We will have one day near Dublin in early June and it was suggested by an Irish local to add New Grange to our plans. Does anyone have experiences to share or suggestions about whether to join a tour group or just book tickets?
Posted by
Bend, OR
1143 posts
This is a frequent topic on here. We did Mary Gibbons several years ago and thought the day bus tour was well done but if you google Rick Steves forum Newgrange you can probably read a lot of the previous discussions.
Posted by
Citizen of the World
2176 posts
I independently visited Newgrange ( “Bru na Boinne”) just yesterday. The first stop is the new visitor center with fantastic, educational multi-media presentations. There also is a cafe. Then a shuttle bus takes you the last couple miles to the 5,000-year-old Newgrange burial tomb in the beautiful Irish countryside. To see the new Visitor Center Museum and the actual tomb takes about two hours.
Adult admission is €10; seniors are €8. The Express trains taking about 30 minutes from Dublin Connolly train station to Drogheda ( 5 miles from Newgrange) are €12.50 roundtrip. From the train station, local bus #163 departs directly from the Drogheda MacBride train station 5 times daily. The bus also has 5 daily buses returning from Newgrange to the Drogheda MacBride train station. The cost is €2.50 each way. On the way to Newgrange, the bus drives to, but does not stop at, the pastoral Battle of the Boyne site as well.
You can book all-day tours that visit the Boyne Battlefield, Newgrange. and the Knowth burial mound that depart and return to Dublin for about €75. Beginning in March, they begin visiting Knowth— the other burial tomb which you can only see from the outside. (There is no entry into the Knowth burial chamber as there is at Newgrange).
I decided to visit just Newgrange because it really is the star attraction of the region. For the high-season in summer. be sure to book your tickets 30 days in advance in May when June’s tickets first go on sale. Only 15 visitors at a time are taken inside the burial chamber for the visit which lasts about 30 minutes— so time slots sell out. The official website to book tickets is www.HeritageIreland.ie
Have a great trip!
Posted by
Bellingham, WA
499 posts
It's even easier with a car, but you didn't say whether you would have one.
Posted by
OP
9 posts
Thanks for the great advice. We will have a car, coming from Galway on a Thursday morning and staying with a cousin in Dublin on Friday night before flying home from Dublin on Saturday. Knowing the ticketing and time frame for the visit will be very helpful and I will also go back to the forum as one of you suggested. I appreciate all your help! Thanks everyone!