Dublin Hop on Hop off bus

Best is a matter of opinion. What do you want to accomplish? If you want a sightseeing tour both buses will probably do, but if you want a way to get from A to B, the regular public transport is probably a better option.

Hi, Michelle! I feel your pain in trying to do the best for planning and yet remaining flexible.

The most telling part of your question was the phrase, "I will be in Dublin only one day." If I were only going to have one day in Dublin, I would not want to waste time (which is valuable) waiting for a "hop on /hop off bus" to arrive to take me places. If you are wanting to take it simply for an overview of the city, that would make more sense. In either case, your first step needs to be to prioritize what it is that you really want to see in Dublin. Then look at the route maps online and decide which meets your needs.

Many locations are not far from each other when walking or a tram will take you there fairly quickly. I will tell you, that if I were limited on time, I would not put "The Book of Kells" high on my must see list. The entire experience was fairly disappointing.

I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed the Castle and spending some time just walking about.

From the limited poking around I just did there appears to be only one HO-HO bus route that stops at the cruise port, It's offered via Viator, a Trip Advisor related company, https://www.viator.com/tours/Dublin/Dublin-Shore-Excursion-City-Sightseeing-Hop-On-Hop-Off-Sightseeing-Tour/d503-2916PRTDUB. A more cruise-centric forum may provide you with additional information.

I took the HOHO bus in Dublin. Enjoyed it

Will you be alone? We stopped while on a cruise and hired a private driver through Toursbylocals.com. He picked us up at the pier, and took us on a prearranged itinerary. We started at Kilmainham Goal, Guinness storehouse, St Patrick’ Cathedral, then the castle. We ate fish and chips at a place near the castle, Leo Burdocks, then walked around the university grounds. We ended on grafton street for a little shopping. He then dropped us back at the ship in plenty of time. We were 4 adults. We had emailed back and forth and he let us know the times to pre-book the Goal and Storehouse. The other places we just winged it. If I remember, at the time, 2016, we paid around $400.

Viator is a 3rd party booker, as indicated owned by TA. I would not book thru Viator for anything - too many disappointing comments on TA and other forums regarding having to deal with them. Plus, according to others here who have tour companies Viator charges a huge amount to the company for their booking "service". Go direct to the company you choose.

It looks like the tour company Viator books is City Sightseeing so if you go with them, I'd want to pay on the spot to the company for that tour.

You've probably come across this page for the Dublin TI office regarding Ho-ho tours.

https://www.visitdublin.com/bus-tours

Michelle,
See my response to your Glasgow post.

I have taken the HOHO bus in Dublin. I went with the "red" bus company but the route of both companies offering the tour are basically the same. Take the "Original" tour.

There is no need to prebook. Just get to any of the stops and you can buy a ticket from the driver. Most take cash or credit cards. Seriously, I have taken HOHO buses in numerous cities and have never had a problem buying a ticket from the driver. In fact, you will see lots of people around the city selling tickets for these tours. (There might even be people at the cruise port selling tickets including transportation to the HOHO bus. They will be dressed in either red or green depending on the cruise company.)

In one day you aren't going to have a lot of time to get on and off. Some sites, like the Kilmainham Gaol need reservations made well in advance or you might have to wait a long time for a no-show. You could also wait awhile for the Book of Kells/Trinity Library. And if crowds are back when you get to Dublin the Guiness Storehouse will also be busy.

My suggestion is to look at the tour route and see what is important for you to actually get off and visit.

Right now, of course, the tours are not running. No one knows what the schedule will be in August or the frequency of buses.

We had a poor experience with the "Green Bus." Very long wait times. Several competitor's buses came while we waited at the Guiness Storehouse. Possibly an isolated issue. Just saying...

I thank all the good advice I have received here. Maybe the HO Ho is not a good idea. I talked to hubby last night and what we think we want to do is get a cab or something to Dublin Castle and to St Pats Cathedral. That are our 2 must sees. Then he can spend the rest of the day pub hopping.. It is Ireland after all and his last name is Doyle.

Does this sound like a good idea? and does anyone knw of St Pats and the Castle are close to each other? If possible we might do a distillery if close by.. But hubby can just buy his drinks in pubs no need for tour freebees.

Michelle

St. Patrick's is about 10-15 minute walk (depending on how fast you walk) from Dublin Castle. You will pass Christchurch Catherdral on the way. From St. Patrick's it's about a 10 minute walk to the Teelings Distillery.

The entire HOHO tour takes about two hours. You could take it to the Dublin Castle stop. Get off to see Dublin Castle, walk to St. Patrick's (it may be faster than waiting for the HOHO bus) and then walk to the Teelings Distillery. The HOHO bus stops at Teelings Distillery so you could pick it up there and take it until you come to the stop where you originally boarded.

This is the company I went with. City Sightseeing has HOHO buses all over the world.

https://city-sightseeing.com/en/50/dublin

I like franks suggestions. Seems like we saw both st pat's and christ church and may have walked the outer walls at the castle.... I remember a Canon.