I will be in Dublin 5 days with two other people. We don't want to rent a car in nov. Weather. But want to take at least one day trip out of the city. Where can we go and how can we get there to maximize seeing a great deal in the short time we have without driving a car.
We do want to make sure we get to see quaint towns and, or castles or large estates.
Nort to Newgrange. South to Powerscourt and Glendalough. Both these trips will tick all your boxes
Nort to Newgrange. South to Powerscourt and Glendalough. Both these trips will tick all your boxes
For the two options the poster listed, you can take organized bus trips from the city. Go to the TI next to Dublin Castle for information.
Go to www.railtoursireland.com or www.buseireann.ie . I have used both tours and they are fine.
You could also take a train from Dublin to Belfast for the day. It's only a 90 min. trip.
Just something to keep in mind, November weather in Dublin may not be as bad as you think. The highs average in the 50's and it will rain of course but the likelihood of snow is extremely small. I personally think Ireland is much easier to see by car.
One thing to remember is that in the middle of November sunrise is about 8:00 A.M. and sunset at 4:30, so your daylight hours are somewhat limited. I took a trip to the Giants Causeway a few years ago on Nov. 13 and the weather was gorgeous. I was in Donegal this May, north of Derry, and it was windy, cold and far worse than the weather in November. I always go expecting the weather to be nasty and when it isn't I am thrilled.
My husband and I rented a car in november when we went to Ireland and didn't have any problems. We found that the city itself didn't offer much for us, as we don't enjoy museums. I am so glad we rented a car. There are so many ruins along the roadsides in that country and you can stop (for free) and walk thru (for free). The weather was a bit rainy but not bad at all. There was a bit of ice on the bushes and sidewalks when we went down to Cork but the roads were fine. We also drove to the Wicklow mountains to hike a bit and stopped over in Glendalough for breakfast and then to see the ruins there. We also drove north of Dublin to visit Bru na Boinne and more ruins. I will warn you driving 2 miles in Dublin will take about 15- to 30 mins! So save your driving for outside the city if you change your mind.