My sister and I will be traveling in/out of Dublin for 1 week in mid-September. This is our first time to Ireland and we are not renting a car. Trying to be realistic, I am wondering if we can travel to other areas/cities without a car or should we concentrate on all the Dublin sites? Some one mentioned a train to Belfast. Can this be done in one day or should we plan to stay up there? Thank you for any direction or recommendations.
Posted by
cincinnati, ohio, usa
129 posts
i would take a day trip on the tram from dublin just down the coast to bray...it's a very inexpensive ticket and maybe just a 1/2 hour train ride...bray is a small seaside boardwalk town right on the water...i also recommend finding a small shuttle van tour that will take you into the wicklow mountains to see lough tay-sally's gap-powerscourt-glendalough...it's like another world and all so close to dublin...
Posted by
Edmonton, AB, Canada
668 posts
You can take the DART north to Howth and see the village there. It is small, but quaint. I believe, but did not do a similar trip south to Dun Loghaire or Graystone. The train is relatively fast and not too expensive.
Posted by
Bloomington, IL, USA
9363 posts
If you click on "how to search the helpline" you will find lots of previous recent discussions about day trips from Dublin. Glendalough is a great choice, as is Newgrange.
Posted by
Saskatoon, Canada
45 posts
There are tons of day trips you can take from Dublin, but if you are there a whole week you can go much farther than just day trips as Ireland really isn't that big (i.e., Galway, Cork, etc). Belfast is about a 2.5 hour train ride away (3 hour bus), so it can be done in a day, but would bettter to stay overnight so you aren't rushed (although I disliked Belfast so I would definitely reccomend other places over Belfast for a night. Specifically in the North I liked Derry a lot better). Overall, I did Ireland for 7 weeks without a car and didn't have too many problems so you will be just fine!
Posted by
OP
Bay Point, California, USA
3 posts
Thank you for all the recommendations. I will also check out the "how to search the helpline" for past discussions too.
Posted by
Santa Rosa, CA, USA
1446 posts
We just returned (today) from Ireland. We only did Dublin and one day trip on the train. We did Howth and loved it - it's so picturesque. We were there on a Sunday, and a farmer's market was being held. We had a wonderful "fresh fish" lunch there. We also then took the train down to Dun Laire. Not too crazy about it, but walked the beach from there up to Seaside (I believe it was called). Beautiful beach.
Posted by
New York, NY
319 posts
As others have mentioned, there's lots you can do in/near Dublin without a car. I would concentrate my attention there, and only go farther afield if there's something specific that you are dying to do.
You could do Belfast in one day, but it'd be a bit of a whirlwind. Better to spend the night and head back to Dublin the next day.
If you can let us know what your specific interests are, then we can give you better advice about what's available.