Dublin Airport to Town Center?

Sara,
Don't know if you were thinking about exploring Dublin via Hop On Hop Off but if so, I'd encourage you to check into the Airlink/HOHO combo (return) offered by Dublin Bus. Info is here

Hi, we were just in Dublin last month, in and out from the airport. We took the route 16 local bus in from the airport, I think the fare was 3.1 Euro. We were staying near Parnell Square, you can look up the route on dublinbus.ie Yes, this is slow, 40-45 minutes coming from the airport in mid-afternoon on a weekday. There is also an express bus , the 747, which we took to the airport. There were only 5 stops after Parnell Square to the airport, but because this goes though the heart of the city before getting on the highway, this was over 30 minutes at just before 8AM on a weekday, the fare is 6 Euro, and it runs slightly less frequently. In retrospect, there was no reason to opt for this over the local bus.

We found Rick's estimate of about 30 Euros for a taxi to the center to be accurate on our recent trip (returned just a week ago). The airport bus (I think there are two different services) also worked great on our previous trip in 2002, but you have to research it and may need to hop on public transport after that to get to your destination. Compared to many cities, we though the 30 Euros was a relative bargain so we just took a taxi from and to the airport. (By comparison a taxi for a thirty minute ride home from SFO would be around half an hour and probably close to $100).

Since it's a party of four, a taxi makes more sense than the airport bus (and I just took the express bus a few weeks ago and was very satisfied with the service).

How about the opposite way-Dublin center to the airport?

We just came back from Ireland. We took a taxi from the airport to our city centre hotel (probably not far from where you are staying). I think it cost us about 30 Euros. We were lucky to have a very good taxi driver who gave us a lot of good information and a few laughs. It sure was a lot easier than trying to find the right bus and hump our bags to/from and on/off a bus.

Hope that helps. Have fun on your trip!

Just a footnote that the 16 bus can easily some days take up to 90 minutes to the airport during peak travel times, whatever the timetable says.

Dublin Airport recommends arriving 90 minutes before departure. So did my hotel. However, I got to the airport at about 7:10 a.m. for a 9:25 flight and barely made it. The queue for checking in luggage was a nightmare (flew on American). They were pulling my flight's passengers out of line before I made it to the counter. Going through the first security check took another 20 minutes or so, and then we had to queue to go to a kiosk for passport control for the US. That was another 15-20 minutes or so. Then on to the next security check, where carry-on bags were scanned again. This time we had to take our shoes off. By the time I got to my gate, it was final boarding. They ended up holding the flight so that people in the airport (some of whom were right behind me in the first luggage queue) could make the flight, and they didn't shut the doors until about 9:45.

So whatever means you take, make sure you allow more than enough time at the airport itself. I took the 747 bus and probably got on it about 6:30 a.m. on a Monday.

Just returned from Ireland. We took the 747 bus from the airport to the center and back. The round trip price is 10Euro (6Euro one way) and was good for three months (as I recall, tossed the tickets so not sure). We left Upper O'Connell Street at 8:45am and arrived at the airport at 9:30. Of course, the length of the trip would vary according to traffic.