I was surprised that the travel books I've been reading suggest only "up to 3 days" in Dublin. As a capital city I thought more time would be devoted to Dublin. I would appreciate the opinions of those who have visited Dublin to tell me if scheduling 3 days and 4 nights during a 3 week trip is either a good plan or that I'm not allowing enough time. Thank you, Deborah

It depends on if you are planning some daytrips out of Dublin. I think 2 days is enough to see Dublin.

It also depends on where you are going for the rest of your 3 weeks - are you staying in Ireland or moving on to another country?

I also found Dublin easy to "cover" in a few days days. If you have more time take DART ( 15-20 minutes) to a few places on the Bay, like Sandy Cove or Howth; both much more beautiful than Dublin.

What do you want to do in Dublin?

That would IMHO determine the amount of time spent there.

Dublin is a small compact city do not think along the lines of London, Paris, Rome etc.

Thank you for the comments. My plan was to fly in and out of Dublin and do a circle of the Republic of Ireland, saving Northern Ireland for a future trip.

We are planning this for September 2010. Our circle would begin with a two night stay near Kilkenny or Kildare and end with two nights near Newgrange.

With only 3 days in Dublin I wonder if there is time for a day trip. Thanks for any suggestions. Deborah

I'm just back from a weekend in Dublin (not my first, however).

It's actually a fairly small city, and two or three days is definately enough time to see pretty much everything you'd want to see.

My high-lights - the Open Top bus tour, Guinness Brewery, Jamiesons (not a great tour, but great whisky), listening to live Irish bands in Temple Bar, Trinity College (haven't gotten around to the Book of Kells). Beyond that, there are some fantastic pubs/wine bars/restuarants in Dublin (although food and drink tend to be expensive, ESPECIALLY in the Temple Bar area).

We also did a day-trip on the Dart to Howth - decent pubs, good lunch at the Abbey Tavern up the hill, but I don't know that I'd go back or send anyone there...not a lot to see/do to be honest...

cambe, I know very little about Dublin but will by the time I finish my research I just thought that because it was the "capital" city there would be a number of art and history museums, architecture styles to discover, churches, gardens and parks to visit; places similar to Paris, London and Rome, as a matter of fact!!!

If not along the lines of other cities, what draws visitors to Dublin?? I'd like to find the places that excite people about Dublin. Thank you, Deborah

London, Paris and Rome are way bigger

Hi DeborahAnn, I live in Belfast and have been to Dublin literally 100's of time and love it but I am visiting friends, doing a bit of shopping, eating in a different restaurant etc.

Dublin does have several museums and art galleries but they are smaller than other 'big cities' in Europe. Phoenix Park is I believe the biggest park in Europe (don't quote me on that) but, and it's been a long time since I was there, it didn't feel like a park.

www.museum.ie/en/homepage.aspx
www.kilmainham-gaol.com
www.nationalgallery.ie
www.hughlane.ie
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phoenix_Park

Christchurch and St Patrick's Cathedral are both well worth a visit as is Trinity College where you will find the Book of Kells. Grafton Street and the various streets off it is an excellent shopping but very expensive area to explore.

Day trips from Dublin, I love the walk from Dalkey to Killiney along the Vico Road is one of my favourite places to go in South Dublin. Bono, Chis De Burgh live there. I am not very knowledgeable about north Dublin other than a few trips to Howth which was lovely. These can all be done using the Dart.

Why do people go to Dublin? I think it is for the pub, music night life rather than the sights but that is my opinion.

My advice is check out what you want to do and then decide on how many days. It could be a week depending on what you want.

One other thing I forgot to mention Dublin is VERY expensive. IMHO more expensive than London.

Thank you for the helpful comments. While researching I am finding that Dublin is similar to most "capitals" in being expensive so I'm trying to be find where to pare our budget. My husband and I do not enjoy whiskey, but I appreciate knowing where the best can be found for gifts, bikerscott
thanks again, Deborah

You nedd to look at a coupleo f guide books and determine what you want to see. I would allow 3 days for Dublin (it's a small city and doesn't have all the sights of a major capital) - but some people got to Ireland just for the countryside.

All, save one, of the National Museums are located IN Dublin -- the "Odd-Man-Out" is the Museum of Country Life, in Turlough, Co. Mayo.
Dublin is a fun, vibrant city, with tons of things to see and do -- but it IS expensive ...

If you are serious about saving money, MOST cities are seldom a good bargain. Most visitors to Ireland tend to feel that 2-3 days is adequate, unless you are a SERIOUS Museum buff.

Bob

Hello,
I was in Dublin for 6 days out of a 2 month trip, but most of those days were actually spent on day trips out of the city. I only really spent 2 actual days in Dublin and I felt that was enough. If you take the hop on, hop off tour bus it basically takes you everywhere you would want to go. Of course you COULD spend more time in Dublin, but there's so many more things to see in the rest of Ireland I wouldn't spend much more than 3 days there in total.

My favorite places in Dublin were Trinity College and the Kilmainham Gaol.

If you are in Dublin on a Friday at around 9PM, and are up for a unique musical experience, go to the Teachers Club, located in a Georgian house on West Parnell. There they have a cozy meeting room, with a tiny bar, and chairs set up in a semi-circle. At first we thought we were in the wrong place; until a woman next to us rose to sing a ballad in the Sean Nos style. She was followed by another, then another. They were all part of a respected traditional a capella group called An Goilin - http://goilin.com/. We were the only tourists that night.

I can't imagine having 3 weeks or two months to spend in Ireland -- WOW -- what all i could do! lol

we were in dubln - one day - felt that was too short -- i think 3 days is good -- and you have the opportunity to leave earlier if you choose with a 3 week vacation!

Happy Planning!
LeAnna

Thanks for the advice about Dublin. We can shorten our car rental by staying in Dublin and would use public transit or orgainized tours for day trips. My husband prefers driving an automatic transmission while in Ireland and that makes for an pricey rental.

Irishgal, our length of trip is a good problem; I like to travel on a "slow path" so we plan to see less but hope to experience more during our 3 week trip Deborah