6 hour layover in Dublin

[ourturn]

Traveling with my sisters.  One has never been out of the U.S.  We planned a 6 hour layover in Dublin on the way to Rome.  Logistically, will it be possible to get a cab at the airport and possibly do lunch and maybe Temple Bar area or downtown, Jameson Factory?  
Any thoughts please would be greatly appreciated.
She is In her 70s and doubtful she will have the opportunity to go abroad again.  I would just like for her to see a bit of Ireland.

 

 

[Thejuggler]

6 hours isn't long to clear customs and immigration, get to the city centre and then return to the airport for check in 2-3 hours before your flight to Rome.

 

 

[princeton123211]

41 minutes ago, ourturn said:

Logistically, will it be possible to get a cab at the airport and possibly do lunch and maybe Temple Bar area or downtown, Jameson Factory?  
Any thoughts please would be greatly appreciated.

Its technically possible but you'd have to be very strategic. It's about a half hour each way once you're in the taxi to the city center. It could take you up to an hour to get through immigration and then out to a taxi. You'll have to be back at the airport a couple hours before the next flight to go back through security etc. 

 

You might have an hour to an hour and a half downtown. If it were me I would pick somewhere nice for an early lunch in a central area that you might have a few minutes to walk around. 

 

A possible way to do this could be hiring a driver by the hour for a few hours, It will get you into Dublin and back and might be able to do a little impromptu tour on the way to or from the airport. It will cost a lot more than just taking taxis but you could get some of your very limited time back. 

[Planning to cruise]

Sounds ambitious.  If the 6 hours is from the time the plane is scheduled to land to the time the next is due to take off, factor in time for passengers to leave the plane, get through the airport, immigration, get outside to transport, travel some miles to the city then get around.  Then travel back to the airport, get through security that can have queues, and be in time to be at the gate for boarding.  All assuming the planes are on time.  

 

Dublin is not a small airport nor a small city.  

[edinburgher]

23 hours ago, ourturn said:

Traveling with my sisters.  One has never been out of the U.S.  We planned a 6 hour layover in Dublin on the way to Rome.  Logistically, will it be possible to get a cab at the airport and possibly do lunch and maybe Temple Bar area or downtown, Jameson Factory?  
Any thoughts please would be greatly appreciated.
She is In her 70s and doubtful she will have the opportunity to go abroad again.  I would just like for her to see a bit of Ireland.

The much better way to use any excess time at Dublin Airport is to use the US IMMIGRATION  PRE-CLEARANCE facility at Dublin Airport. You should be able to find  info on this service online, and although that could take a couple of hours,  doing that means you would have an easy arrival Stateside.

Dublin Airport is one of a tiny number of airports which offers this.

 

And for long haul flights to the US, the usual advice is  to arrive at the airport 3 hours before flight departure, so your six  hours will disappear in a blink without venturing out of the airport at all.

Edited August 25 by edinburgher

[VMax1700]

23 hours ago, ourturn said:

Traveling with my sisters.  One has never been out of the U.S.  We planned a 6 hour layover in Dublin on the way to Rome.  Logistically, will it be possible to get a cab at the airport and possibly do lunch and maybe Temple Bar area or downtown, Jameson Factory?  
Any thoughts please would be greatly appreciated.
She is In her 70s and doubtful she will have the opportunity to go abroad again.  I would just like for her to see a bit of Ireland.

 

 

Will your baggage be checked through to Rome from your original airport in US or will you need to collect you bags and re check them for the flight to Rome?

Will you have your 'boarding card' for the flight from Dublin to Rome?

If your bags are checked through to Rome and you will have your boarding cards, then it would be possible to visit some of Dublin.  I would suggest you pre book 'Fast Track' security (there is a fee for this) at Dublin Airport. https://www.dublinairport.com/#fasttrack-tab-handle-12  This will reduce your time in the security line on your return to Dublin Airport.  

To see some of Ireland, without going into central Dublin, could I suggest a visit to Malahide Castle and the village of Malahide.... https://www.malahidecastleandgardens.ie/

[VMax1700]

13 minutes ago, edinburgher said:

The much better way to use any excess time at Dublin Airport is to use the US IMMIGRATION  PRE-CLEARANCE facility at Dublin Airport. You should be able to find  info on this service online, and although that could take a couple of hours,  doing that means you would have an easy arrival Stateside.

Dublin Airport is one of a tiny number of airports which offers this.

 

And for long haul flights to the US, the usual advice is  to arrive at the airport 3 hours before flight departure, so your six  hours will disappear in a blink without venturing out of the airport at all.

That is a great suggestion, however OP is arriving in Dublin and flying to Rome, so Pre Clearance is not relevant this time.

[edinburgher]

1 minute ago, VMax1700 said:

That is a great suggestion, however OP is arriving in Dublin and flying to Rome, so Pre Clearance is not relevant this time.

OOPS I missed that "flying to Rome" reference, so ourturn,  please accept apologies and ignore post #7

[ourturn]

Thank you so much for all the prompt replies and great suggestions.  
 

I don’t know what I was thinking.  I was definitely not figuring customs and immigration into the equation since it is a layover.  I honestly never gave it a thought. I guess I’ve never done a layover in Europe before.  I do have Global Entry but I don’t think that will help me on that end either.  
 

Thank you also to VMax for the Malahide Castle suggestion. That is a great idea.  I have been there myself. It will be perfect. 
By the way…Yes my luggage will be checked on to the flight to Rome thank God.  
Safe travels 

 

[princeton123211]

8 hours ago, ourturn said:

I was definitely not figuring customs and immigration into the equation since it is a layover.  I honestly never gave it a thought.

You have to clear entering the EU. Usually not very time consuming as a US citizen but its a variable you need to consider here since your timing is tight. The good news is your onward trip to Rome is a "domestic" flight. 

 

8 hours ago, ourturn said:

I do have Global Entry but I don’t think that will help me on that end either.  

Only helps you coming back into the US. If you fly through Dublin again on the way back you can preclear and arrive into the US as a domestic passenger. Otherwise you'll clear immigration on landing in the US. 

 

8 hours ago, ourturn said:

By the way…Yes my luggage will be checked on to the flight to Rome thank God.  

Are you booked on 1 ticket through to Rome and on the same airline? If so then the bags will continue onto Rome. If not you'll have to claim them before immigration and recheck in Dublin. 

[VMax1700]

8 hours ago, ourturn said:

Yes my luggage will be checked on to the flight to Rome thank God.  
Safe travels 

 

Perfect, and probably have your boarding card for the DUB FCO flight.  So, it will be easy!

Through immigration to the taxi line and off to Malahide.  Purchase the 'Fast Track' for security and you will be good with 90 minutes before your flight at a maximum to be back in the airport.  Even an hour would probably be safe as it is an intra eu flight (presuming you have boarding card and fast track security) and apart from the one security check there will be no other delays for you 

[fruitmachine]

19 minutes ago, princeton123211 said:

You have to clear entering the EU. Usually not very time consuming as a US citizen but its a variable you need to consider here since your timing is tight. The good news is your onward trip to Rome is a "domestic" flight. 

A correction...  Although Ireland is in the EU, it's not in the Schengen Zone.  Instead it's in the Common Travel Area, which is shared with the UK.  So (if you choose to go 'landside') you will clear Irish/CTA immigration in Dublin, and Italian/Schengen immigration in Rome.

 

In both locations, customs is just a case of walking through the Green lane (assuming you have nothing to declare).

 

21 minutes ago, princeton123211 said:

If you fly through Dublin again on the way back you can preclear and arrive into the US as a domestic passenger. Otherwise you'll clear immigration on landing in the US. 

As I understand it, there is no choice in this.  The whole plane-full of passengers exits into the domestic area in the US, so everyone needs to pre-clear in Dublin.

[gnome12]

3 hours ago, fruitmachine said:

A correction...  Although Ireland is in the EU, it's not in the Schengen Zone.  Instead it's in the Common Travel Area, which is shared with the UK.  So (if you choose to go 'landside') you will clear Irish/CTA immigration in Dublin, and Italian/Schengen immigration in Rome.

 

In both locations, customs is just a case of walking through the Green lane (assuming you have nothing to declare).

 

As I understand it, there is no choice in this.  The whole plane-full of passengers exits into the domestic area in the US, so everyone needs to pre-clear in Dublin.

I think the “otherwise” meant not returning through Dublin. 

[princeton123211]

4 hours ago, fruitmachine said:

As I understand it, there is no choice in this.  The whole plane-full of passengers exits into the domestic area in the US, so everyone needs to pre-clear in Dublin.

There isn't a choice but the OP can use her Global Entry in preclearance. 

[Hezu]

On 8/27/2024 at 6:12 PM, fruitmachine said:

In both locations, customs is just a case of walking through the Green lane (assuming you have nothing to declare).

Of course there is always also the miniscule chance that the customs officers stop persons on the green lane, but probably that would require customs intelligence picking up suspious travel patterns or/and sniffer dog detecting traces of contraband.

[ourturn]

This is all such good news.  Yes I am on Aer Lingus through to Rome so I should have my boarding pass. It sounds as if I will be a lot more comfortable with my new timeline.  
Will having a small carryon affect any of these plans?

Can someone please tell me how to apply for the “Fast Track”?

Thanks again for all of the wonderful advice.  

[VMax1700]

9 hours ago, ourturn said:

This is all such good news.  Yes I am on Aer Lingus through to Rome so I should have my boarding pass. It sounds as if I will be a lot more comfortable with my new timeline.  
Will having a small carryon affect any of these plans?

Can someone please tell me how to apply for the “Fast Track”?

Thanks again for all of the wonderful advice.  

Just coming up to 4pm on a Wednesday and the security wait time for T2 (Aer Lingus) is 5 minutes!  You can see the wait times in the banner at the top of the linked page.  It is also the link to purchase Fast Track.

https://www.dublinairport.com/enhance-your-journey/fast-track

 

The carryon will have no effect presuming that liquids are less than 100 ml each.

Edited September 4 by VMax1700