Getting around Dublin without a car
 

We will be staying at the Berkely Court Hotel in Dublin in April. We want to see Malahide Castle and St. Patrick's Cathedral. We will not have a car. Are these places too far from the hotel to use public transportation?

We are traveling with a large group (several hundred) and did not want to spend all day on the tours our company offered. (Their tours include a lot of stuff that we are not interested in and are quite expensive.)

Is it a mistake to try and see these places on our own?

Any advice & suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

"How to Get There:

By bus: Bus 42 from city centre.
By train: Suburban rail and DART from Connolly Station to Malahide. "

www.malahidecastle.com

www.dublinbus.ie

The cathedral is in the centre of Dublin and can be easily walked

You have your basic information.

St Patrick's is on the route of the hop-on hop-off guided city bus tour, as is the more popular Christchurch Cathedral (and a lot of other good stuff).

We were in Dublin in February without a car. We used the hop-on/hop-off bus one day and it worked very well. We bought the 5 Day Rambler bus ticket for the rest of the visit. Both are good value.

You'll have no problem getting to these locations. A cab can get you to city centre or St Patrick's...as would the DART (train) from Landsdowne Station near your hotel. The DART will also take you right to Malahide (just take extra care that you are going to Malahide and not Howth...you can walk from the station to the castle, but expect it to be a comfortable 15-20 minute stroll).

The Hop On/Off bus is worth it (I like the cream and green ones as they have live commentary).

If the organized tours aren't hitting the sites you are interested in, then definitely strike out on your own. If you ever need directions, just ask at a hotel or shop and they will take extra care to get you to your destination.

Jenny Finnegan from Dublin Tourism shares her tips for experiencing her fair city in an interview in podcast Episode #9 at
http://www.irishfireside.com You might find it helpful...she even talks about Malahide.

Corey

Thanks a bunch for the all the advice!