed. The sofa in the living area is also a pull out bed if you wanted to bring more than four people and the bathroom had a small half bath which was perfect for my three-year-old. It also has central heating, a wood burning stove, wifi and is equipped for self catering. Add to that the the Wheelhouse which the kids got great enjoyment out of and you really couldn't ask for more in an Airbnb. Parking was available right beside the boat but the train station is also only a five minute walk away if you want to come by train.

What we ate

There was several restaurants, cafes and gastro pubs either side of the boat, so we had no shortage of food options. While we were there everything was takeaway but if you're booking later in the summer you should be able to sit in. Our first night there we got some classic fish and chips from Central Grill, which I followed up with an iced latte and a peanut butter and chocolate slice from Ground Social the next morning. On a trip into Naas we got delicious omelettes at Aroma Mocha, finished off with Breakfast Blaa at Café Grange. There was also a garage and a Lidl within walking distance for any other food supplies we may have needed.

What we did

We were blessed with the weather so we did a lot of exploring around Sallins and Naas and may have had the odd picnic or two. We also had lots of fun lounging on the deck of the boat (in our life jackets provided by our host). Our host also runs boat tours every couple of hours up and down the canal which can be booked on Bargetrip.ie.

Our favourite part

Our absolute favourite part of our trip was taking a canoe trip up the canal. A canoe was included in the price of our booking and came attached to the side of the houseboat. It was the first time the kids had ever been in a canoe before and the adored it, especially when they got to pass all the other houseboats. It was something different and not something you get the opportunity to do on every family holiday. Personally I can not recommend our latest family stay enough and I would do the whole trip over again in a heartbeat!