1 day in dublin

Hi Maryann-how old are the kids? The number one sight for us in Dublin was the Kilmainham Gaol, a valuable history lesson for visitors. Knowing ages and interests would be useful.

Thanks for your reply....our children are 16 and soon to be 14 love to travel and eat. Don't get bored easily. They are really great to travel with.

Aha! Well they need to see Kilmainham Gaol then, imho. It is a really great tour, get there early, it is filled with the history of Ireland and perspective on The Troubles. I would then suggest the Natural History and the Archeological museums-check out Gallagh Man!-and St. Stephens Green. Christ Church is quite a sight. The Temple Bar is a charming area, but it does have more than its share of drunk people middle to late evening-not my favorite. Instead of Guinness or Jameson, try finding a Pub with music and good food!
With just one day, I suggest being strategic and using the excellent bus system and your feet to move around. The Hop on Hop Off bus is fun, but to me it makes more sense to go directly to the few things you want to see instead of taking an hour or two to ride around the city.
Have a great trip!

Definitely the Gaol, have been there three times and it is definitely the highlight for us. Skip the Guinness, thought expensive and boring. Book of Kells was also good and also think you should walk along the water, go across Halfpenny Bridge and over to the GPO, Temple Bar area is overrated in our opinion. Enjoy.

I completely agree with those who suggest Kilmainham Gaol, but I disagree that the Hop-On Hop-Off bus is a waste of time. I found it to be both a great introduction to the city, with its commentary, and since you can get off anywhere that looks interesting, you can use it as a source of transportation to the sites you want to see. I would suggest taking it all the way around the route (about 90 minutes), then hop off wherever you want to explore. Contrary to what the previous poster said, the HOHO bus is the one that goes directly to what you want to see, as opposed to regular public transportation that will stop every few blocks to pick up and drop off locals. There are no public transport buses that go only to the tourist sites like the HOHO bus does.

I would not waste my time with either Guinness (expensive for a family, as well as not being a brewery tour - and the kids won't get a "free" pint) or Jameson (no longer a working distillery).

We just got back from our trip to the UK. We took the ferry from Holyhead, Wales to Dublin, Ireland. We had about 26 hours in Dublin. We took a taxi from the ferry to the National Museum of Ireland, Archaeology. We followed Rick's recommendations as to what to see there. From there we went to the Jameson Distillery and took the tour. After that we checked into our hotel and then headed over to Gogarty's for dinner and the Musical Pub crawl. The next morning we hit the Kilmainham Gaol and then the Guninness Brewery. Then taxi back to ferry.
It was a fast and furious trip but we loved it.

Of course, it was not my intent to suggest that the HOHO is a waste of time. To the contrary, my point is that with ONE DAY it makes sense imho to not spend 90 minutes driving past stuff, but to pick 2-4 things and make beelines to them via bus, feet, and…taxi. In fact, taking a taxi first thing in the morning to the Gaol is probably not a bad plan, since it's a bit out of the way. If there were two days or more, well I'd be all over the HOHO bus idea.

Looks like you've had some useful input. Have a great trip!