A friend and I took a three day trip to Dublin, from Amsterdam, in September 2019. This itinerary is based on that experience. Want more visual inspiration? Check out the video of the trip! Want more things to do? Check out this blog from my first trip to Ireland.
Transportation and Accommodation: To get from the Dublin Airport to city center, take the 747 Airlink Bus, 30 minutes. You can pre-buy your ticket, just make sure to print it out. You can also buy a round-trip ticket to save money. Both times I’ve been to Dublin, I have stayed in the Temple Bar area; it's going to be a little more money, but if it is a short trip, this area is in the middle of everything. For this trip we stayed at the Blooms Hotel.
Day 1: Getting off the bus at O'Connell St. we saw The Spire right away. Right before crossing the O'Connell Bridge, we saw the O’Connell Monument. After dropping our luggage at the hotel, we passed by St. Andrew’s Church and headed to my all time favorite place in Dublin; Grogans, for a Guiness and a toastie (cash only). We then walked through Grafton Street to check out some live music and met up with a friend living in town. We strolled through St. Stephen's Green before heading back towards Temple Bar.
Night 1: The goal of the evening was to relax and listen to live music, not a difficult thing to do in Dublin! The first two stops were The Old Storehouse Bar and Restaurant and Oliver St. John Gogarty's Hostel for a pint and some music. We then landed serendipitously at the bar attached to our hotel (the friend we were with knew a band that was going to be playing), The Vat House Bar where we had dinner as well. We heard the Murphy Sisters play, and then ended up having drinks with them, and going to one final spot, The George.
Day 2: Most of the day was dedicated to the Wild Wicklow Tour. We stopped at a Caffe Nero for coffee and a pastry while we waited for our bus. Our tour guide was lovely and full of knowledge, and although it was a larger bus, there was only about 16 people. The first stop was Sandycove, which had beautiful sea views. Next was Kilmacanogue’s Avoca Handweavers; a cute little restaurant and shop. This was followed by Sally Gap and the Wicklow Mountains National Park, where the slopes are covered with heather and bogs. Our guide made an extra stop at the ‘P.S. I Love You Bridge’.
We then stopped for views of Lough Tay; absolutely gorgeous, this would be an amazing area to hike. We ate lunch at Lynhams of Laragh; it is cafeteria style, but they did have a regular menu. While waiting to head back on the bus, we stopped into the Celtic Crafts shop next door. The final stop was Glendalough. Walking around the grounds includes the Glendalough Cathedral, monastery and the Round Tower. We then took a small hike/walk (20 minutes), passing by Lower Lake until we made it to Glendalough Upper Lake. Stunning views. Enjoyed a '99 flake' cone before heading back to Dublin.
Night 2: After a rest at the hotel, we had dinner at the Hairy Lemon. We then quickly stopped by The Temple Bar; it is one of those touristy things that you have to do! We then ended our night back at the The Vat House Bar to visit our friends before calling it a night.
Day 3: For our last day in Ireland, we crossed the Ha'penny Bridge and ate breakfast at The Bakehouse; a spot I found during my previous trip. We then checked out of our hotel (they held our bags) and headed to Tara Street Station. We took the Dart to Howth Station (30 minutes); easily bought tickets at the machines. Depending on how much time you have, you could walk around the entire peninsula, there is a large map near the docks and everything is well marked. We had about two hours, so we followed the coast, and about an hour in, we made to where we could see the Baily Lighthouse in the distance.
We then headed back a different way towards the station (more direct rather than on the coast), which ended up being a little faster. We had time to sit outside and enjoy lunch at Crabby Jo's. After getting back into Dublin and picking up our bags, we had a little time to spare, so we had a cone from Murphys ice cream before heading to the bus stop.
Things to Eat: Irish stew, Irish breakfast, bacon and cabbage, shepherd's/cottage pie, soda bread, scones, fish & chips, Irish Boxty and Tayto crisps.
Drinks: Guinness and Irish coffee.
Things I would change: Go to the Old Library to see the Book of Kells.
General Travel Tips:
Figure out an idea of sites you want to see; this will determine a centralized area for where you should stay.
Utilize Google reviews when looking for something to eat. General rule, stay away from streets with lots of neon signs.
Mark everything on your google maps. Google is also (in my opinion) the best pedestrian and bike navigation app.
Other:
Planning for a trip, especially overseas, can be stressful and overwhelming. Hopefully this gave you an idea of things to do during your next trip to Dublin. I try to do as many quick links as possible, to send you directly to the website so you can get the most accurate and up-to-date information possible (fees and timetables).
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Safe and Happy Wandering.
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