Dublin after World Cruise

[paradiseken]

Hi,

Wife and I are thinking of spending a few days in Dublin after we finish the 2011 World Cruise on May 7, 2011. We would fly from Rome via Aer Lingus. Any suggestions on good sightseeing companies to check with? Thanks. How about hotels? Never been to Ireland before.

[Dexysgirl]

Hi

 

If you go to the website wwwdotvisitdublindotcom and type "tours" into the search , it will bring up many different tours both in Dublin and around the country.

The Aer lingus flight leaves at 12.10 on May 7th so you would have to get to the airport very quickly from your cruise.

Make sure you travel out of Dublin to the real Ireland. Galway is beautiful and is now only 2 hours by the new motorway. The Raddison is perfectly located in Galway city.

In Dublin it all depends on your budget. One rule of thumb is to pick a hotel on the south side of the city. Dublin is divided into districts. Dublin 2 and Dublin 4 are the districts that are most suitable, with Dublin 2 being more city centre.

If money is not a problem stay in The Four Seasons or The Shelbourne or The Merrion Hotels. U2 own The Clarence Hotel which is very central also.

The Maldron Cardiff Lane or The Hilton dublin city( on the Dart railway) are well located and good hotels.

 

Hire a car and explore the countryside outside Dublin. Day trips can be taken to Wicklow (beautiful mountains and scenery), kildare to The National Stud irish horses) or Meath to see The Hill of Tara, Newgrange and Trim Castle where Braveheart was filmed..

The Viking Tour of Dublin is great fun and shows you a lot in a few hours.

 

There are lots and lots of things to do and sea. You can PM me if you need any advice. I hope you have a great holiday .

[paradiseken]

Hi

 

If you go to the website wwwdotvisitdublindotcom and type "tours" into the search , it will bring up many different tours both in Dublin and around the country.

The Aer lingus flight leaves at 12.10 on May 7th so you would have to get to the airport very quickly from your cruise.

Make sure you travel out of Dublin to the real Ireland. Galway is beautiful and is now only 2 hours by the new motorway. The Raddison is perfectly located in Galway city.

In Dublin it all depends on your budget. One rule of thumb is to pick a hotel on the south side of the city. Dublin is divided into districts. Dublin 2 and Dublin 4 are the districts that are most suitable, with Dublin 2 being more city centre.

If money is not a problem stay in The Four Seasons or The Shelbourne or The Merrion Hotels. U2 own The Clarence Hotel which is very central also.

The Maldron Cardiff Lane or The Hilton dublin city( on the Dart railway) are well located and good hotels.

 

Hire a car and explore the countryside outside Dublin. Day trips can be taken to Wicklow (beautiful mountains and scenery), kildare to The National Stud irish horses) or Meath to see The Hill of Tara, Newgrange and Trim Castle where Braveheart was filmed..

The Viking Tour of Dublin is great fun and shows you a lot in a few hours.

 

There are lots and lots of things to do and sea. You can PM me if you need any advice. I hope you have a great holiday .

WOW Dexysgirl! Thanks for the great info. No problem getting to the airport. We get in at 5 am and the port is only 1 hour from the airport in Rome. Thanks again for the great advice!!!

Ken

[TMLAalum]

Dublin is great- Temple Bar, Nassau & Grafton Streets, the book of Kells @ Trinity College, Kilmainham Gaol, but it is a multicultural city. IMHO to get the real flavor of Ireland, head further afield. Or not too far from Dublin is Newgrange and Howth, plus, as Dexysgirl suggested, the Wicklow Mts and Glendalough.

 

The west and south of Ireland is rugged and beautiful. Galway, Cong ( think John Wayne/Maureen O'Hara in the Quiet Man), Croagh Patrick, Kinsale, the Ring of Kerry, the Dingle Pensinsula are all places to consider.

 

We've been 3x to Ireland (own a timeshare week in Killiney near Dublin), but though it's a small country in area, there is still far more that we want to experience!

[scottbee]

Hi,

Wife and I are thinking of spending a few days in Dublin after we finish the 2011 World Cruise on May 7, 2011. We would fly from Rome via Aer Lingus. Any suggestions on good sightseeing companies to check with? Thanks. How about hotels? Never been to Ireland before.

 

If you book your FCO-DUB-<usa> ticket as a single ticket w/ a stop over instead of two tickets; you can avoid the luggage fees on the intra-europe portion. Just call them to book it, they allow up to a two week stopover in DUB (or SNN)

[paradiseken]

Dublin is great- Temple Bar, Nassau & Grafton Streets, the book of Kells @ Trinity College, Kilmainham Gaol, but it is a multicultural city. IMHO to get the real flavor of Ireland, head further afield. Or not too far from Dublin is Newgrange and Howth, plus, as Dexysgirl suggested, the Wicklow Mts and Glendalough.

 

The west and south of Ireland is rugged and beautiful. Galway, Cong ( think John Wayne/Maureen O'Hara in the Quiet Man), Croagh Patrick, Kinsale, the Ring of Kerry, the Dingle Pensinsula are all places to consider.

 

We've been 3x to Ireland (own a timeshare week in Killiney near Dublin), but though it's a small country in area, there is still far more that we want to experience!

Thank you soooo much!!! Looking forward to our visit!

[paradiseken]

If you book your FCO-DUB-<usa> ticket as a single ticket w/ a stop over instead of two tickets; you can avoid the luggage fees on the intra-europe portion. Just call them to book it, they allow up to a two week stopover in DUB (or SNN)

I will take your advice. Thanks!

[Dexysgirl]

I made a little mistake on my post. The Dublin Hilton is on The Luas Tram line which will bring you out of the city to Dundrum Shopping Centre (biggest in Europe). In a great location with a secure car parking (extra, I think).

Over the past few years May and June have seen beautiful weather in Ireland and the days are long and bright, perfect for touring and sightseeing.

You might be interested in visiting the "J F Kennedy Arboretum in New Ross, Co. Wexford. It is 72 miles from Dublin so you may want to do an overnight.

 

"Dedicated to the memory of John Fitzgerald Kennedy, President of the United States from 1960 - 1963, the Arboretum is a plant collection of international standing. It covers 252 hectares (623 acres) on the southern slopes and summit of Slieve Coillte. It contains 4,500 types of trees and shrubs from all temperate regions of the world, planted in botanical sequence. There are 200 forest plots grouped by continent. A road provides access to the summit at 271m from which there are panoramic views. A Visitor Centre houses exhibitions and audio visual show. Access for people with disabilities"

Details are on myguideirelanddotcom

 

Enjoy your planning. I am planning a trip to The States next Fall. We have friends in Ohio and relatives in Chicago and have promised many times to visit. Our kids are the right age at last. All we have to do now is try and pay for it....not going to be so easy in our current state of financial freefall!!!

[tomvet]

I made a little mistake on my post. The Dublin Hilton is on The Luas Tram line which will bring you out of the city to Dundrum Shopping Centre (biggest in Europe). In a great location with a secure car parking (extra, I think).

Over the past few years May and June have seen beautiful weather in Ireland and the days are long and bright, perfect for touring and sightseeing.

You might be interested in visiting the "J F Kennedy Arboretum in New Ross, Co. Wexford. It is 72 miles from Dublin so you may want to do an overnight.

 

"Dedicated to the memory of John Fitzgerald Kennedy, President of the United States from 1960 - 1963, the Arboretum is a plant collection of international standing. It covers 252 hectares (623 acres) on the southern slopes and summit of Slieve Coillte. It contains 4,500 types of trees and shrubs from all temperate regions of the world, planted in botanical sequence. There are 200 forest plots grouped by continent. A road provides access to the summit at 271m from which there are panoramic views. A Visitor Centre houses exhibitions and audio visual show. Access for people with disabilities"

Details are on myguideirelanddotcom

 

Enjoy your planning. I am planning a trip to The States next Fall. We have friends in Ohio and relatives in Chicago and have promised many times to visit. Our kids are the right age at last. All we have to do now is try and pay for it....not going to be so easy in our current state of financial freefall!!!

 

 

If you are heading to the New Ross area a great day drive is to start in New Ross with the Dunbrody famine ship, onto JFK Arboreteum and the Kennedy Homestead, then onto Tintern Abbey, then to Hook Head lighthouse, Duncannon Fort, drive to Arrowtown and take ferry to Passage East, head into Waterford to the Crystal factory and back to New Ross. The Brandon House Hotel in New Ross is good place to stay.

 

As regards hotels, the Mespil (5 min walk from st Stephens green) is great place. It is no upmarket but perfectly acceptable and a great price. I also recommend staying in a non-zombie hotel in Ireland. We have many now who have cut their rates to keep their doors open to hold onto generous tax breaks and pricing genuine operators out of the market. While you may save money - please stay away from D4 hotels as they are zombie one.

 

Its great to hear that you are coming - we badly need your dosh!!!

 

If you head to kerry don't forget to stop in Adare.

 

Also if you are flying EI. Try and book your return leg FCO - DUB - make your own way - SNN - USA. Saves you having to backtrack to Dublin.

 

If you want to base your self in Dublin Barratt Tours do good tours to other places around the country. They are recommended!

 

http://www.4tours.biz/tours/day/

[gf]

Didn't the crystal factory at Waterford close in January of this year? (Toured it in 2001) Such a shame what happened to this company!

[TLCOhio]

Lots of great things to see and do in Dublin, Ireland. Below are some visual samples that give you added ideas to consider. Just walking around is fun in this town. You can take a bus tour (as shown below) that gives you a good overview for the many options and potentials. Great brewery here. If you like the theatre, there are options to experience here.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

For lots of interesting details, great visuals, etc., from our July 1-16 Norway Coast/Fjords/Arctic Circle cruise experience from Copenhagen on the Silver Cloud, check out this posting. Don’t be shy and feel free to ask any questions of interest. This posting is now over 25,500 views. Appreciate those who have “tuned in”.

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1227923

 

 

At Dublin’s Trinity College, here is a distinctive statute in the center of this campus founded in 1592 by Queen Elizabeth I.:

 

 

 

The bronze “Molly Malone” statute is at the bottom of Grafton Street, the key shopping street, in the heart of Dublin:

 

 

 

Dublin’s Christ Church Cathedral dates back to Anglo-Normandy conquerors in the 1172-1220 period.:

 

 

 

For seven centuries, Dublin Castle was the symbol of English rule, including the round, 1226 Record Tower and the Chapel Royal at the right.:

 

 

 

Temple Bar is the center of Dublin’s entertainment district:

 

 

 

On the Dublin’s O’Connell Street, this is the James Larkin statute to honor the 1913 general strike leader. In the background is the historic Post Office that was a symbol of the 1916 Irish Rising.:

 

[mconthehighseas]

Dexysgirl, in an earlier post, you mentioned a Viking Tour of Dublin. Can you tell me how to locate that? That is precisely what I am looking for.

[Irish1978]

The Viking tour description is slightly misleading...a company called 'The Viking Splash Tour', they use a WW2 amphibious vehicle insted of a bus and the tour is over land and water. The link to their website is below. If you are interested in The Vikings I would suggest the Dublinia experience which is located oppsoite Christchurch and is a interactive tour through a mocked up village of how Dublin would have been during that peroid of time. Link is also below also, both tours are great fun but from actually learning about the Vikings etc Dublinia is the only option:

 

http://www.vikingsplash.ie/

 

http://www.dublinia.ie/

[rebeccalouiseagain]

I'm a bit late in making suggestions. I stayed in Portmarnock twice and loved it. I also visited Howth (pronounced Howt) and loved this area. Its not far from Dublin and very quaint.

[Irish1978]

Howt??? You gotta be kidding me......:confused:

[rebeccalouiseagain]

Do you mean the place or the pronounciation? Gotta say... of course I asked the front desk how to get to Howth and they looked at me funny. They are the ones that called it Howt (like HOE-T). It should be Howth but I guess the locals have altered it. I live in Baltimore but some locals say Balmer. I guess it's who you ask.

 

In any event, we stayed at the Portmarnock Hotel and then drove by taxi to Howth for dinner. Had a lovely meal at "Aqua" on the waterfront and saw sea lions following the boats into the little harbor. I loved this part of Ireland. The whole country is lovely but I just prefer Portmarnock, Howth and Malahide to Dublin. Dublin was the least interesting place I visited in Ireland.

[Irish1978]

Pronounced as it is spelt 'Howth' but for people who may not be used to Irish place names the best pronouncement would be 'Hoe-th', the 'th' at the end is very soft. :)

 

As a place it is beautiful but I would recommend it more as a day trip than a place to be based for a stay here. Howth cliff walk from Howth Head to Malahide is spectacular and should definetly be done if anyone visiting Dublin has the time (and the weather). Malahide has some great places to eat also and some terrific pubs..if anyone ends up there try Cruzzo's on the pier!

[rebeccalouiseagain]

I would think that cruisers would love the Portmarnock Hotel. The main diningroom has a beautiful view of the water and I fell in love with Portmarnock. Apart from the hotel there is only one restuarant and a little grocery/ newstand but buses too and fro and I found it ideal, especially if you are a golfer. Very relaxing. We stayed there a total of four nights.