We will be spending 5 days in Dublin in early October. The first four of these days will be on our own and then we will pickup a guided tour for the next 13 days. I have gathered from comments on this forum that 5 days is more than is necessary to see cover Dublin and we would be interested in any day trips (do not want to drive) available to nearby points of interest.

We would appreciate any input that you might have.

Thank you,

Bill

Hi,

Ireland is so lovely! You might enjoy going to the Irish National Stud farm, which is near Kilkenny, southwest of Dublin. It is only about 90 minutes from Dublin and the scenery is beautiful. There is a veterinary training program at the Irish National Stud and you will often get to see new foals, just hours old. The grounds are lovely and it is fascinating to learn about Irish horse racing.

I loved touring the Waterford Crystal Factory in Waterford as well. They have a lovely showroom with a nice place for lunch in the building as well. The artisans at Waterford Crystal Factory are amazing and Waterford crystal is much more impressive after you've see the workmanship first hand.

Stop for tea at Bewley's while you're in Dublin or any other larger Irish city. It is very relaxing!

Best Regards,
Julia

Sadly, the Bewley's on Grafton Street is no more. It was a great place to sit, have a cuppa and a bite and people watch. Ah, well ...
Some web sites to check out:
www.discoverdublin.com
www.visitdublin.com
www.ireland.ie
Also check out the Irish National Bus and Rail day tour packages. Using them, you can visit, Newgrange, Tara and areas north, Powerscourt and Glendalough and almost any point in the Republic, including the Ring of Kerry, Cliffs of Moher and even, I believe, the Aran Islands.

We will be in Dublin next week and thought we'd like to visit the National Irish Stud Farm. I thought it was in Kildare? We planned to go there by bus. For a day trip like this can we go to the Central Bus Station and purchase tickets on the morning we want to visit the stud farm, or is it necessary to purchase tickets in advance? I guess I am not clear on the best way to get to this place, any advice would be appreciated. Thanks!

I am at a loss for the Stud farm but if you go to the tourist office on Suffolk street (It's a converted church) they will be able to tell you if there are tours and busses there. How about a day trip to kilkenny? You could take the train and spend the day there.

My husband and I spent three days in Dublin. We took a walking historical tour of Dublin. It was great. There was a booth just in the entrance to Trinity College and they were handing out fliers. we decided to try it and loved it. Area college students give it and tell you all kinds of interesting facts. We also took the hop on hop off bus one day and took our time going through al the main attractions it was great!!! have fun!

The National Stud and Japanese Gardens is in Kildare. With good traffic it's about 40 minutes outside of Dublin. I enjoyed touring both places very much and think it is well worth a half day trip out and back.

Otherwise, head into Wicklow and Glendalough. Love the entire area from there and back again.

www.daytoursunplugged.ie
may give you an idea or two...

Cheers,

Wendy