Dublin, Ireland
Dublin, a city filled of rolling green pastures and sizable history. The views in Dublin bring a breath of fresh air, the city will have you gasping for more. Pack your bags and enjoy the greenery, ornate castles and accents to match!
On Your Mark's, Get Set, Go!
We kicked off our European journey in Dublin, Ireland. Ireland has been on Tat’s list of places to visit since discovering Gerard Butler in the 2007 movie P.S. I Love You.  Dublin, the capital of Ireland, is home of historic structures and addicting accents. We flew from Indianapolis, Indiana to Dublin, Ireland. In between, we had a connecting in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. We purchased our round trip flight from Indianapolis to Dublin for $482.00USD per person. This was our main flight, in which, got us from the USA to Europe and then Europe back to the USA. Airlines offer multi-city flights, which is opposite of the there and back concept. Contrary, you can fly from Point A to Point B to Point C and so forth. Despite this, we found this trip to be significantly cheaper to fly in and out of the same locations.
Residence Inn
When selecting a place to stay, we look at hotels (traditional and non-traditional), hostels and/or Airbnb. First off, let me commence with saying the cost of accommodations in Dublin were expensive. Then again, everyone defines expensive in their own way. Expensive to us, is a two night stay for over $500USD. When country hopping, expensive stays does not equate to economical travel. For Dublin, we decided to go with Airbnb. The price point was way more reasonable than a hotel. Since we are budget to moderate travelers, we opted for a private room instead of an entire apartment. This was more cost effective. The private room was within a three bedroom home, sharing common areas (like the kitchen and living space). Our private room had an en suite. An en suite is a MUST for us. Typically we get zero to little use out of the common areas, but the bathroom is a different story. Sharing a bathroom is far from appealing to us for various reasons, mainly cleanliness. A plus, our bedroom door had its own key. The home owner travels frequently, so he was away majority of our stay. Our Airbnb was in a prime location, directly adjacent to the tram. The total price for our stay was $192.19USD.
For more of the nitty gritty on how we select accommodations, visit our destinations home page!
Rollin' on Dub's
Dublin has a well-developed public transport system. We rode the bus from the airport to the city center for 9 Euros per person (about 10USD). The public bus was simple and economically efficient. You can find additional info using the link below. After getting off the bus, we had to utilize the tram.
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Navigating through Dublin, we used the tram (AKA Light Rail System). The tram operates on an honor system. It is expected that passengers pay prior to or after riding. There are payment kiosks at every stop. The tram was very simple to navigate and again economically smart. For a particular information like schedules check out this:
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For everything in between, we walked. The city’s terrain was not rough, at all. Some parts of the city are laced with cobblestone (Tat, actually fell victim to said cobblestone). But, overall walking was an easy feat making navigating around the city center easy!
Yes, Dublin has UBER. It’s far different than in the USA. In Dublin, it was more of a car service than your average Joe picking you up is his personal vehicle. We used UBER once, from our Airbnb to the airport. We had a 5am flight and the public transport system, does not start operating until 5am. Even so, UBER was not badly priced. So if you are opposed to walking or public transport, UBER is always there.
A question you might want to ask is how do you know where to go? Do you need service or data? Well, GPS is our friend. For iPhone you can start the GPS while in a Wi-Fi zone and it will continue on with directions despite not having Wi-Fi. For androids, you can download offline maps (for your destination) through google and you have access to directions, minus having data or service. Lastly, you can just pay for an international phone plan through your provider and have access to data all the time.
Read all about our hysterical first day in Dublin on our blog post. Trust me… it will provide nothing, but laughs!
Pubs and Tings'
A must Try is Mad Egg ($). This restaurant serves up chicken sandwiches that give Chick-Fila a run for their money. Definitely recommend the “Honey Baby”. There are three locations in Dublin, so finding a location near your accommodations should be a breeze. The atmosphere is a pretty laid back and chill. No need to dress up, comfortable clothes are the way to go! Seating was a little scarce at the location we visited, but don’t let that steer you away. The sandwiches are finger lickin’ good! Well worth any wait!
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If I’m being honest here, this would be the only restaurant I would ten out of ten recommend in Dublin. Not that the food in Dublin wasn’t good, unfortunately in between our excursions we didn’t have enough time to hit up some restaurants we wanted to take a bite out of. So below are some spots we found, yet couldn’t try…​
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The Wiley Fox
"Roll Camera, Action"
Our first day in Dublin, we acquainted ourselves with the city. We stopped by Dublin Castle and Temple Bar. Despite its name, Dublin Castle is actually serves as a government complex. Historically, it was home to the government of Britain located in Ireland. Nonetheless, the aesthetic of Dublin Castle gives nothing but views! It literally looks like a castle minus the rolling greens you typically see in Ireland. The cost of this is totally free! Inside they offer a museum guided tour for about 12 euros (~$15 USD). For additional interest check out the link:
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Temple Bar is a very popular street in Central Dublin. It offers cool pubs, live Dj’s, variety of food options, one of a kind shopping and much more. The area is cobble stone through out, so you still get that “old time” vibe. The keyword here is just—FUN! We literally immersed ourselves in Irish culture trotting around Temple Bar. We are not international drinkers, yet we very much enjoyed ourselves pub hopping.
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The following day we went on an excursion to Cliffs of Moher: This is considered one of Irelands seven wonders. The cliffs sit 120 meters high accompanied by picturesque views of the North Atlantic Ocean horizon. The sight is absolutely stunning. The tour includes stops of castles along the way. A lunch is provided in a the nice quaint town of Doolin. There are a ton of companies offering tours. Feel free to shop around. The tour we went with is linked below.
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The Guinness Factory was a very cool experience with prices ranging from $31-$95. The Blogging Besties are not beer drinkers but decided to visit the factory anyway as it is a part of Ireland's history; We do not regret the experience. We opted for the Guinness Storehouse experience plus the STOUTie experience. During the self-guided tour, we were able to learn the exact way that Guinness perfects their craft. After learning all about the history of Guinness beer, tasting samples, and having some social fun, we decided to head over to the STOUTie experience where we were able to take a selfie and have it printed on our complimentary beers. After that experience, we headed up to the tippy-top of the building where we enjoyed 360-degree views with more complimentary beer.
Check out the link:
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Currency and Tips
Ireland is a part of the EU, therefore uses Euros as currency. We converted our USD to Euros prior to arriving while in the states. Check your bank. Our banks offer zero fees to convert money.
Ireland tip is beware of cobblestone! Yes, it is very appealing and a little bit of history. However, not built for heals or suitcases. Be cognizant of where you are walking and wear comfortable shoes!
Trav·el
/ˈtravəl/
"the vessel had been traveling from Libya to Ireland"