Arriving in Dublin 8:15AM with 3:00PM hotel check-in - Suggestions for things to do?

When I am in this situation, I make a reservation for an extra night at the hotel for the night before my arrival. That way I can go directly to the hotel, check- in immediately, shower, take a nap, have breakfast, walk around the neighborhood, or whatever in comfort. I usually email the hotel to tell them that I will not arrive till morning so they keep the room for me. It’s always been totally worth every extra penny!

Chester Beatty Library inside the Dublin Castle - manuscripts and artifacts from various religions, some almost 2000 years old. The Church Bar and Cafe' is beautiful for lunch.

We fly from the west coast. We do exactly what Renee says she does, because we learned our lesson the hard way when arriving in Dublin at 7am, and having to wait until 3pm for our hotel room nearly did us in! We dropped our luggage off at the hotel; begged for the earliest possible check in. Went out to explore. Were practically delirious as people were just waking up to get morning coffee and we felt like it was well past dinner time. I think we tried to walk around the National History Museum of Dublin, but couldn't concentrate; so we went back to the hotel lobby looking pathetic and exhausted and watching the clock; counting down the minutes! So we swore never again when arriving at our destination that early. We make a reservation for the night before; and let the hotel know of our arrival plan.

This past spring we arrived in Paris at 1pm. The difference between arriving at 7/8am vs 1pm is remarkable. We barely had jetlag, as we got through customs; took the taxi to central Paris and we arrived at the hotel around 3pm; dropped luggage in our room, went for a stroll through Paris, went to dinner and went to bed as normal.

Hey there. We are basically doing the same thing as you in early August. We land around 9:00am and hotel check in is at 3:00. My plan is to see if our hotel will be able to hold our luggage (I’ve seen from other posters on this forum that Buswell’s will) until check in. In the meantime we have signed up for a day tour of Glendalough which will be beautiful, insightful and hopefully help with jet lag. You could look at some day tours that are offered through Get Your Guide or Aviator. Good luck.

We always go to the hotel and check to see if we can have an early check-in. In Dublin we were able to check into our room when we got there (around 10 AM). If early check-in isn't possible, we have the hotel take our luggage and we go out and explore. It feels good to get out and walk!

I'm going to add another vote to Renee's advice. I've done this a few times. When you have had your breakfast, shower and nap and then you head out by the lobby and see the group of exhausted tourists just hoping a room will be ready soon, you realize that it was worth it to treat yourself well. I'll save money elsewhere on my trip.

This might be one of those occasions when the hop on hop off bus comes in handy. You can get a nice idea of the city, learn some history and just enjoy the ride. I’ve never done the Dublin HoHo and would not ordinarily suggest it, Dublin being very walkable and the traffic can be maddening, but in this instance it might be a nice way to spend several hours.

Here's what you do....

First, contact the hotel and ask if they will hold your luggage.

If they will, when you land go to the hotel to see if your room is ready. If it is, they will probably let you check in early. (Some hotels now charge for early check in but they will probably store your lluggage.)

Then, once you are free of luggage, the day is yours. If you are arriving from an overnight flight, then the best idea to beat jet lag and fatigue is to stay outdoors and on your feet as much as possible.

A hop on hop off bus will probably lull you to sleep. Considering what they cost, you'd be better off paying an early check in fee if there is one.

Personally, we do as renee and the others have suggested and just book a room for the day before so that it's ready on arrival. We've found that being able to take a shower, generally freshen up, and maybe take a (short) power nap to recover from a sleep deprived redeye flight and generally feel human again is worth the extra cost.
On our first trip many years ago we booked the HoHo bus, thinking that would be a good way to kill the time before check-in and get an introductory overview of the city, but it turned into one of the most expensive naps we've ever taken. I'd advise against it.
If your preference is to gut it out until your room is ready then you really need to keep moving - preferably outside in the sunshine to start recalibrating your body clock ... probably fueled by copious amounts of coffee. Sitting down for a prolonged period in a sleep-deprived state is the kiss of death for us, and doing anything requiring a degree of mental acuity in our brain fogged state is likewise inadvisable.
There are also Day Rooms - in hotels at the airport and in the city itself - that are available for booking that may be cheaper than the extra night at your destination hotel. This website would be a good starting point to research something like that if you're interested. I see several options for blocks of time in the 9 AM to 5 PM range that don't break the bank, and which would allow you to rest, relax and recharge before meeting the rest of your party later in the day.

Robert, “the most expensive nap we’ve ever taken” after reading your post I have decided to cancel our plans for a day trip to Glendalough. I thought it was a great way to spend our first day and help with jet lag lol. No doubt we would fall asleep on the bus for sure. Thank you Debbie for posting this just before our trip.

I just finished booking my trip to Ireland for May and booked my Dublin hotel for an extra night. My flight arrives at 5:15 am so I’m more than happy to pay for an extra night so I can get in my room right away. Assuming the hotel is even open that early. :-)

Have a great trip!!!

Linda,
Actually, a power nap on the bus to/from Glendalough wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing. Though you might miss some of the pretty scenery going thru the Wicklow mountains during the journey, once arrived at the monastic site you'd have a chance to stretch your legs and generally be active in the sunshine (hopefully) while you explore the place for an hour or two.
It's really a subjective call on your part - contingent on just how wiped out you think you'll be after the overnight flight - but I wouldn't dismiss the idea of an outing to one of the prettiest little glens in Ireland unless you're pretty sure that it'll be too much to tackle on your arrival day.

Robert “most expensive nap ever” Oh my gosh! I just re- booked our Glendalough pre tour trip after reading your response Robert. I am hopeful that after some intense coffee and a bit of natural adrenaline we will be fine making this day trip. I’m very excited about seeing the natural beauty as well as the history there.

Another vote for reserving the night before. That has gone from a luxury to a necessity for my travel. To be able to check in, take a power nap, freshen up and then head out for a late lunch and still have the rest of the afternoon to look forward to without fighting sleep...it's so worth it.

Re Jet Lag: I used the Timeshifter app last August when flying from Spokane via Seattle and Amsterdam to Aberdeen. I was totally shocked that I had no jet lag either going or coming back home. I am a solo traveler and have always found it difficult to "power thru" although I know that many do this just fine. I had a horrible time with jet lag in April 2023 and got my Circadian Rhythm totally screwed up. It took me a week to right myself and I knew I could not do that again. The first round trip with Timeshifter is free. I will gladly pay for it in October for my next trip.

BTW, I have no connection to this company but their plan worked for me. I did wear sunglasses and a ball cap in various airports when it said I should avoid sunlight but I did not mind looking like a dork. Coming back, 2 days before I had to start shifting my daylight exposure so on one of the few bright, gorgeous, sunny days on Shetland I was wearing sunglasses and the aforementioned hat until afternoon, lol.

Hope your trip to Ireland is wonderful!

I keep reading that if you take a nap after a long flight to make sure it’s not for more than 30 minutes and that there be at least 4 hours between the nap and your going to sleep for the night. Otherwise you’re going to throw your ability to get over jet lag further off…..

margie,
On my first international flight I was in my early 20's we arrived in London from the west coast completely exhausted. We decided to go to the Churchill War Rooms where I proceeded to pass out. (Not how I normally operate; I'm not usually prone to fainting.)

On a more recent but precovid trip, when we spent the day in Dublin wandering deliriously jet lagged; and practically falling asleep in the hotel lobby after our very early arrival; wishing we'd known enough to have reserved a room for the night before; once we finally got our hotel room around 3pm, I laid down, and told my husband I didn't care how long I slept because if I woke up at 2am, I'd just lay there because I felt so tired. Needless to say, I slept all the way from 3pm and through the night due to exhaustion.

So for me, I've decided to ignore all the suggestions from professionals on jetlag, because I just can't seem to fall in line with the recommended norms. Admit I am curious about Pam's suggestion to try the timeshifter app.

OMG! Thank you to all for the suggestions and well wishes! I am going to look into the idea of getting a room the day of arrival, thanks, Renee and everyone who also advises this strategy. If I can't do that, I will definitely stow my bags at the hotel and walk around. As I will be in a city I am not familiar with, I am still a little anxious about walking around by myself, but I'll try to get over that. I will checkout the Timeshifter app, thanks, Pam. Again, thanks for the tips, everyone! Keep on traveling!