First Visit to Ireland
 

Hi,

I'll be flying to Dublin from London in the morning of 17 June and then to Zurich in the morning of 20 June. I am travelling with my wife and my 16 year old son. Grateful for any advice on how to make the best use this short period to visit this country. I may hire a car if necessary.

Regards,
Ambrose

With only two and a half days, I suggest you spend all of your time in Dublin... lots to see and explore, maybe make an excursion up to Howth. https://www.visitdublin.com/hooked-on-howth-dublin I assume you are flying to Zurich from Dublin?

I suggest you try to visit Newgrange on one of the days you're there. In order to get in, you have to arrive very early in the morning. They don't take reservations, and by noon they usually have run out of spaces on the visits for the day. Even if you get a space, you may have to wait several hours. There are some tour companies from Dublin that seem to be able to get you in and out in good time.

I agree that you should just stay in Dublin with so little time. There's a lot to see in and around Dublin. If you really want to get out of Dublin, maybe take a bus straight to Galway from the airport and spend two nights there. That would give you one full day, and bits of two other days. On the full day, you could take a tour, maybe to the Connemara, or to one of the Aran islands. You'd need to spend your last night in Dublin, so you could get back early enough to see a bit of Dublin.

Newgrangetours.com Mary Gibbons tour. This way you have a slot to get in. We went in the off season and didn't have to wait a long time. There is a cafe there and museum. Only small groups are taken out on a bus as only a small group can go in at one time. You might want to do a Game of Thrones tour one day to Northern Ireland. Wild Rover does a good one. They are based out of Dublin. Long day but packed full. So much to see in Dublin. Your son might like a tour of Croke Park.

Hi Iowamom,

Yes, I will be flying to Zurich from Dublin. Thank you for your advice.

Regards,
Ambrose