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Dublin in two full days?

M

manlymatt83

Lifer
I might be taking a last minute trip to Dublin. I hear most of the great parts of Ireland are outside the city. Is it possible to do one day in Dublin, and another day outside Dublin somewhere, or is that too much for one trip?

Alternatively, is there enough to do in Dublin for 2.5 days? Maybe a good Guinness? See some scenes/history? Worth it to just go to Galway instead?

Thanks!
 
If you're used to big cities Dublin is...meh. It's just expensive, overpriced food and beer. The train ride from Dublin to Galway is beautiful. The Cliffs are well worth it to see. Just hope you get good weather.
 
That's just enough time for the Guinness brewery and Jameson distillery. I'd probably need a couple more days for everything else.
 
Unless they changed it, the Jameson one was lame. I was there about 10 years ago and it wasn't even a functional distillery. It was more like a small museum with a short tasting at the end. Save your time and money and get a flight of Irish whiskey at one of the pubs near your hotel.

I'm spoiled. I live in bourbon country. I can put my hand in a mash pot and taste distillers beer and walk through the amazing smelling barrel houses near me.
 
vi edit said:
Unless they changed it, the Jameson one was lame. I was there about 10 years ago and it wasn't even a functional distillery. It was more like a small museum with a short tasting at the end. Save your time and money and get a flight of Irish whiskey at one of the pubs near your hotel.

I'm spoiled. I live in bourbon country. I can put my hand in a mash pot and taste distillers beer and walk through the amazing smelling barrel houses near me.
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And the tasting was thimble sized. Quite pathetic and a waste of time.
There are some really nice pubs in Dublin that are worth checking out.
The Brazen Head is cool - oldest pub in Dublin and quite quaint.
I've never spent more than 3 days there. Just bar hop.
 
If you opt to spend a day a little outside of Dublin, definitely do Knowth/New Grange. It's pretty amazing and only like 30 mins away.
 
I'm a big fan of Dublin. A decent amount to do, great people and a decent airport. A little outside the downtown area is Kilmainham Gaol and well worth a visit. St Stephens Green is a great area for a walk if the weather is nice. For what it is (touristy attraction) I think the Guinness storehouse is worth a visit. They actually brew Guinness in each area (country?) they sell it in so there are variations in taste and alcohol content across geographical regions so it will be different than you can get here. The last two times we've been in the city the local choirs, string quartets and I think an opera singer were practicing in Christ Church Cathedral. No idea how regular that it but I feel like if its a somewhat common occurrence you'd have a decent chance catching them practicing for a Christmas performance. And we always have to stop at Leo Burdocks for some fish&chips while we're there.

You can get a decent amount done in Dublin in a day and its a narrow country so its easy to get to Galway (2.5 hours by car). I'm not always a fan of driving while visiting another country since its often not worth it but we typically rent a car when visiting Ireland since a lot of it is pretty rural. The M4 and M6 are pretty easy drives so don't let that deter you. There is also New Grange and the Wicklow mountains closer by

The Dublin airport has a CBP pre-clearance facility so you land in the US as a domestic flight. Means clearing customs is faster but when we transited the airport about 2 years ago there was basically nothing to eat or drink past the US CBP checkpoint other than a few vending machines. So if you're hungry or thirsty you may want to get something before then (But maybe thats changed since then)

vi edit said:
If you're used to big cities Dublin is...meh.
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I think thats a little unfair to Dublin as its not really a big city. It's notably smaller than Louisville KY and Milwaukee and close to Albuquerque.
 
I think Dublin is super easy for two days, depending on what you want to do. Ireland is better experienced outside of Dublin, plus...Dublin is cripplingly expensive.
 
Exterous said:
I think thats a little unfair to Dublin as its not really a big city. It's notably smaller than Louisville KY and Milwaukee and close to Albuquerque.
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When I say big city I mean Chicago or NYC. Dublin is 12,000 people per sq/mile. That's on par with Chicago and Philly. Louisville is 2000 people a sq/mile. Milwaukee is 6,000 sq/mile. It's the walkability, greenspace, and retail setup (small shops, bars, tons of unique restaurants, ect) that make Dublin similar to those two. If you are used to wondering Chicago or NYC then Dublin is just a whiter, Irishy'ier version of those two. 😛
 
vi edit said:
When I say big city I mean Chicago or NYC. Dublin is 12,000 people per sq/mile. That's on par with Chicago and Philly. Louisville is 2000 people a sq/mile. Milwaukee is 6,000 sq/mile. It's the walkability, greenspace, and retail setup (small shops, bars, tons of unique restaurants, ect) that make Dublin similar to those two. If you are used to wondering Chicago or NYC then Dublin is just a whiter, Irishy'ier version of those two. 😛
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NYC? That's like 5x as dense 🙂 And while Chicago is closer I wonder what the density of the loop is vs 'Chicago'. There a significant difference in building height between downtown Dublin and magnificent mile/loop Chicago

Just my personal opinion but downtown Dublin doesn't feel like a big city downtown like Chicago or NYC to me. To each their own though :beercheers:
 
Exterous said:
snip

The Dublin airport has a CBP pre-clearance facility so you land in the US as a domestic flight. Means clearing customs is faster but when we transited the airport about 2 years ago there was basically nothing to eat or drink past the US CBP checkpoint other than a few vending machines. So if you're hungry or thirsty you may want to get something before then (But maybe thats changed since then)

.
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I connected through Dublin in August. No food past the pre-clearance. The business class at the end of the corridor also stinks. I think you can pay to get in - I'd be pissed if I paid.
Oh and you can't bring food beverage through the US customs queue since you have to clear another security line (waste of time).
 
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