Can I do Dublin & London in 7 days?

Either or....if you really want to see London, there are many flights daily between London and Dublin. It's a little over an hour.

If not, there's plenty to see and do in Ireland. It's really a personal preference as you will get people who will suggest both things.

As for how much time in each...you need to decide. Start doing your research and decide how much there is in each city that you want to see. Then decide how long to spend there.

The same is true if you stay in Ireland. Do some research and decide what you want to see. That will give you an idea of how much time to spend in places.

I spent two weeks in London and never found the time to get to Tower or Buckingham Palace! You won't run out of things to do there.

Don't sweat it. Just assume you will be going back to both places someday.

I don't think there's a bad solution to this, any way you want to do it! Dublin is compact, and there are lots of day trips to take from there if you want to fill out a week. I haven't been to London, but I imagine that it could fill a week, easily. If you are intent to do both, I'd do 3 days in Dublin and 4 in London.

If you decide on London, I would do two days in Dublin and the rest in London. London is bigger and has way more things to see. It's a great city. The best parts of Ireland are outside of Dublin.

If you want to do both, then I agree with Carroll, two days in Dublin and the rest in London. Dublin is easy to do in two days, and London has much more to see. You could fly to London when you arrive in Dublin, then spend your two days in Dublin before you fly home. On the other hand, if you have a desire to see Ireland, I would stay there. Figure you can always go to London another time. I still wouldn't spend more than two days in Dublin.

2 days.... 1 jetlagged day and 2 days.... it's all the same, right? :D

I thought 3 would be better to have one relax day to recover from the flight and to get oriented. Also, I recently just spent about 36 hours in Dublin and I can't wait to go back and spend more time there!

Great advice everyone! Its just so hard to decide, as I have the tendancy to want to do so much in one trip and I don't want to miss anything...yet the rational side of me knows I can and will very likely go back. It may just have to come down to flipping a coin!

Since you're flying into Dublin, why not spend the week in Ireland? It's a short flight to London, but when you only have a week, why waste any of it on a plane? Better to spend the week exploring Dublin and its environs. There is plenty to do to occupy your time.

Of course, in the end the choice is yours. But I wonder if you'll feel like you didn't really get to fully experience either place if you try to do both.

I think Michael is right. See Ireland. Go to London on your next trip when you'll have more time and can do day trips from London.

I'm not a huge fan of Dublin, though it does have some interesting sights. But the small towns and countryside in Ireland are wonderful.

I think you would like London much better then Dublin, I would spend my time in London. The countryside of Ireland is fantastic, you would enjoy it. But if you decide to spend your time only in the city then I would spend most of the time in London and a day or two in Dublin. Whatever you decide have a great trip. Let us know what you do.

Hey Julie,

I agree with the other posts. If you are hoping for the Auld Sod and diddley diddley music in Dublin you will be disappointed. It is a high tech center with a heavy Asian and Eastern European influence (although many are now going home with the economic downturn). In Dublin itself a hike up Grafton Street, a stroll and a beer in Temple Bar, and a peek at the Book of Kells and you have it covered. Okay, maybe the Guinness brewery. A couple days is plenty. The Ireland we all think of is in the west.

London is easily worth the other five days of your trip. Great theater, history, pubs, shopping and then that whole royalty thing. Of the major world capitals, London is most like New York and worth as much time as you can give it. Dublin is like Portland with a drinking problem.

You can always take the ferry to Holyhead in Wales, then a train into London. You can get it round trip for 55GBP. Takes about 8 hours total travel and wait times in between the train and the ferry, but you pass by a castle and other neat scenery.

http://www.seat61.com/Ireland.htm

I spent 3 days in Dublin and thought it was too much time. I also took a day trip out into the Irish countryside during that trip, which I would definitely recommend. I would do maybe 2 days in Dublin, 1 day out in the country, and the rest in London. I studied in London for 5 months, and still didn't see everything. The more time you have for London, the better. It has a lot to offer.

Many people have suggested that true Ireland lies outside Dublin. That being said, which villages/towns would you recommend visiting (and that is also accessible by public transpotation aka no cars)

So far, my search has come up with Kilkenny, Dingle.

I can spend at most 3-4 days in the countryside, which ones truly reflect Ireland and that does not have European/Asian influence?

Thank you!

I have gone to London for the past 2 years and am going again this year as well as going to Dublin. I was in London for 8 days the 3 years ago before going on to York and Scotland and found that I wasn't able to see everything that I had wanted to see, I went back last year and still did not see all the sites that I had missed the year before and am going back this year for a couple of days before going to Winchester and then Dublin; even then I know that I will not make it to everything I want to see. if you are wanting to just look at the exteriors of the famous building then I would say it is possible, but I agree with others who have said to try and do one this year and one next, or do 5 days in London and 2 in Dublin [air from London to Dublin is dirt cheap they have many airlines that have £5-£25 fares and they leave almost every hour, so it is really convenient]. For London I recommend getting an Oyster pass they are refillable transit cards and they are so much easier than carting around £ coins, I have had the same one for 3 years now and they never expire. Also I recommend getting a historic Royal Palaces membership got the 2 person one and it paid for itself with one trip to the Tower of London, it also allows you entrance to several palaces including Kensington, Kew and Whitehall.

Cheers
Elaine

Judy,

It's very difficult to truly enjoy the Irish countryside without a car. Can you rent a car, or save the countryside for a future trip when you can rent a car? If not, then I'd look into tours that will take you to the west coast.

Dingle is a great place to spend a few days. The Ring of Kerry and Killarney Nat. Park (though not the town itself) are magnificent. Kinsale is a great little town on the south coast with scenery, history, and great food. The Rock of Cashel is a great site if you like history, churches and old ruins. And County Clare is famour for the Cliffs of Moher, the Burren, and traditional Irish music.

We just a week ago returned from 3 weeks in England, Wales and Ireland. Our Ireland trip was primarily in Dublin. On one day we took DART (train) along the coast, and it was delightful. I hadn't intended to go to Howth, but the train for that destination was leaving when we got there, so we went and it was a great choice. Small seaside town - very picturesque - wonderful fresh fish! Fun Sunday market. Then we took the train south and walked along the beautiful beach - weather was great.