Travel Diaries: Ireland
I've gotten a few requests for a more in depth itinerary and tips for Ireland so here it is! We really weren't in Ireland that long so I feel like I can't give it a comprehensive and fair assessment but I will tell you what we did and my opinions on it all!
First of all I'll start by saying we did have a great time, however, as I feel like it is with most places you go when they've been hyped up a lot we were a bit underwhelmed by Dublin... That being said we still had a great time and we had the best time exploring a bit of the Atlantic Coast and Galway. We got to Dublin at night on a Monday so didn't have time to do much of anything. But we did appreciate the ease of the Airport Express Flyer straight from the airport to multiple stops throughout the city (at just 7 Euros one way, 12 Euros round trip). But do check the timetable on the Dublin Airport website in advance so you don't make the mistake we did in buying a round trip ticket and not being able to use it for the return journey.
For our first full day in Dublin we had booked tickets for 9:30am at Trinity College, Book of Kells. I booked (in advance on line so we had no wait when we got there) 9:30am because I'd read that it can get really crowded and unpleasant so we went right when it opened and while it was still crowded it wasn't unbearable. We spent about 45 minutes exploring the exhibit and the long room in the library (the famous room that you're picturing when I said Book of Kells). Afterwards we explored the rest of the campus and then went on our way to see all we could of Dublin. We wandered down Grafton Street and had a blast popping into the shops and getting some Butler's Chocolate on the way. At the end of Grafton St is St. Stephen's Green which is a really nice, picturesque little park where we stopped to relax and take in the views. Right off St. Stephen's Green there is a row of museums (and they're all free!) so we stopped to get a break from the wind and found ourselves in the National Gallery of Ireland which had magnificent artwork by Irish artists. After walking around the museum for just a few minutes we were starving so we decided to walk towards The Brazen Head Pub for lunch.
On the way to The Brazen Head from the museums we passed (and stopped to take pictures by) the Molly Malone Statue, Dublin Castle, St. Patrick's Cathedral, and Christ Church Cathedral. A bit of a more historic walk than what we're used to on the way to lunch in the U.S. After an exhausting morning seeing a good bit of Dublin we sat for a long lunch in The Brazen Head. It is said to be the oldest pub in Dublin and is definitely a tourist attraction but the food was still good and you do get the traditional Irish pub experience (but you do pay big bucks for it). After getting Guinness in a water glass and water in a Guinness glass we were ready to check into our hostel and take a quick nap before the rest of the day.
We stayed right next to the Jameson Distillery and it was a fantastic area to stay. Plenty of places to eat nearby, really walkable to all the attractions, and right on the tram line. From our hostel we walked to Phoenix Park which has a nice obelisk (much shorter than the Washington Monument though) and plenty of nice long walks. The main reason we went and walked halfway through the massive park was to see the U.S. Embassy which is a must-do for me in every city I go to. Otherwise there's not much reason to go through Phoenix Park unless you're looking for a quite place to go on a stroll. After the long walk we got on the Luas Tram system to try to go down to a lighthouse by the ports but we got on the wrong one and ended up in an apartment complex... so if you do want to see any lighthouses make sure to research where to take the Luas to in order to access it! After our full day seeing all there is to see in Dublin we got food near our hostel and went to bed early in preparation for the long day we had ahead of us.
I've said it before and I'll say it again, I LOVE Viator tours. It's all thanks to my Grandparents when they told me about it for the first time when I went to Switzerland. Before I go on every trip I check to see if there are any good Viator trips to go on. We'd known we wanted to go to the Cliffs of Moher so we combed through all the options on Viator and picked one that had 75 minutes in Galway as well so we could see another Irish city. We had such an amazing time on this trip, I could not recommend it enough. We had plenty of time at the Cliffs, then our driver took us to a classic Irish pub in Doolin, then stopped for pictures at another point on the Wild Atlantic Way, then a trip to an Irish chocolate factory, and then on to Galway for an hour. Galway was definitely worth the stop as well! We walked down the cobbled streets listening to street music and found ourselves down by the water. After taking a few pictures there we found the cutest tea place and stopped to have a cup of tea. If you ever stop there it's called Cupan Tae, An Original Irish Tea Shop, you must try the Dreamy Creamy Galway Tea. I was there with a total non-tea drinker (he had a great hot chocolate) and even he enjoyed the tea (so bring me back some too). Our guide taught us all about the history of Ireland on the way and played classic Irish folk songs. A lot of what we did wasn't in our itinerary but I find that often times on Viator tours they get locals who really want to make your experience as great as they can so he took a lot of liberty to make our stops all worth while! After the exhausting day we got back to Dublin in time for dinner and wondered down to Temple Bar which is a charming little area in central Dublin and we grabbed dinner from there.
Our favorite part by far was the day trip to Cliffs of Moher, but we were super excited to have done everything we wanted to during our short time in Dublin. Let me know if there's any other details you want to know about and I hope you enjoy the pictures as much as we do!
First of all I'll start by saying we did have a great time, however, as I feel like it is with most places you go when they've been hyped up a lot we were a bit underwhelmed by Dublin... That being said we still had a great time and we had the best time exploring a bit of the Atlantic Coast and Galway. We got to Dublin at night on a Monday so didn't have time to do much of anything. But we did appreciate the ease of the Airport Express Flyer straight from the airport to multiple stops throughout the city (at just 7 Euros one way, 12 Euros round trip). But do check the timetable on the Dublin Airport website in advance so you don't make the mistake we did in buying a round trip ticket and not being able to use it for the return journey.
For our first full day in Dublin we had booked tickets for 9:30am at Trinity College, Book of Kells. I booked (in advance on line so we had no wait when we got there) 9:30am because I'd read that it can get really crowded and unpleasant so we went right when it opened and while it was still crowded it wasn't unbearable. We spent about 45 minutes exploring the exhibit and the long room in the library (the famous room that you're picturing when I said Book of Kells). Afterwards we explored the rest of the campus and then went on our way to see all we could of Dublin. We wandered down Grafton Street and had a blast popping into the shops and getting some Butler's Chocolate on the way. At the end of Grafton St is St. Stephen's Green which is a really nice, picturesque little park where we stopped to relax and take in the views. Right off St. Stephen's Green there is a row of museums (and they're all free!) so we stopped to get a break from the wind and found ourselves in the National Gallery of Ireland which had magnificent artwork by Irish artists. After walking around the museum for just a few minutes we were starving so we decided to walk towards The Brazen Head Pub for lunch.
On the way to The Brazen Head from the museums we passed (and stopped to take pictures by) the Molly Malone Statue, Dublin Castle, St. Patrick's Cathedral, and Christ Church Cathedral. A bit of a more historic walk than what we're used to on the way to lunch in the U.S. After an exhausting morning seeing a good bit of Dublin we sat for a long lunch in The Brazen Head. It is said to be the oldest pub in Dublin and is definitely a tourist attraction but the food was still good and you do get the traditional Irish pub experience (but you do pay big bucks for it). After getting Guinness in a water glass and water in a Guinness glass we were ready to check into our hostel and take a quick nap before the rest of the day.
We stayed right next to the Jameson Distillery and it was a fantastic area to stay. Plenty of places to eat nearby, really walkable to all the attractions, and right on the tram line. From our hostel we walked to Phoenix Park which has a nice obelisk (much shorter than the Washington Monument though) and plenty of nice long walks. The main reason we went and walked halfway through the massive park was to see the U.S. Embassy which is a must-do for me in every city I go to. Otherwise there's not much reason to go through Phoenix Park unless you're looking for a quite place to go on a stroll. After the long walk we got on the Luas Tram system to try to go down to a lighthouse by the ports but we got on the wrong one and ended up in an apartment complex... so if you do want to see any lighthouses make sure to research where to take the Luas to in order to access it! After our full day seeing all there is to see in Dublin we got food near our hostel and went to bed early in preparation for the long day we had ahead of us.
I've said it before and I'll say it again, I LOVE Viator tours. It's all thanks to my Grandparents when they told me about it for the first time when I went to Switzerland. Before I go on every trip I check to see if there are any good Viator trips to go on. We'd known we wanted to go to the Cliffs of Moher so we combed through all the options on Viator and picked one that had 75 minutes in Galway as well so we could see another Irish city. We had such an amazing time on this trip, I could not recommend it enough. We had plenty of time at the Cliffs, then our driver took us to a classic Irish pub in Doolin, then stopped for pictures at another point on the Wild Atlantic Way, then a trip to an Irish chocolate factory, and then on to Galway for an hour. Galway was definitely worth the stop as well! We walked down the cobbled streets listening to street music and found ourselves down by the water. After taking a few pictures there we found the cutest tea place and stopped to have a cup of tea. If you ever stop there it's called Cupan Tae, An Original Irish Tea Shop, you must try the Dreamy Creamy Galway Tea. I was there with a total non-tea drinker (he had a great hot chocolate) and even he enjoyed the tea (so bring me back some too). Our guide taught us all about the history of Ireland on the way and played classic Irish folk songs. A lot of what we did wasn't in our itinerary but I find that often times on Viator tours they get locals who really want to make your experience as great as they can so he took a lot of liberty to make our stops all worth while! After the exhausting day we got back to Dublin in time for dinner and wondered down to Temple Bar which is a charming little area in central Dublin and we grabbed dinner from there.
Our favorite part by far was the day trip to Cliffs of Moher, but we were super excited to have done everything we wanted to during our short time in Dublin. Let me know if there's any other details you want to know about and I hope you enjoy the pictures as much as we do!
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| Trinity College, Dublin |
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| Trinity College, Dublin |
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| Trinity College, Dublin |
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| Grafton Street, Dublin |
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| St. Stephen's Green, Dublin |
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| St. Stephen's Green, Dublin |
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| National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin |
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| Molly Malone Statue, Dublin |
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| Dublin Castle |
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| St. Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin |
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| Pretty doors in Dublin |
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| Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin |
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| Oldest Pub in Dublin |
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| The Brazen Head pub, Dublin |
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| The Brazen Head pub, Dublin |
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| The Brazen Head, Dublin |
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| The Brazen Head, Dublin |
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| Phoenix Park, Dublin |
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| Phoenix Park, Dublin |
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| Dublin |
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| Jameson Distillery, Dublin |
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| Grafton St, Dublin |
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| Temple Bar, Dublin |
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| Cliffs of Moher |
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| Cliffs of Moher |
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| Cliffs of Moher |
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| Drive to Galway |
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| Rainbow in Ireland |
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| Pub in Doolin, Ireland |
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| Cliffs of Moher |
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| Doolin, Ireland |
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| Chocolate Factory on way to Galway, Ireland |
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| Wild Atlantic Way, Ireland |
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| Tea shop in Galway |
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| Tea shop in Galway |
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| Galway |
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| Galway |
Sabrina, here's hoping that you are truly cherishing these opportunities to see extraordinary sites! I sit beside your mama in our office and I don't think you need me to remi d you how amazing she is! I am currently planning a trip to Cinque Terra, Italy. Have you been?
ReplyDeleteMosey7
Thanks so much! We were there briefly, I'll do an Italy post soon and include what we saw of Cinque Terre!
DeleteYour additional info on Dublin was very informative I have added it to my itinerary. Thanks and 💖
ReplyDeleteGood! So glad I could help!!
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