We’re leaving before St Patrick’s Day. Yes I understand that the weather is probably gonna be bad but thems the breaks.
Friends recommended renting a car and we’ve been saving eating and sightseeing places that look good but would like to get some recommendations from others.
Thank you kindly
Make sure you go to the Hill of Tara and nearby passage tombs. My wife and I just did a great guided tour with Irish Day Tours. Our guide ruled. Otherwise, Dublin is a great city to spend days walking around, hopping on buses and the Luas. Go to Kilmainham Gaol and see the Book of Kells.
We stayed in Howth, a suburb on a northern peninsula of the bay. If you have the chance, ride the DART there. Walk out onto the pier. Breathe the sea air.
Then, head up main street. Do it on foot if you'd like some exercise or take the 6/H3 bus to the top. From there, go to the cliff's edge. It's beautiful.
Finish your time in Howth by going to Mamó, back down by the water. It's a spectacular little restaurant. Get reservations a day or two in advance. We had our fifth anniversary dinner there and it was one of the best meals I've ever eaten. Finally, right next to the train station is a very cool tea house with wacky decor and a huge patio. Get the white tea.
EDIT: DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES RENT A CAR! TRAVEL EXCLUSIVELY BY FOOT, BIKE, BUS, AND TRAIN! HEED MY WARNING!
This is great. Thank you.
I understand about the car and I’m already dreading parking. We would only be using it to leave Dublin do a partial lap of the island then drop it off when we get back to Dublin since we won’t need it there
I promise you you'll have a better and cheaper time if you travel the island via train. Irish Rail pales in comparison to mainland Europe but it in turn absolutely obliterates US rail. You'll think you're in heaven. I see elsewhere you mentioned Galway. The Dublin-Galway train is super nice and drops you off right in Galway's city center. We took it and loved it, then took a group bus up to Cliffs of Moher (no guided tour, just a bus). The drive up there is fucking stressful and I wouldn't want to do it myself. Ultimately you gotta do you, but our trip (also 8 days, in November so also crappy weather) was massively improved by never, ever needing to drive. And we saved like $1000. That train ride both ways for 2 people was only 65 euro.
I can imagine that narrow roads and right hand driving plus bad weather will make it miserable. I saw that the train is only 20 minutes slower than driving from Dublin to Galway too. If we can take relatively quick / low effort public transport then we’ll go with that.
As we finalize plans, we’ll see what need a car would actually fill where a bus, train or cab wouldn’t. My main concern is the ability to just stop at a random place, off the beaten path for sights and food. Parking is usually the worst aspect of driving in other countries.
Thank you for all of your tips! I’m glad I posted this question here. :stalin-approval: