What should I prepare for a trip to Dublin (17/9 - 20/9)?

Question

I have booked the tickets to Dublin and I think I know nothing about Dublin, as well as Ireland

How many days normally do I need to spend in Dublin?

Is it possible to visit Belfast within the journey?

Are there any tourist attractions recommended?

How about the traffic? how can I book the tickets in advance?

Or information about the hostel?

Where can I look for additional information?

This is my first self-planned trip. It appears very complicated to me...

Please help!~~~

Thanks a lot))))))

Answer 1

You only have 3 days, so I would forget about doing Belfast this time. It's a city that merits a proper visit anyway.

3 days is fine for Dublin. What I suggest doing is getting on the tourist bus tour of the city and going around to get a feel for the place, and get an idea of what you might like to visit again.

The best way to deal with traffic is to use the public transport system. You can get a 3 day ticket for the buses and DART, but this does not include the LUAS, as far as I know. Nor does it include the tourist bus.  Otherwise you can prebuy a set number of journeys, and just 'ping' them, this is quite useful. There is an information kiosk at Heuston station, but if you want to know about the buses in dublin, try www.dublinbus.ie. Generally it's pretty easy to walk around the city centre, but be careful as like every other large popular city, there are pickpockets and the like.

If you want to stay in a hostel, try this website: www. hostelworld.com. I've used it for booking budget hotels.

And next time you hit these shores, get out of Dublin. For all that it's the capital of the Irish Republic, Dublin still has a very English feel to it, much more so than the rest of Ireland. Even the people of Dublin say so.  

Answer 2

Hey there,

You can visit Belfast from Dublin by Train (under 2hours) or bus (2.40mins depending on traffic). You could do it as a day trip or stay overnight. There is plenty to keep you occupied in Dublin for a few days, and also a lot of interesting places within an hour or two journey from Dublin, so you could do a day or half a day trip. I'd recommend Newgrange and Glendalough (my fav place).

Within Dublin, depending on what you're interested in there are plenty of museums/art galleries etc... also St.Patricks and Christchurch Cathederals... Also you should really do the tour at Saint Michens Church where you tour their crypts and see actual mummys (v.eerie but really cool in a morbid kind of way).

Also The Guinness Brewery does a great tour and has a bar called the gravity bar which is up on the top floor and has great panoramic views of Dublin. Kilmainham Gaol (jail) very historic and does a great tour. Dublin is quite expensive but can still be done on a budget, however accomadation is still quite expensive.

You asked about traffic, traffic here is totally mental, if you're thinking of hiring a car while in Dublin I would advise against it, Dublin is quite compact and most main attractions can be reached by foot or a short bus/luas (tram) ride.

You should really check out www.tripadvisor.com and go to their Ireland forum, you should also maybe ask a few questions there as they have local experts who can answers almost all you're travel related questions.

Check out these links which may help also if you have any more questions just ask and I'll try to help, cheers!

General Info:

http://www.dublintourist.com

http://www.visitdublin.com

http://www.gotobelfast.com

Attractions within a short journey from Dublin:

http://wicklow.com/glendalough/

http://www.newgrange.com/

http://wildwicklow.ie/

Hostels/cheap accommodation in Dublin:

http://www.hostelworld.com/hostels/Dubli...

http://www.hostels.com/dublin?source=hos...

http://www.hosteldublin.com/

Answer 3

Dublin is a great city. You could spend as many days as you like there, but what you want to see while there is up to your wishes - look at www.visitdublin.com for ideas. Belfast is about 2 hours by train, go to www.irishrail.ie for timetables. I would personally recommend the Guinness brewery if you're a drinker, and Phoenix Park whether you are or not! Enjoy your trip.

Answer 4

Compared to other capital cities Dublin is small, 3 to 4 days should be enough time to get to see everything.

Belfast is about 160km away, but you can get a direct train up, (well worth the visit too).

As for Dublin you got loads of links in the last post, but take in Kilmainham Goal, Guinnesses, Christ Church, The Viking Splash tour, Dublin Castle, and all that sight seeing will get you thirsty so enjoy a few pints and the craic once your done.  

Answer 5

In our experience you could do Dublin in about an hour.

You could certainly do Belfast within the journey (you could do Belfast in about half an hour)

That leaves you with plenty of time to visit the pubs.

Click on these:

http://www.tourist-information-dublin.co...

http://www.dublinuncovered.net/info.html

http://www.lonelyplanet.com/worldguide/i...