A Stopover in Dublin, Ireland
When our recent trip to the Balkans on Aer Lingus included a stopover in Dublin, my nine-year-old son's face lit up with excitement. You are probably thinking that he was excited because he could see a bit of his heritage, his paternal grandmother being part Irish. Or that he wanted to experience a new culture. Nope. My son's first thought was "that will be my fifteenth country!" (He is a country counter, like my husband.)
Although we wouldn't get to visit the Irish countryside, we were all excited to see a bit of Ireland. I had traveled through Ireland in 1996 with my mother, kissing the Blarney Stone and lying on the tops of the Cliffs of Moher. For this trip, we would have to settle for 24 hours in Ireland's capital city, Dublin. Which suited my husband just fine. His main concern? Having a proper Guinness in a real Irish pub!
My husband's Guinness, at The Brazen Head pub in Dublin
How to Get to and Around Dublin, and Where to Stay:
We flew Aer Lingus from New York, landing in Dublin in the morning and taking the complimentary shuttle to the Maldron Airport Hotel. Dublin's airport hotels are small and on the drab side, but the Maldron served our needs well. We asked for and received a quiet room, and the shuttle runs to and from the airport 24/7. Note that the hotel shuttle stop is tricky to find at the airport, so get clear directions from the hotel in advance. Although there is a bus from the airport into the city center, we had the hotel call us a taxi, then hailed a cab to get back. Dublin's taxi drivers are the friendliest cabbies I've ever encountered. It was like having a personal tour guide.
We decided on an airport hotel because our flight the next day to Dubrovnik, Croatia (click here to read about our Balkans adventure!) left early in the morning. If your flight leaves later in the day, consider staying in downtown Dublin. Hotels currently topping TripAdvisor's list are The Merrion Hotel and The Westbury.
Where to Eat in Dublin:
We wanted to eat in a traditional Irish pub, so went to The Brazen Head, dating back to 1198 and dubbed Ireland's oldest pub. Inside the old stone pub, there are several cozy wooden rooms to choose from, or you can eat in the (smoky) courtyard. The food was good and my husband had his coveted Guinness on draft. My kids loved their fish and chips, my Irish salmon was perfectly cooked, and my husband enjoyed the Bangers and Mash. We had traditional Irish brown bread with butter and some other yummy bakery treats from Queen of Tarts.
The Brazen Head is a fun place for lunch and a Guinness
Bangers and mash at The Brazen Head
Fish and chips at The Brazen Head
What to Do in Dublin:
We were jet-lagged and are not huge museum people to start, so we spent our day in Dublin just walking the old city. We stopped to look at the old churches and castles from the outside. We did wander into the courtyard of the historic Trinity College, which was beautiful. I will be honest - Dublin is a very nice city with very friendly people, but if you are going to Ireland for a vacation and are short on time, I think it is okay to skip Dublin. If you have a free stopover, though, Dublin is a great place to break up your travel and spend a day!
Dublin's cobblestone streets are fun to wander
Some notes to travelers to Ireland:
- Flying Aer Lingus to the U.S. has the advantage of clearing U.S. immigration and customs in the Dublin airport. This means (a) you get to interact with Irish security employees, who are much nicer than the American ones, and (b) when you land back in the U.S., it is just like arriving from a domestic flight. You grab your bags off the carousel and you are on your way.
- If you are renting a car and driving around Ireland, note that distances do not translate to driving time the same way as in the U.S. Irish roads are narrow, and it will take you longer to drive 50 kilometers in Ireland than it would at home. Keep this in mind when planning your itinerary.
- Galway was my favorite city, and apparently the EU agrees, recently naming Galway as a European Capital of Culture. The Cliffs of Moher are beautiful. Another highlight was our stay at the Adare Manor, eating the Guinness soufflé in the dining room and wandering the manor's expansive grounds to find 11th century ruins. Ashford Castle and Dromoland Castle were also amazing places to stay (my parents were footing the bill for that 1990's trip).