K&A’s Adventures in:
Dublin, Ireland
Dublin is a fun city that serves as an excellent gateway to the rest of Europe!
We begin and end a lot of our European adventures in Dublin. It is a great airport with affordable flights from NYC or Philly. It is also easy to find affordable flights from Dublin to the rest of Europe. In addition to the cheap flights, we love that it gives us a great excuse to squeeze in a trip to Galway/The Aran Islands. Dublin airport is easy to navigate and well connected to the city of Dublin by affordable buses.
Dublin is walkable city but be careful of people driving on the lefthand side. You will see the warnings painted at most major intersections and you will still see people look the wrong way and step out in front of traffic. Try your best not to be those tourists.
Our time in Dublin is usually short but we manage to pack a lot of adventure into our brief visits. Like most cities, I suggest wandering around with a couple of destinations in mind but always enjoy an opportunity to get sidetracked.
We usually arrive early in the morning and make our way to city center. If we need to kill time before our favorite coffee shop opens, we will enjoy a quiet stroll around Dublin and find a park to watch the city wake up.
During our 2016 trip, we were on our way to Peruke and Periwig and got to the area about an hour before it opened. St. Stephens Green was close by and the perfect spot for us to kill an hour. The park was fun to walk around and even better suited for a much needed nap in our trusty hammock.
Our nap in the park is the perfect time to bring up the Irish weather patterns or lack thereof. It was a bright and sunny morning as we set up our hammock and then out of nowhere there was a quick burst of small hail. Five minutes later, we were back to sunshine and snoozing in our hammock. Moral of the story is to pack layers with a rain jacket and wait five minutes if you don’t like the weather.
Pro-Tip: We LOVE getting to bars right when the open for the day. It is an amazing way to have the bar to yourself and gather priceless information from the bartender. We arrived early at Peruke and Periwig and the bartender was a wealth of information. He gave us plenty of places to visit and a great cocktail recipe. He also let us go upstairs to see the dining area despite it being closed until later that day. The upstairs is super unique and totally worth a look if you get the chance.
We thoroughly enjoyed the Guinness and Jameson tours. If you have the option to choose to do the Guinness tour on a sunny day, DO IT. If not, don’t fret too much. It is still an amazing tour and the view at the end of the tour is magical even in the cloudy weather. Also, the Guinness is always delicious, no matter the view. Guinness in Ireland is a treat not to be missed. Sitting at a small local pub, drinking a perfectly poured Guinness, and talking to locals is by far the best way to experience Ireland.
While wandering around Dublin, we came upon the Dublin Castle and took time to walk around the Dubh Linn Garden across from the Dublin Castle. The landscaping is beautiful and it is a lovely space for a snack/picnic. We crossed the halfpenny bridge and enjoyed walking alongside the river. We strolled through Temple Bar (day and night) and up and down Grafton Street. We walked over Samuel Beckett Bridge and enjoyed the boats along Grand Canal.
We love 3fe (short for Third Floor Espresso) Canal Street for our first round of coffee. They have incredible tasting and cupping opportunities. They also serve up beautiful lattes and cappuccinos. We have not had their brunch but we did enjoy a pastry or two.
We have stayed a couple nights at the Abbey Court Hostel and we loved the fantastic location, affordable price and clean accommodations. There is also small free breakfast, which is a great way to save a little money and not start your day hungry.
