Rolling green hills, cobblestone streets, which we were once graced with footsteps of some the most prolific authors. Great beer and whiskey in the pubs that are throughout this great land. Historic universities that has given the world some great thinkers, provocateurs, and trailblazers. Ireland is a country that I can not stress enough should be visited. Since I am a city person at heart start your first trip to Ireland with a visit to Dublin.
The trek to Dublin is becoming quite affordable if you travel during the right times of the year. Timing of travel is crucial when looking for that great deal. That will be a post of its own, but I digress. Below are three sample fares of getting to Dublin from Atlanta, Chicago. and Phoenix. The fares are all from one of my favorite go to travel apps being Skyscanner , which comes through when you have a travel idea moment.
Atlanta March 9-16, 2020 $625 (1 layover each 2 hours and under)
Chicago March 9-16, 2020 $566 (nonstop ); cheapest flight $513
Phoenix March 9-16, 2020 $622 (1 layover each 2 hours and under)
Once in Dublin the city it's offerings become affordable when you plan ahead, which if you are like me it's life. But for those that are not, there are links throughout this article to aid in you being a faux- planner.
Lodging
There are a plethora of great Airbnbs in Dublin for all budget ranges, but the place I stayed, which I will shamelessly plug is The Red Cow Moran . This is a hotel that is situated in West Dublin with easy access to public transportation, about a 5 minute walk to tramway station.
Red Cow averages about $110 a night and I strongly recommend booking early. This hotel is popular with their sleek interior closeness to the city, but far enough to get away from the hustle of the city it is a popular locale.
Now if you want center of the action I recommend research early and often or just set an alert to be notified when to book.
Transportation
Unless you plan on touring all of Ireland, which you should, a car is not needed. Their public transportation is nice and pretty clean. The LUAS system is relatively economical with a 7 day pass to 5-8 zones (parts of the city) being $31.64 with current exchange rate. That breaks down to about $4.52 a day, which is not bad for getting around.
I strongly recommend downloading the LUAS app, which alerts you when the train is arriving and other travel updates. Outside of LUAS be prepared to get some walking in while exploring Dublin. Without really noticing I manage to get 100,000 steps in 3 days, which I felt later.
Food
Dublin is a big city so will find a variety of cuisines there and I recommend exploring, but the one spot you must check out is Wok In Noodle Bar. Those Thai noodles gave me life and I became slightly addicted since I visited them 5 times the week I was there. Wok In Noodle Bar is located across from the James Joyce Statue and it gets crowded, but worth the wait. I recommend the Prawns and spicy, but be warned that spice can bite.
What to do
There is so much to do in Dublin and it can seem a bit overwhelming. If you are a nerd such as myself I recommend checking out Dublin Writers Museum, a beautiful small museum dedicated to the literary history of Dublin. The cost to go to this museum is €7.50. Make sure to check the website to see their hours and do yourself a favor check out the gift shop it's pretty cool.
Another nice nerdy indulgence is a tour of Trinity College, the school of authors such as Oscar Wilde, Bram Stoker, and Samuel Beckett. The tour of Trinity College is about €15.00, which includes viewing the Book of Kells as well as the Old Library.
For cigar enthusiasts, I recommend a visit to James Fox Cigar & Whiskey store, which has beautiful selection of cigars as well as some must try whiskey. I recommend following them on Instagram to see what tastings they are offering in store.
Which leads me to my other favorite tours being the Irish Whiskey Museum and Teeling Whiskey Distillery. This was home for me as a lover of a good Irish Whiskey the production of this nectar is amazing to witness and fun to taste. The Irish Whiskey Museum is a great place to start with tour guides who are passionate about whiskey and possess that literary flair the tour is fun. The tour is about €23 and in my opinion well worth it. Teeling was different because the full line up they offer is not available in the states, so I recommend it to see what this distillery is doing. Fun Fact Teeling is the only operating distillery within Dublin city limits. Their tour is about €30.00 .
A tip before going to Dublin create a Groupon account for Ireland so you can catch great deals starting as low as €9.
Thanks for taking the time to read this and hope you have been inspired to visit Dublin soon. Until next time...
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