What area of Dublin would you recommend to stay that would be central and/or easy to access most of the attractions?
Does the bus and tram system cover the city very well?
I've been looking to get an idea of prices and they seem expensive for renting in the city.
Any advice?
Dublin is expensive.
We ended up choosing Staycity Aparthotel in 2022. There are several of them. We stayed at the Dublin Castle one, and we thought the location was good. It's right next to Dublin Castle and not far from Christchurch and St. Patrick's Cathedrals. It's also close to Temple Bar, if that interests you.
We didn't use transit; we walked and took a cab ca couple of times, so I can't speak to that.
Our suite in Staycity was small, but it had a bit of a kitchenette and was clean and comfortable.
Yes the LUAS trams, the Dublin bus network and the DART suburban rail cover the city very well.
The bus network especially is very comprehensive.
Depending on where you want to go to you may also need to use the commuter services on Irish Rail.
Buy a Leap Visitor Card at the airport on arrival, it is a multi modal pre paid card for all modes, for however many days you choose.
Pre paid, so like a London Travelcard, as opposed to a stored value card like the London Oyster Card.
It's been a few years, but on our last visit to Dublin we stayed here and liked it very much. Reasonably priced, nice rooms, and well located - It's a 15 minute level walk to St Stephens Green and another few minutes to Grafton Street & the Temple Bar area. There's limited parking but I see that they no longer serve breakfast.
There's a city bus stop right in front of the place, as well as an AirLink bus stop to the airport.
I've stayed in a few different hotels in Dublin.....
Jury's Christchurch--okay
The Davenport--nice
Buswells--never again
Hilton Garden Inn--nice hotel but I prefer staying south of the river.
Bus and tram does a good job of getting you where you need to go. At least where most tourists want to go.
We've stayed in a few hotels when visiting Dublin. My favorite was Ashling Hotel (https://www.ashlinghotel.ie/) It is a bit far from the Temple Bar area or St. Stephen's Green but it is fairly close to Guiness Storehouse and the Jameson Distillery (about 15 min walk to either) and it is close to Phoenix Park. It's a pretty hotel, very clean, great breakfasts, super friendly people and quiet. Would be my first choice when we go again. As I said, it is further from some of the other attractions but we did the Hop On/Hop Off bus one day, which stops in front of the hotel and allowed us to easily see quite a few things without a long walk or cab ride.
Another hotel we stayed in was Hilton Garden Inn Dublin City Centre. That was nice too and a bit more central to the more common tourist attractions.
North of the River Liffey will be less expensive than south and still be within walking distance of Trinity College, Temple Bar, etc. My husband has stayed at Wynn's, https://www.wynnshotel.ie/, multiple times for work and was very happy there until they stopped providing the Irish Times for free (LoL). Despite no longer providing free newspapers it has a lovely breakfast. It is just off of Upper O'Connell St. practically across the street from the GPO and the LUAS stops right in front (blessing and curse since you can hear the tram if you are in the front and on a lower floor). Further north is a Holiday Inn, which seems perfectly nice although I have never stayed there.
Thanks to everyone for your help.
Keep them coming
I have the Buswell ‘s booked for my May trip.
https://www.buswells.ie/en/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=Knowledge_Graph
I know Frank had a negative experience with the housekeeping, but that was pre-Covid and the reviews on Booking.com are currently very good, with an 8.7 rating. I chose the hotel as it is within walking distance from where I have to catch my Rabbie’s tour. And the price was decent. I was looking at some other hotels, but prices are very high for the city center.
We stayed at Buswell’s with the 14-day tour in 2017 and it was great. Planning to stay there again. Old charm, nice breakfast and bar area. Great location to walk to many sites.
We've booked a room at Harding Hotel in Aug., based on good reviews on Booking.com and other sites. Close to Christ Church. If anyone on this forum has stayed there, they can give an actual review. We tend toward less expensive places that are safe and clean, saving our money for food splurges and walking tours.
My friend and I just had our cheap AirBnB (off O'Connell Street) cancelled on us, and the best price we found for what we were looking for (our own bedroom and not sharing a bathroom with anyone but each other) is in student housing on the Trinity College campus. It gets no more central, location wise. It's not a dorm. We will each have an ensuite bedroom in an apartment with 4-6 bedrooms total, so share kitchen and living area (which we likely won't use). It's not for everyone, obviously.
We stayed at the Marker Hotel in the Grand Canal neighborhood. Interesting area and nice walk along the river path into downtown.
