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How many days in Dublin?

In May we’ll be flying into Dublin, and want to build in some time there prior to the start of a 2 week trip across Ireland. The 2 weeks are almost completely planned, but the Dublin stay is still a bit of a question mark. How many nights should we plan for? We were initially thinking 4, but are now wondering whether that’s too much time?

We’ll likely be arriving early in the morning after a red eye flight. Customarily we spend much of our post-flight day walking around and looking at sights, but don’t attempt to do much touring. So that’s one whole day, but only kinda-sorta. We’ll be taking a train to Galway the morning of either day 4 (3 full days in Dublin, including the kinda-sorta day) or day 5 (4 full days in Dublin including the kinda-sorta day).

We’ve been to Dublin before, and spent about 3 days, but it was almost 15 years ago, and we were traveling with an 11 year old, which somewhat limited what we saw and did. Just adults this time around. I’m thinking a good walking tour/history tour would be great; a visit to Trinity College and the book of Kells; maybe a museum or two? I’d like to revisit Kilmainham Gaol and visit the Guinness Brewery, even though it’s a tourist trap. We definitely want to visit pubs and listen to music in the evenings. I’m not really interested in taking day trips from Dublin— on our last visit we did a fantastic full day hiking trip in the Wicklow Mountains— because we’ll be doing a fair amount of touring scenic places on the remainder of the trip.

I’d love itinerary suggestions as well as your opinions about how many days we should plan to stay. Thanks!

Posted by
417 posts

I would say take as many days as you can. There is always something to see/do in Dublin. New since you were there is EPIC, the emigration museum. I found it very engaging. The dock area to the east of EPIC is all newly developed and a great place to stroll and/or grab a bite to eat.
I'm not much for museums, but I did enjoy the National Archeology Museum because of the bog bodies, mainly.
One activity I very much enjoyed last summer was riding the tea bus. The tour aspect was fairly light on commentary but the bus went all the way out to Phoenix Park, and the food was very nice. https://www.vintageteatrips.ie My friend I did it for our lunch.
If you're not otherwise planning to visit Newgrange, that is a good day trip from Dublin. I know you said you didn't want to day trip, but it really is worth seeing.

Posted by
3226 posts

What airport are you flying home from? If you’re flying home from Dublin save Dublin for the end of your trip not the beginning. You can take a direct bus from the airport to Galway (3h)
While in Dublin take a tour to Brú na Bóinne for a half day, it’s worth it.

Posted by
2279 posts

If you've never been to Newgrange, then it is well worth thinking about adding that to the list. Mary Gibbons tours come highly recommended. (If you don't want to do a tour, you will need to prebook tickets. They are released 30 days in advance and do book upo quickly.

Posted by
8 posts

A few things you could consider in Dublin from a 3 time American visitor over the last few years:
* Highly recommend the Literary Pub Crawl (https://www.dublinpubcrawl.com/ ) and the Musical Pub Crawl (https://www.musicalpubcrawl.com/ ). Both were very entertaining and gave some inside info with the local guides.
* Pat Liddy walking tour (https://www.walkingtours.ie/ ). Well worth the time to take a walk off the beaten path; great historical and local interest.
* Brazen Head Pub (https://brazenhead.com/ ), the oldest pub in Ireland, had a great "storytelling" activity of folklore and fairies led by a local in the upstairs room. https://irishfolktours.com/
* The Irish Rock & Roll Museum was not crowded and very interesting: https://irishrocknrollmuseum.com/ . And, the Little Museum just off the Green had amazing U2 memorabilia if you are into that music: https://www.littlemuseum.ie/
*Lastly, the pub scene overall is amazing. Even though Temple Bar is too touristy, we caught a soccer game at one of the pubs there and had a great time. Our personal favorites were Davy Byrnes Pub and Kennedy Bar across the street from historical Sweny's Bookstore.

Have a great trip!