We have 2 full days in Ireland in early October staying in Dublin. Looking to do Dublin sites first day and then a day tour the second day. Does anyone have recommendations?
Considering
1. Giants Causeway, Dunluce Castle ,Dark Hedges and Belfast
2. Cliffs of Moher Tour Including Wild Atlantic Way and Galway City from Dublin
Both similar priced and duration about 13 hours round trip. Don't really care to go to Blarney Stone.
Cheers
Did the Cliffs of Moher Tour and it was great however there is plenty to do in Dublin so with 2 days you may want to consider just staying there. Also the Cliffs of Moher can be very weather dependent- you can’t see anything if weather bad. Never been to Giants Causeway since can’t help there.
My first question to the OP is, have you been to Ireland before or is this your visit to the Emerald Isle? Is this your first time in Dublin?
I have been to both the Cliffs of Mother and the Giants Causeway. Both are worthy of a visit. However, I am not sure either would warrant a day trip from and back to Dublin The Cliffs are all the way on the other side of Ireland. To me, it would seem like a lot of time traveling there for what would be a relatively short visit. Giants Causeway, up in Northern Ireland, is closer but still quite of bit travel.
I would agree with the previous response, especially if this is your first time in Dublin. Plenty to see and leisurely enjoy in Dublin and it’s immediate environs.
I enjoyed the Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge and tiny island. Located about 7.3 miles from the Giants Causeway it was first erected in 1755 by salmon fishermen. It is part of the National Trust. I’m typically afraid of bridges and heights (depths) but found this very interesting.
The Brú na Bóinne Visitor Centre for Newgrange. Absolutely incredible. Not far from Dublin. Tours available from Dublin.
Also gorgeous, and in the same northern direction from Dublin: Monasterboice High Cross and Tower.
The Cliffs of Moher are over 3 hours from Dublin. The tour starts at about 7:00am. Then you sit on a bus for 3 hours. Get off, see the Cliffs, maybe take a boat ride, maybe stop at a couple of other places and get back to Dublin at 7:00pm. A friend who did this thought it was a waste of time.
These are both very long day trips from Dublin so you will spend a lot of time on the bus. As another person suggested, Newgrange is a marvellous site much closer to Dublin. I did a day trip that included Newgrange, Monasterboice, Hill of Tara all in one and it was a very good day.
If you want to go somewhere outside of Dublin for the day, I would suggest Belfast (just Belfast). Take the train to Belfast, it is very convenient. Then go to the Titanic Experience, walk along the river, browse through downtown, go out to eat, and return to Dublin. I did not include the black cab tours in my suggestions purposefully.
I agree with the other posters that both of those destinations are too far away for enjoyable day trips, and that Newgrange is easier to access from Dublin, as are Glendalough and other places south of Dublin. And Dublin has more than enough to fill two days and more. And I agree with you about Blarney.
But if you want to consider only the Cliffs/Galway and Causeway/Belfast, I guess you should decide based on specifics of each tour. How much bus time vs on-the-ground time? What specific sights in Galway vs. Belfast (that the tours will cover) interest you most? Would you rather look at the ocean from a higher (Moher) or lower (Causeway) elevation? Do you want to walk on the actual shoreline (Causeway if time allows)? What do you think about that rope bridge (if it's covered on the Causeway tour -- but you couldn't pay me enough to get on it)? How interested are you in the complicated relationship between Northern Ireland and the Republic (more to learn on the Belfast tour)?
When are you planning to visit in October and have you checked out day length times? At the start of the month you have about 11.5 hours but this quickly falls to 10.5 by the middle. Also if you are unlucky and it is a dull day, youn will loose daylight even quicker. So you will be setting off in the dark and getting back in the dark. TBoth of these are really trips for the summer months when you wilol have long hours of daylight.
Newgrange or Glendalough would be much more sensible.
Thanks all for the replies and great suggestions. We are doing a tour of Scotland and England but decided to fly into Dublin for 2 days before flying to Edinburgh where are tour starts. We have never been to Ireland and added a couple of days there since we would be "close"
Our flight arrives at 6am and that day we will tour Dublin. It sounds like we should either stay in Dublin the second day or go somewhere close by instead of Cliffs of Moher or to the north
It sounds like we should either stay in Dublin the second day or go
somewhere close by instead of Cliffs of Moher or to the north.
How about an easy day trip to Howth:
