This summer brought about so many fabulous memories for me when visiting Ireland with my husband to celebrate our 8 year wedding anniversary! We took a fabulous trip in June to Dublin, Cork, Galway, & Killarney and had an absolutely amazing time!! In a four part series I would like to share with you some of the awesome travel logistics, sights, deals,
restaurants, and activities we got to experience on our amazing journey! This first article is all about the travel logistics dealing with transportation to get to Ireland and to get to your hotel from the airport. Article 2 is Gorgeous Hotels and a Crappy Car Rental Scam. Article 3 revolves around the restaurants & activities in Dublin, Article 4 is all about restaurants & activities in Cork, Article 5 is about restaurants & activities in Killarney, and last but not least Article #6 is about restaurants & activities Galway!
Before leaving on our trip to Ireland, I made sure to research to get us the best deals possible on hotels in all of our destination cities as well as the best airfare possible! To book our airfare, I used Orbitz and we flew with Aer Lingus. In retrospect, and I seriously cannot stress this enough..Look to see if the flight is almost the same price simply booking with the airline themselves instead of through another company like Orbitz because it seems like they give you higher priority
for seating when booking with the airline. Our flight was a little less than $2,000 for the two of us, but I only would have spent $20 more booking with Aer Lingus, and maybe I would have had better seats. I must say…I was not happy with Aer Lingus. Our airplane was one of the smallest planes I have ever been on and we were squished like sardines from Chicago to Dublin & Dublin to Chicago on the way home. The United Airlines flight we had for the first leg from LAX to Chicago home from Chicago to LAX actually felt spacious…and for those of you that know United Airlines…they are NOT spacious!
Upon flying into Dublin, we were tired and headed out to seek a form of transportation to get to our hotel. Just a side note, there are several cities you do not want to drive in Europe & Dublin is one of them. This is mostly due to the congestion and traffic on the streets. Of course knowing me the savings and deals queen I immediately tried to seek out the cheapest route to get to our destination without standing in an overpriced taxi line even though we were extremely tired and groggy having landed in the morning Dublin time and the middle of the night of the day prior California time. 🙂
I was fortunate to find the Dublin Bus! Go to this link here to learn information: DUBLIN BUS INFORMATION.
For those of you that like to save some cash, the Dublin Bus is a great way to get into the city directly from the airport for the best price. The Dublin Bus is an Airlink 747 and it travels from the airport via the Dublin Port Tunnel to Heuston Station. This route also serves the main bus-station, the city centre, Connolly Station and the National Convention Centre. This bus drops you off at all of the main hotels in the Dublin City Center & Temple Bar area and the
fare is only €6.00 one-way or 10 round trips. These buses run about every 15 minutes. The one drawback is you have to lift your luggage to put it in the bus and if you have a lot of luggage like we did, the husband becomes quite unhappy with the predicament. After loading our luggage into the bus, it took a short while to get to town. We did have to make 7 or 8 stops before our own, so if you are in a hurry, you can take the taxi (€30 Each way…rip off if you ask me) The only problem with the Dublin Bus was that when they dropped us off to get to our hotel it was one stop for 5 different hotels and
we did have a hard time finding our hotel… After a little bit of bickering between hubby and me, I went into a tourist office in which they kindly told me how to get to the Brooks hotel. (Side note…We used a taxi to go back to the airport because our flight was early and the idea of roaming the streets to find where to get the Dublin Bus was not appetizing at 6am!!) A great resource for more information about how to get to and from the airport can be found here: TRIP ADVISOR TIPS
See my other Ireland posts here… IRELAND PART 2 , Ireland Part 3, Ireland Part 4, Ireland Part 5 and Ireland Part 6.
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I am going to love this 4 part series…I am intrigued with Ireland, even though I am Italian! Thank you for all the inside tips, I just may plan a trip!
Thank you so much Deanna:) I am happy to hear you look forward to my series of Ireland posts. Take note of my tips..They will help you to plan:)
Great!
Love reading about your experience! I recall that overseas flight stopping in London with a final destination of Spain. We spent most of the flight with our teen daughter laying across our laps having asthma issues… It’s a long flight to have to be cramped!
Thank you Loretta!:) That sounds like a treacherous flight! I am so sorry to hear about your daughter on that flight. Did she have her inhaler? I am sure you had a blast in Spain though.:)
Living the Champaign dream! Looks like a ton of fun and on my “to-do” list! Thanks for sharing!
Awesome:) Thanks for the comment:) You must go one day:) I love to travel! 🙂
Very nice!
Better get used to cramped seating, Dani. Seems the airlines are trying to get a few more dollars out of each flight by adding more rows. I remember when international travel was an adventure; now the flight part is best handled by keeping your expectations low … 😉
You are so very right Sharon! I could not agree more. Next time we are flying first class! First class today is probably what coach was 20 years ago. Hahaha 🙂
Someday I will get to Ireland. Sounds like a fabulous trip..
Thanks Kelly:) Lots more to come:)
Your blog makes me feel like I’m right there with you! Thanks!
Awesome! Glad you enjoyed Tina! 🙂
I’d love to go to Ireland, I want see the country side
You will love it when you go Dov!! It is exactly like the pictures I posted in this post…so beautiful & sooo green.:)
Were you as fascinated with their accent as I am?
Oh yes! Their accent is adorable:)
I love the European bus systems, they give so much more information than the bus systems I’ve encountered in the US.
Meli, That is so true! They definitely have a better transportation system than the United States
Great post and terrific travel tips! Thank you!
Awesome:) Glad you enjoyed! Thanks:)
Dani, thanks so much! I want to go to Ireland ASAP! You two look like you had such a great time!!!! Thanks for all the info!
Awesome! Glad you enjoyed Liz! You should totally go:) Stay tuned for the next 3 posts:)
Too cool! I love the way you have your pictures displaying your fun!
Yvonne Brown
Thank you Yvonne…3 more posts with lots of pictures to come:)
WOW! Thanks for sharing! Love the info and pics! What a fun live you are living! 🙂
Thank you Alexandra! Loves living life to the fullest!! 🙂
Great post hun, although I seriously advise all readers to skip the airport bus and take the taxi. The price different is about 8 Euros and learning where your hotel is located from a professional taxi driver is priceless. Plus the taxi driver will give you an orientation to the city’s layout. I had to cary 2 heavy suitcases through the cobble stone streets of Dublin to save 16 euros…not worth it. everything else was spot on in this article. 🙂
So..there is the angry hubby about the Dublin Bus still giving a shot out about those heavy bags…8 euros?? hardly…it was 30 euros into the city and 30 euros back to airport. Dublin bus was 10 Euro round trip per person, so the difference in price for 2 people is 20 euro total or 60 euro total..double the price and then some:)
This really makes me want to visit Ireland!
You totally should! It is so gorgeous:) Stay tuned for more Ireland posts soon:)
beautiful! i hope to get there some day thanks for sharing!
Awesome:) stay tuned for three more parts:)
Great article. Ireland is definitely on my list to visit. Good to know about Orbitz versus the airline. I had no idea they were so close in price.
Dionne, I am unsure of if they are always that close in price, but it is definitely worth checking out!! 🙂 Thank you for the compliment:) Glad you enjoyed!
I’m planning on going to Ireland next year as part of my bucket list. I know I’m going to enjoy this series. Thank you.
Very cool! You will love Ireland Kathy:) Start taking notes for your planning process:) There are so many things to see in the gorgeous country of Ireland! 🙂
Great article. Thanks for posting. I hope to make it to Ireland. My son wants to see the castles there.
Awesome! The castles are amazing! Stay tuned for my activities post for many pictures of castles.:)
I love your story and the photos. I look forward to reading more of your adventures to Ireland. I know traveling can be a challenge with all the customs, procedures, and different energies. Somehow, we do find a way to appreciate our experiences and share our wisdom with those seeking a similar adventure.
Thanks for the note Barbara:) I am so happy to hear you enjoyed my post and look forward to more. It is easy to write about items you are passionate about, you know? 🙂 Have a fabulous day:)
Sounds like an awesome amazing trip and I know when my daughter-by-choice comes from Germany she has some interesting tales to tell too! So glad you were able to use those skills of yours to balance the budget AND have fun!
Thanks so much Mama Red!! I look forward to sharing more about this fabulous trip in the next few posts in the series:) Have a fabulous night!
Sounds like a wonderful trip – you have a lovely gift of really helping us feel like we are there with you! I look forward to the next part of your story. (and happy belated anniversary to you!)
Thank you so much Moira! That means so much to me:) Thanks so much for the anniversary wishes:) You are so kind! xo ❤
So nice to read about the trip and see the pictures. It feels like I was there with you! 😉 Thank you for sharing!
Thank you Solvita…More Ireland posts to come..such a great trip:)
So glad you had a good time in Dublin! Have you any plans to visit the North? Belfast?
We did not get to visit the North..Maybe on our next trip.:) Dublin, Galway, Cork, & Killarney were all amazing though!! Stay tuned for more posts to come about Ireland:)
I love how you always have the pictures to tell the story. How exciting to go on these trips, you guys are living the life! Woohoo! 🙂
Thank you so much Norma for the comment..Stay tuned for the next Three posts. I love Ireland:)
Thank you for sharing your experiences.. the good and the not so good. I have often wondered if it is best to book directly with the Airlines and you gave good input as to that question. Will be looking forward to the rest of the story.
Most definitely book with the airlines if possible:) Glad I could be of assistance for future travel:)
Dani, thank you for sharing this. I’m looking forward to reading the rest of the story, too!
Thanks Robin:) I definitely have more fun stuff to share:)