Anyone had experience with taxis in Dublin? How do you know if they are being honest about the price? And is it a base price and then so much more per person? Are there lots of them? Easy to find? Do you just walk out of the Gaol, the Storehouse or the National Museum of Archaeology and they are there like in New York City?
Thanks.
Unless you have mobility problems I would anticipate walking virtually everywhere except the Gaol. The Storehouse is a little further out but everything else is within a couple mile radius. Dublin is a small city for the touristy sites and while we had an extra day on our bus and tram pass we never actually had occasion to use it. I would be surprised if taxis weren't tightly controlled in the city but the traffic in Dublin could make even small distances expensive by taxi and I would plan on using public transportation. I would just spring for the tourist transit pass and use it if you feel like it.
We saw Christchurch, the Dublin Castle, the University, the Archaeology Museum (amazing BTW), the Irish heritage research center and all the other sights just walking around. The great thing is we also stumbled across interesting places and really got a feel for the city. We didn't see the Gaol but everyone says it is well served by mass transit and easy to get to.
I realize I didn't answer your question directly hopefully that helps.
Have a great trip,
=Tod
The golden rule on taxis is make sure the machine is on and read the guide lines for the rates (in the evenings the rates really go up) you can usually find these somewhere in the back. Lastly make sure the taxi driver has a taxi drivers licenses (I forget the legal wording) you want to make sure they are legally working for a taxi company (some of the taxis in Dublin don't have this). Mostly though the taxi drivers are honest when it comes to Ireland, I will say that the only flat rates that I saw came from getting a taxi through a Hotel, going out to the Airport.
Oh, lastly since Ireland had to open its job market to Poland and other Eastern European countries, you are now finding more and more Non-Irish taxi drivers. In some of the taxi lines you will see some Irish pass up taxis because of this, it doesn't mean the driver isn't good. I've taken Polish Taxi Drivers, the only thing is you may have to hand them the address for the place over just saying the name of the place.
Dublin's hop-on-hop-off sightseeing bus tours can be a convenient way to connect the sites, running 4x/hour. If you take a taxi, you should see the meter start running by the time you pull away from the curb.
Totally agree with Laura. The taxis are regulated in Dublin just like in NYC, a flat rate to start and then so much per mile or kilometer. The regulated cabs are again like in NYC with I seem to remember a light or signage on top but not sure. The rates at night only go up about ten percent but the bus Hop on Hop off is best. Would start at furthest place, the Gaol and then work way back to town. Not sure how long you would be there so you need to check prices to see if this is best option for you. We only used public transport without the hop on as we were dropped off by the Gaol and then just took local bus into town. If you do just the local bus you need exact change. FYI, I went to Guiness twice due to people I was traveling with and found it expensive and not worth the time, just my opinion. Do not miss the Gaol, my favorite in Dublin. Before you go, try to watch movie " in the name of the father" , actually filmed there. Also on YouTube listen to the song "grace" about man who was married in the Gaol just before he was executed there. Whatever you do, enjoy
