What to do in Dublin?

[Eli_6]

There are no excursions offered by the ship for Dublin.  Further, it will be on my birthday.  What do you recommend to do?

[MAVIP]

9 hours ago, Eli_6 said:

There are no excursions offered by the ship for Dublin.  Further, it will be on my birthday.  What do you recommend to do?

JMO: Book of Kells and Trinity are an absolute "must see".  You can book tickets online.

[tony s]

Guinness Brewery 

[Clairescurtains]

The Hoho bus is good. If you aren't a beer drinker the brewery is a huge waste of time. The Book of Kells is interesting as is the whole area in which it is housed.

 

[WatchHill]

The HoHo bus is a great way to get an overview of the city, but be sure to get one with live narration. We did the brewery, not a beer fan, interesting but very crowded, especially the observation floor atop the brewery.  Trying to get back on the HoHo after the tour was impossible - landed up hailing a cab. We enjoyed the Book of Kells and wandering the university area, as well as Trinity. During one of our trips to Dublin, we caught a brief downpour and wandered into a small  museum on Kildare St., very interesting Celtic history.  We've walked along the river, stopped at a few pubs, and dined at various restaurants. Temple Bar district hs unique shops.

 

Darcy                                                                    

Edited June 29, 2022 by WatchHill

[CarolatSea]

7 hours ago, WatchHill said:

The HoHo bus is a great way to get an overview of the city, but be sure to get one with live narration. We did the brewery, not a beer fan, interesting but very crowded, especially the observation floor atop the brewery.  Trying to get back on the HoHo after the tour was impossible - landed up hailing a cab. We enjoyed the Book of Kells and wandering the university area, as well as Trinity. During one of our trips to Dublin, we caught a brief downpour and wandered into a small  museum on Kildare St., very interesting Celtic history.  We've walked along the river, stopped at a few pubs, and dined at various restaurants. Temple Bar district hs unique shops.

 

Darcy                                                                    

Hi, Darcy,

What time of year and day did you have crowd issues at Guinness? We will be there Wednesday, September 28, and I was hoping to go with my Guiness-loving hubby.  Thanks!

[WatchHill]

1 hour ago, CarolatSea said:

Hi, Darcy,

What time of year and day did you have crowd issues at Guinness? We will be there Wednesday, September 28, and I was hoping to go with my Guiness-loving hubby.  Thanks!

It was mid-May for the side trip to the brewery. We went there a bit after the noon hour. Given it's a popular tourist draw, it may be busy at other times, too. 

 

Darcy

[gnome12]

Google it, and scroll down to popular times to get an idea of when it is busiest (hours snd days of the week). 

[Clairescurtains]

If I remember correctly [it has been a few years] the brewery was an upward spiraling ramp with no easy way to exit until you reached the top floor which was basically a huge bar with nice city views. 

[Eli_6]

I have no interest in the brewery, but I am a HUGE history buff. Currently working on my MSC in History.  

[tony s]

Kilmannion Gaol and the General Post Office. These are important sites in Irish history 

[VMax1700]

19 hours ago, tony s said:

Kilmannion Gaol and the General Post Office. These are important sites in Irish history 

Kilmainham Gaol !

https://kilmainhamgaolmuseum.ie/

[tony s]

6 hours ago, VMax1700 said:

Kilmainham Gaol !

https://kilmainhamgaolmuseum.ie/

My apologies,blame the American auto correct on my device!

[VMax1700]

2 hours ago, tony s said:

My apologies,blame the American auto correct on my device!

🤣  Just that there is a place called Kilmannon which is about 100 miles south of Kilmainham 😉

[GloriaF]

Book of Kells, Trinity College would be my choice.  Make reservations ahead.

[ontheweb]

2 hours ago, GloriaF said:

Book of Kells, Trinity College would be my choice.  Make reservations ahead.

I second that. Maybe it has changed, but when we went there straight from the ship and they had not opened yet, we just got in a not too long line and were among the first ones in.

[paulandjoyce]

Pre pandemic - no cabs come to the port unless you have the Dublin taxi app 

If you don’t - you need to use the ships shuttle 

go to the famous street with temple bar, have a Guinness and listen to the music 

the book of kells was nice and we booked on-line 

the art Museum impressionist gallery is lovely and think it was free 

walking the streets is the best 

tons to do 

[ontheweb]

Just remembered what we did other than the Book of Kells. DW, who is usually not a shopper, spent a lot of time buying sweaters both for herself and her Mother.

[MeHeartCruising]

I found Kilmainham Gaol and the General Post Office most interesting.  The guided tour of the Gaol is very well done to tell the story of what happened there.   The Book of Kells was also well worth viewing (read about it first and/or take the time to read the exhibit annotations, otherwise you likely won’t appreciate it).   I found the Guinness Brewery tour uneventful.  Mostly product marketing.  Save your money and buy your Guinness at a local pub.  Much more fun. 

[RNCheryl]

If you are in the St. Stephens Green area, have a beer/whisky at the Cocktail Bar 23 at the Merion Hotel.  You will not be disappointed.

[irvington]

We enjoyed the Book of Kells and the whole Trinity College area. We got tickets in advance. We didn't plan far enough in advance to go to the Gaol - it was sold out like 2 or 3 weeks in advance. Just FYI. We went to EPIC the Emigration Museum and were underwhelmed. Next time I want to do the Post Office for Easter Rising history. Walking around was very fun too, interesting small shops and restaurants, etc.

[MICHE99]

On 6/29/2022 at 10:11 AM, WatchHill said:

The HoHo bus is a great way to get an overview of the city, but be sure to get one with live narration. We did the brewery, not a beer fan, interesting but very crowded, especially the observation floor atop the brewery.  Trying to get back on the HoHo after the tour was impossible - landed up hailing a cab. We enjoyed the Book of Kells and wandering the university area, as well as Trinity. During one of our trips to Dublin, we caught a brief downpour and wandered into a small  museum on Kildare St., very interesting Celtic history.  We've walked along the river, stopped at a few pubs, and dined at various restaurants. Temple Bar district hs unique shops.

 

Darcy                                                                    

Darcy,

Were you on a group tour or on your own? TIA

[WatchHill]

3 hours ago, MICHE99 said:

Darcy,

Were you on a group tour or on your own? TIA

I booked the HoHo bus online before we left home, keeping a copy of the booking confirmation with us. Not a fan of group tours.

 

Darcy

[WESTEAST]

We too booked tickets online for Trinity College to avoid lines. The Books of Kells was very interesting and the The Long Room is just stunning!  We then walked along the River Liffey to the Temple Bar area and had an Irish Coffee. After, we stopped in at Christ Church Cathedral and St. Patrick's. Great day.

[lullable]

Kilmainham Jail is super. Great guided tour. Plenty of history. And not far to walk from the Suir Road stop on the Red Luas Tram line from the city centre.

 

I've done the Guinness tour twice. I was highly underwhelmed for the first tour. But a few years ago I revisited on St Patricks Day 2017 and the Incredible Guinness Tour on 17 March does not in any way shape nor form resemble anything like the standard tour on the other 364 days of the year.

Unless you are in town on St Patricks Day, I would say go to one of the older pubs in town for a pint of the black stuff - maybe O'Donoghues in Merrion Row or The Stags Head in Dame Court.

 

Also there is a small quirky museum on St Stephens Green near The Shelbourne Hotel - Its called The Little Museum of Dublin. Definitely book the guided Tour - and If you are there on the weekend, they also do a walking tour of St Stephens Green - It only happens once in the morning 11am, I think. They call it the Green Mile. The guides are fabulous. Pre-book as it sells out quickly.