Things to do in Dublin – The Ultimate Dublin Travel Guide

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If you’re planning to take a trip to Ireland, this Dublin Travel Guide will provide you with everything you need to know to help you plan your trip. This guide includes the best things to do in Dublin, best hotels in Dublin for every budget, where to eat and drink and the places you should visit outside of the city centre.

For most visitors coming to Ireland, your trip will begin In Dublin and this guide will show you how to maximise your time in the city, as well as some of the best ways to combine your trip to Dublin with some of the incredible places nearby.

How to get from Dublin airport

The public transport infrastructure in Dublin is a little bit behind many other major European cities, in that there is no direct rail link from Dublin Airport to the city centre which does limit the airport accessibility a little bit. That being said, there are numerous buses that you can take to access the city quite quickly.

1) Bus

There are a couple of different bus options for travelling from Dublin Airport to Dublin City centre. The first option is to use the public transport network, Dublin Bus. There are two lines that operate this route, the number 16 and the number 41.

The number 16 bus operated from 06:00 to 23:30 on Monday to Saturday and 08:00 to 23:30 on Sundays. The number 41 bus operates 24/7 throughout the week. A standard one way ticket for these buses is €2. These buses depart from zone 15 of the airport.

Alternatively, you can use the Dublin Express Air Coach which has numerous stops across the city including Temple Bar, Trinity College, O’Connell Street and Heuston station. These buses operate from both Terminal 1 and Terminal 2 at a cost of €8 one way or €10.50 return.

These buses operate between 04:05 and 00:35 and provide wi-fi onboard, as well as toilet facilities. This is typically the quickest public transport option for accessing the city with the journey time typically taking between 35-40 minutes.

2) Taxi

A taxi will provide you with minimal wait times but naturally will be more expensive than public transport options. We would suggest downloading the ‘FreeNow‘ app on your phone before arriving in Dublin.

This will provide you with live rates for your journey and will often have promotional codes available for your first use, potentially making the journey much cheaper. In our experience, the journey from Dublin Airport to the City centre is somewhere between €25-40.

How to get around Dublin

Walking:

Dublin is quite a walkable city and most of the major attractions are within a 20 minute walk of another. Dublin city centre is also very flat which makes it quite easy to navigate.

Public Transport:

Within the city there is also a LUAS (tram) network that costs around €2 per journey. Alternatively, you can also use the bus network for visiting places a little bit out of the city centre like Kilmainham jail.

The best way to use the public transport network in Dublin is to buy a LEAP card. These can be purchased at stores around the city and at convenience stores at the airport terminal when you arrive. There are a number of specific options available for short term stays:

• 24 Hour Card – €8
• 72 Hour Card – €16
• 1 Week – €32

The tickets are valid for use across all of the services below in Dublin:

• All Dublin Bus scheduled services (not valid on tours)
• Go-Ahead Ireland Dublin City services
• All Luas (tram) services
• DART and Commuter Rail in the Short Hop Zone (all of Dublin city and county)

Bicycles:

Dublin has a very large public cycling network and this can be often be a much quicker way of getting around than using public transport/taxis. A 3 day ticket to use the Dublin Bike network is just €5, making it a really affordable way to get around the city. More information can be found here.

Hop On/Hop Off Tour:

If it is your first time visiting the city, the easiest and most efficient way to get around is the Hop On/Hop Off tour of the city. These guided tours are a convenient way to get around without worrying about the logistics and you can pick and choose when and where you would like to go throughout your stay.

When to visit Dublin

If you are planning your visit to Ireland in hopes of getting some Vitamin D, you may leave a little bit short changed. While we do tend to get at least one to two weeks of consistently good weather, for the most part a typical Irish day consists of clouds, sun, wind, rain and everything in between so try to pack accordingly (whatever that looks like).

One theme that does tend to be reasonably consistent is that the best chance of good weather is often either around the time the school year is winding down (Late May/Early June) or just when it is starting up again (early September) so with that in mind we would suggest choosing between those two periods of the year. During the late Spring/early Summer, Ireland gets a lot of daylight and it often doesn’t get dark until after 10pm so you have plenty of time to explore some of our most famous sites.

Similarly, if you are planning to visit during the coldest months (November-January), just be aware that it gets dark as early as 3pm and does get quite cold in the lead up to Christmas, with potential disruptions to travel due to snow and high winds more common at this time of the year.

That being said, one of the most renowned traditions of the year in Dublin is when famous Irish singers perform busking on Grafton street on Christmas Eve – it is never known who exactly will show up on the day but if you’re sticking around Dublin at Christmas, this is something that can’t be missed. There are also lots of Christmas markets in Dublin that you can visit, including our favourite one at Dublin Castle.

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How long should you spend in Dublin

Ordinarily, we would suggest you spend at least 3 days in a city to allow sufficient time to explore and enjoy the city, without feeing like you are in a huge rush to move from one place to the next. We would suggest the same for Dublin but because it isn’t the biggest city in Europe, it is quite a good option for day trips or short weekend stays as well.

If you are staying for 3 or more days we would suggest that rather than spending all of your time in the city centre, you use the local train network (DART) to visit some of the more popular suburb areas of the county or use one of the days to take a day trip to another area outside of Dublin.

Our personal suggestion for a memorable day trip from Dublin that would give you a real sense of Ireland would be either the Wicklow Mountains, Glendalough and Kilkenny tour or if you are a Game of Thrones fan, you could take the Belfast, Dark Hedges and Causeway Coast tour. One of the major advantages of visiting Dublin is that the rest of the country is easily accessible, with most of the major tourist attractions being reachable within 2-3 hour drives. So if you do have the time, we would really encourage you to spend one of the days visiting one of the many scenic areas surrounding Dublin too.

Hotels in Dublin

Like many major cities around the world in recent years, Dublin has been suffering from a housing and accommodation shortage, with hotels becoming increasingly more difficult to find, which in turn has driven up prices for short term accommodation.

That being said, there are still lots of great hotels in Dublin for every budget available for visitors, from B&B’s to Castles. Below are just some of the hotels we would recommend for your stay.

Note: Please note that for any bookings made via the affiliate links included within this post, we will receive a small commission from the supplier but this will not affect the price you pay.

Best Things to do in Dublin

• The Book of Kells
• Guinness Storehouse
• EPIC Museum
• The GPO
• Kilmainham Jail
• Glasnevin Cemetery
• Trinity College Dublin
• Marsh Library
• Phoenix Park
• Dublin Castle
• St. Patrick’s Cathedral
• Temple Bar
• Botanical Gardens
• Malahide Castle
• Howth Cliff Walk
• Dalkey Village
• Croke Park
• Grafton Street
• Christchurch Cathedral

There are lots of great sights to visit around Dublin depending on your interests. If you are interested in history, we would suggest visiting sights like the GPO, Kilmainham Jail, the Epic Museum and Glasnevin Cemetery to get a sense of Ireland’s history surrounding the famine and occupation.

If you are a sports fan, you could take a trip to Croke Park to get a glimpse of Ireland’s national games, Gaelic football and hurling and the stadium itself offers a great tour as well, including a skyline walkway.

For nature lovers, take a trip to Phoenix Park, the largest enclosed park in any city in Europe, where you might be lucky enough to spot some grazing deer and this is also home to Dublin Zoo, which is perfect for a family day out. Lots of nice cafe’s around this area as well like Twirly Gate and Baabaa.

Another popular attraction is the Book Of Kells at Trinity College Dublin – this is the perfect place to start a day of shopping along Grafton Street. All of that exploring will naturally make you thirsty and that is where the Guinness Storehouse comes in.

This interactive tour will provide you with how to pour a perfect pint of one of Ireland’s most famous exports, get your photo 3D printed into a pint of Guinness and also has one of the best viewpoints of the city from the rooftop bar.

If you haven’t managed to get your fill of Guinness at the storehouse, then no trip to Dublin would be complete without visiting the iconic Temple Bar. This has become a bit of institution for visitors to Ireland and is definitely worth a visit but do bear in mind that Dublin can be an expensive city and Temple Bar is the most expensive place within it so we wouldn’t recommend spending all of your time there if you want to keep your bank balance in tact.

Best places to Visit in Dublin

If you want to get out of the city centre for a day, here are some of our favourite areas to visit, especially during the Spring/Summer months.

Malahide & Portmarnock

Malahide and Portmarnock are two of our favourite places to visit in Dublin, particularly on a nice summer’s day as you can take a nice walk along the sandy beach to travel between the two villages and both have great food and drink options for you to enjoy a nice day out along the sea.

While you’re here, take a trip to Malahide Castle, this is a great place to visit with kids, with lots of interactive events on throughout the year, festive light displays at Christmas time, as well as a Summer concert series in the summer. The castle is just a 5 minute walk from the town centre and has beautiful walking trails that are family friendly.

For food and drink options, there are some great options around this area – we would suggest the Garden Cafe in Malahide if you are visiting the Castle and Sale e Pepe in the town.

If you would like to stay around this area rather than the city centre we would recommend staying at the Grand Hotel Malahide or else The Portmarnock Resort & Golf Links.

You can easily access Dublin city centre from Malahide using the Dart train service, with the journey taking around 25 minutes and is around €5 return.

Howth

If you enjoy seafood and scenic walks the Howth is the place for you. Howth attracts a huge number of visitors each year and this coastal town is a great place to visit on a Summer’s day.

If you aren’t afraid of some walking one of the standout things to do in this area is the Howth Cliff Walk, a 5 mile loop trail with great views overlooking the peninsula. The full route will take 2-3 hours but you can obviously choose a stopping point much sooner and walk back in the same direction you came rather than completing the loop.

You could also very easly combine a trip to Malahide and Howth in the same day by the taking the Malahide Castle and Howth Cliff Walk tour.

Best Cafes in Dublin

• One Kinda Folk
• Bear Market
• Twirly Gate
• Krewe
• Alma
• Tang
• Ebb & Flow
• Two Pups
• Balfes
• Tribe
• Mr. French
• The Art of Coffee
• Baabaa

Best Restaurants in Dublin

• Grano
• Red Torch Ginger
• Fire
• Opium
• FX Buckley
• Kicky’s
• Isabelle’s
• Mani
• Spezzatura
• Bambino

Best Restaurants in Dublin

• Gravediggers
• Grogan’s
• Cafe en Seine
• Dakota
• The Long Hall
• Fidelity
• 1661
• The Temple Bar
• The Gingerman (Specifically at Christmas)
• The Hole in the Wall

Best bakeries & desserts in Dublin

• Una Bakery
• Sceal
• Russell Street
• Bread 41
• Fable
• The Rock