Day 1 - Arrival
If you're flying in, I highly recommend purchasing the Visitor Leap Card (72 hr pass is 16 euros) as the public busses between the airport and the city are really easy to use (and cost nearly as much as the pass itself, which includes unlimited travel on all public busses and even some of the commuter rails). To purchase you can just go online (leapcard.ie) and order it, free shipping worldwide.
Both the Spire and the Trinity College Library (which includes the famous Book of Kells (15 euros student entrance fee (18.50 for adults)) are easy walking distance from pretty much any hotel in the city, or a quick bus ride.
The Botanical Gardens are free to visit, but require a bus ride as they are about 3 miles from city center.
While The Temple Bar is quite chaotic during busy seasons, it's a fun place to visit and take some photos. If you'd like a drink, you can just find a table and order from your phone. The street it's on also includes many other pubs and nightclubs, so it's a great place to go for dinner and dancing.
Day 2 - The City
The city itself is absolutely gorgeous, and I think anyone could spend an entire day just wandering around looking at the stunning buildings. However, we don't have time for that. I recommend heading to Dublin Castle early in the morning, as it opens at 9:45am, and the crowds are pretty light at that time. The entrance fee is nominal (6 euros for students, 8 for adults), and you can purchase tickets ahead of time or onsite.
St. Patrick's Cathedral is also downtown and beautiful. The entrance fee is 7 euros for students, or 8 for adults. However, there is a garden right outside and anyone can enjoy the beauty of the exterior for free if you don't want to pay to get inside.
Finally, there are many free museums in Dublin, but I found the Archeology one to be the best. It is a ginaormous museum covering the history of Ireland, and surrounding lands, through artifacts. I spent nearly 2 hours there and didn't get to see everything.
While I visited the city in December, thus meaning there were numerous beautiful light displays and Christmas markets to enjoy, I feel that the city is best at night in any season. I cannot highly recommmend enough getting out at night and just enjoying the atmosphere of the downtown, and maybe enjoying a fresh Irish meal at a downtown pub. You really cannot go wrong with which one you choose, as there are dozens across the city, most of which have live music, but expect higher prices than surrounding resturaunts if they are labeled a 'pub.'
Day 3 - The Countryside
While you could truly do anything for this last day, and there are certainly more things in Dublic proper to do, I recommend getting out of the city and seeing some of the beautiful Irish countryside.
I personally chose to do a tour (I found on Viator for 64 euros) which visited Galway (for 2 full hours!), the Clifs of Moher, and Burren National Park. However, there are also numerous options to visit Northern Ireland (such as Belfast and the Giant's Causeway). The choice of which to do truly comes down to personal preference, or you could even tack on an extra day or two to hit them all.
Most of these tours, due to the sheer distance, are 12+ hours long so this would be the only activity for the day, unfortunately.
Day 4 - Leaving
With the way Dublin is situated, it is a perfect place to easily connect to other European locations. As I personally chose, I headed on to Edinbrugh, Scotland afterwards, as flights were only 50-70 euros roundtrip. Alternately, many people will continue their trip by heading to Belfast (via bus, plane, or train), or even down into mainland Europe. If you're coming from a closer location (aka not the US, haha), you could easily turn this into a quick weekend holiday. Enjoy!
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