My sister and I will spend 5 nights in Dublin on our own in May, doing day tours to the countryside. I haven't picked a hotel yet but I'm wondering if time would be better spent with 3 nights Dublin, 2 nights somewhere else. No car, just using public transportation. Any suggestions?
Five nights = four full days. You could certainly fill four full days in Dublin, and there are good day tours if you want to see more, like Newgrange or Glendalough. There's also rail service to the nearby coast, I haven't been there but it's supposed to be attractive. No point spending time changing hotels on so short a trip.
Totally agree with Dick. And besides the Newgrange/Boyne Valley/Hill of Tara day trip and the Powerscourt/Glendalough/Avoca day trip there are day trips to Belfast and another to Kilkenny. You can also take the train to Howth for half a day or Malahide for another half day. Then of course there's actually exploring Dublin.
Another vote for spending the time in Dublin and doing day tours. Newgrange and Glendalough are both very well worth while doing.
Thank you, that sounds great. Just looking on Viator and there are a zillion tours that leave out of Dublin, so that's what we'll do. Lots of pubs just within walking distance of our hotel too.
Here's an excellent tour to Newgrange if that interests you most. I takes pretty much all day, returns late afternoon. .I don't know specifics about other tours, but I suggest using Viator only as a search tool, then booking directly with the tour operator if you can (which Viator doesn't make easy). Viator doesn't provide tours, it's a broker that charges the operator a big chunk of what you pay.