Day Trip Outside of Dublin?
 

My husband and I are flying from Germany to Dublin for the weekend on Jan.12th. We'll arrive about midnight on Friday and leave early in the evening on Monday. I'm wondering if we should take the time to do a daytrip like the Wild Wicklow tour or just stick to Dublin for this trip? We intend to return to Ireland within the next year to rent a car and travel the coast, Ring of Kerry, etc.

This will be our first time in Ireland and also our first overnight away from our son together in almost six years! Wahoo! I'm really looking forward to just wandering during the days and sitting in the pubs listening to music in the evenings. We also thought it might be fun to take the Viking Splash Tour :)

Also, I want to take a series of photos of the famous coloured doors of Dublin. Are they concentrated in a specific area or pretty much spread throughout the city?

Thank-you!

Wicklow is wonderful, and might be a great contrast to the city experience that Dublin has to offer. But a scenic tour can be made or broken by the weather, and January weather is a bad bet. It looks as if you can decide on the day, and I suggest that you do just that.

There are a few locations where you can see the Georgian doorways. I suggest that you walk around Merrion Square and Fitwilliam Square (they are not far apart) and some of the streets in that area.

Enjoy!

Waterford is a nice trip and touring the crystal factory is interesting.

Since you don't have much time in Dublin, just hop on the DART and go north to Howth. Very beautiful and just a short distance from Dublin.

Thanks for the ideas! I've been poring over all the Dublin information I can get my hands on and am finding that I've almost reached critical mass. Howth looks interesting as well as the Wicklow tour. I think the idea to wait and see what the weather does is a good one. I can't see great lines of tourists being a big factor at this time of year. Besides, knowing how my husband and I have the gift of gab, we may just find a great pub and spend most of our time there. Bless my husband for asking our best friend for a weekend of babysitting for a Christmas gift!

agree about DART !
Howth is beautiful, so is Sandy Cove in the south.
You can see both in one day!

I would agree with Wicklow - go and see Powerscourt and Glendalough - both are fantastic.

The Viking Splash tours don't operate in the winter as far as I know. However I have heard great reports. Must try it myself one of these days!