What are some day trips from Dublin?

The two "standard" day trips from Dublin are either to Newgrange (Bru na Boinne) and the Boyne River valley, or to Glendalough and the Wicklow Mountains. Both are great day trips. There are a variety of bus tours that go to either place, and can be either a half-day or a full day, depending on what other areas may be included on the various tours. Tourist Information desks will have lots of information about the various options.

Here are a couple Patty, I don't know anything about either of these companies Glendalough/Kilkenny http://www.collinsdaytours.com/itinerary.html Newgrange/River Boyne/Hill of Tara http://www.newgrangetours.com/ If you take the mainline rail, you can get to any of the main cities, do a bit of touring, and get back, all in the one day. Here's the link for Irish Rail
http://www.irishrail.ie/home/

Great minds think alike Nancy!!!

Thanks Nancy! Thanks John! John, I am jealous that you like in Dublin! I am excited to see all of the beautiful sites there.

I'm just hoping that you have a great holiday here, that the weather stays good for you and that you thoroughly enjoy it, go with the flow and you'll be grand.

Eh, even if you get rained on, you're getting rained on in Ireland and not at home! :)

It's also possible to do a day trip by rail to Belfast, Northern Ireland. Really a great place to learn about The Troubles, see the political murals, visit the Botanical Gardens and hit up some of their museums. You won't be able to see it all in just 1 day, but you can get a nice introduction to the city.

As for Belfast, is it better/easier to go by train or tour?

Train is cheaper. You can easily do a Black Cab tour or the Hop-On/Hop-Off double decker Tour Bus once you get to Belfast if you want some guided narration of what you are seeing.

We chose a Newgrange/Boyne Valley tour with Bus Eirenn. We purchased our tickets the afternoon before at the bus station downtown. The tour was great, paced well, and a good value. It also included the Hill of Tara. The driver was informative (there wasn't a guide) and gave clear explanations of where to go and what to do at each stop. I would have loved to do the Glendalough tour with them also but haven't had a chance yet.

I would most definitely recommend Wicklow/Glendalough. My husband and I visited Ireland for 2 weeks over the summer, and this was a particular highlight for us. If you can make it, it is lovely and well worth your time, in my opinion. We didn't use a tour company, so I can't recommend a particular one. Even if the weather isn't cooperating, if you dress for it, it shouldn't be too much of a problem.

Mary Gibbons tour to Newgrange is very worth while. If you have time, you should also definitely find the time to do Glendalough.
I booked my Mary Gibbons tour to Newgrange through the Dublin Tourist Info Centre. You could book a Glenalough tour here too.

We did a day trip to Powerscourt, which is about a 50 minute car rdie outside of Dublin. You have to visit Powerscourt Waterfall, which is a natural wonder. You can hike there, or you can have a picnic lunch, it was a highlight. Then you drive over to Powerscourt Estate and Gardens, simply wonderful. We were there at the end of September, the gardens were enchanting! Make sure to see both areas.