Heads up: some links here are affiliate links. Book or buy through them and we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only point you to things we would actually use. Two things in this city need booking weeks ahead and neither of them is a hotel. Dublin holds seven Michelin stars across a very small area, and the boat that crosses Dublin Bay sells out before it sails.

Heads up: some links here are affiliate links. Book or buy through them and we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only point you to things we would actually use. The most common Dublin mistake is booking five nights in the city and then spending two of them on coaches. The city core is genuinely good and genuinely finite, and knowing where it runs out is the single most useful thing to work out before you book anything.

Heads up: some links here are affiliate links. Book or buy through them and we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only point you to things we would actually use. Dublin is an easy city with children, mostly because the good free options are large and outdoors and the paid ones are cheap by Western European standards. The planning work is in the hours and the age limits, both of which move more than the prices do.

Heads up: some links here are affiliate links. Book or buy through them and we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only point you to things we would actually use. Dublin’s core is small enough to cross on foot in twenty five minutes, so nobody needs a guide to get around it. What a guide buys you here is the part you cannot see: which building the Rising was run from, which excavated street lies under the Civic Offices, and why a pub crawl became the city’s oldest running tour.

Heads up: some links here are affiliate links. Book or buy through them and we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only point you to things we would actually use. Most bad Dublin day plans are geography problems rather than time problems. Two coastal villages that look adjacent on a map are on separate rail branches. A house and its waterfall are sold as one estate and sit six kilometres apart with no bus between them.

Heads up: some links here are affiliate links. Book or buy through them and we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only point you to things we would actually use. “Book in advance” is the advice every Dublin guide gives for the three big guided attractions, and it is close to useless, because the three of them fail in completely different ways. One sells out in minutes a month ahead.

Heads up: some links here are affiliate links. Book or buy through them and we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only point you to things we would actually use. The hard part of doing things in Dublin is not finding them. It is that three of the best hours in the city run on three completely different booking systems, one of which is not online at all, and turning up hopeful works for exactly one of them.

Two days based in Dublin covers exactly the two easiest real day trips out of the city and nothing else: Howth by DART on Day 1, Glendalough and the Wicklow Mountains by bus on Day 2. Staying longer? The 3 Days itinerary nests this same plan and adds Newgrange and the Boyne Valley. Day Day trip Travel time from Dublin Don’t miss 1 Howth About 30 min by DART The Howth Head cliff walk 2 Glendalough and the Wicklow Mountains About 1h20 by bus The free monastic site by the Lower Lake Book these before you go

Two days in Dublin is enough for exactly the essentials and nothing else: Trinity College and the Book of Kells plus a first night in Temple Bar on Day 1, then Kilmainham Gaol and the Guinness Storehouse back to back on Day 2. Staying longer? The 3 Days in Dublin itinerary nests this same plan and adds Dublin Castle’s courtyard and the cathedrals. Day Focus Don’t miss 1 Trinity College, Temple Bar Book of Kells timed slot 2 Kilmainham Gaol, Guinness Storehouse The 28-day Kilmainham release window Book these before you go

Three days based in Dublin covers Howth and Glendalough exactly as the 2 day version, then adds a full day at Newgrange and the Boyne Valley. Coming from the 2 Days itinerary, this nests that same plan and adds one guided-access prehistoric site that needs booking well ahead of the other two. Day Day trip Travel time from Dublin Don’t miss 1 Howth About 30 min by DART The Howth Head cliff walk 2 Glendalough and the Wicklow Mountains About 1h20 by bus The free monastic site by the Lower Lake 3 Newgrange and the Boyne Valley Guided tour only, no walk-up The passage tomb older than Stonehenge Book these before you go

Three days in Dublin adds real breathing room to the essentials: Trinity and Temple Bar, Kilmainham Gaol and the Guinness Storehouse, then a third day for Dublin Castle’s courtyard, the cathedrals and the free National Museum. This nests the 2 Days in Dublin plan and extends it by one day; go to 4 Days in Dublin if you want the Liberties and Phoenix Park too. Day Focus Don’t miss 1 Trinity College, Temple Bar Book of Kells timed slot 2 Kilmainham Gaol, Guinness Storehouse The 28-day Kilmainham release window 3 Dublin Castle courtyard, cathedrals Free National Museum of Ireland Book these before you go

Four days based in Dublin nests the 3 Days plan, Howth, Glendalough and Newgrange, and adds a fourth day out to Galway, the longest train ride on this list and the first one worth weighing an overnight against. Day Day trip Travel time from Dublin Don’t miss 1 Howth About 30 min by DART The Howth Head cliff walk 2 Glendalough and the Wicklow Mountains About 1h20 by bus The free monastic site by the Lower Lake 3 Newgrange and the Boyne Valley Guided tour only, no walk-up The passage tomb older than Stonehenge 4 Galway About 2h20-2h30 by train The Latin Quarter and the Spanish Arch Book these before you go

Four days in Dublin means the paid-ticket trio, the castle and cathedrals, and a full day for the Liberties, whiskey and Phoenix Park without rushing any of it. This nests the 3 Days in Dublin plan and extends it by one day; go to 5 Days in Dublin if you also want the Docklands and the National Gallery. Day Focus Don’t miss 1 Trinity College, Temple Bar Book of Kells timed slot 2 Kilmainham Gaol, Guinness Storehouse The 28-day Kilmainham release window 3 Dublin Castle courtyard, cathedrals Free National Museum of Ireland 4 The Liberties, Phoenix Park Distillery tour timing Book these before you go

Five days based in Dublin nests the 4 Days plan, Howth, Glendalough, Newgrange and Galway, and adds the Cliffs of Moher, the one day trip on this whole list that genuinely does not fit into a normal day. Day Day trip Travel time from Dublin Don’t miss 1 Howth About 30 min by DART The Howth Head cliff walk 2 Glendalough and the Wicklow Mountains About 1h20 by bus The free monastic site by the Lower Lake 3 Newgrange and the Boyne Valley Guided tour only, no walk-up The passage tomb older than Stonehenge 4 Galway About 2h20-2h30 by train The Latin Quarter and the Spanish Arch 5 Cliffs of Moher About 3-3.

Five days in Dublin adds a fifth angle to the city, the Docklands and the National Gallery, on top of the paid-ticket trio, the castle courtyard and the Liberties. This nests the 4 Days in Dublin plan and extends it by one day; go to 6 Days in Dublin for Northside history and Croke Park too. Day Focus Don’t miss 1 Trinity College, Temple Bar Book of Kells timed slot 2 Kilmainham Gaol, Guinness Storehouse The 28-day Kilmainham release window 3 Dublin Castle courtyard, cathedrals Free National Museum of Ireland 4 The Liberties, Phoenix Park Distillery tour timing 5 Docklands, National Gallery Free National Gallery of Ireland Book these before you go

Six days based in Dublin nests the 5 Days plan, Howth, Glendalough, Newgrange, Galway and the Cliffs of Moher, and adds Belfast and the Giant’s Causeway, the only day trip on this list that crosses an international border. Day Day trip Travel time from Dublin Don’t miss 1 Howth About 30 min by DART The Howth Head cliff walk 2 Glendalough and the Wicklow Mountains About 1h20 by bus The free monastic site by the Lower Lake 3 Newgrange and the Boyne Valley Guided tour only, no walk-up The passage tomb older than Stonehenge 4 Galway About 2h20-2h30 by train The Latin Quarter and the Spanish Arch 5 Cliffs of Moher About 3-3.

Six days in Dublin means the paid-ticket trio, the castle, the Liberties, the Docklands, and a sixth day for Northside history and a Croke Park stadium tour. This nests the 5 Days in Dublin plan and extends it by one day; go to 7 Days in Dublin for a genuinely slow final morning. Day Focus Don’t miss 1 Trinity College, Temple Bar Book of Kells timed slot 2 Kilmainham Gaol, Guinness Storehouse The 28-day Kilmainham release window 3 Dublin Castle courtyard, cathedrals Free National Museum of Ireland 4 The Liberties, Phoenix Park Distillery tour timing 5 Docklands, National Gallery Free National Gallery of Ireland 6 Northside history, Croke Park Croke Park stadium tour Book these before you go

Seven days based in Dublin nests the 6 Days plan, Howth, Glendalough, Newgrange, Galway, the Cliffs of Moher and Belfast, and adds one flex day at the end for weather or a repeat visit. Day Day trip Travel time from Dublin Don’t miss 1 Howth About 30 min by DART The Howth Head cliff walk 2 Glendalough and the Wicklow Mountains About 1h20 by bus The free monastic site by the Lower Lake 3 Newgrange and the Boyne Valley Guided tour only, no walk-up The passage tomb older than Stonehenge 4 Galway About 2h20-2h30 by train The Latin Quarter and the Spanish Arch 5 Cliffs of Moher About 3-3.

Seven days in Dublin is the full city, without a single day trip: the paid-ticket trio, the castle, the Liberties, the Docklands, Northside history and Croke Park, then a genuinely slow last morning before you fly out. This nests the 6 Days in Dublin plan and adds one unhurried day at the end. Day Focus Don’t miss 1 Trinity College, Temple Bar Book of Kells timed slot 2 Kilmainham Gaol, Guinness Storehouse The 28-day Kilmainham release window 3 Dublin Castle courtyard, cathedrals Free National Museum of Ireland 4 The Liberties, Phoenix Park Distillery tour timing 5 Docklands, National Gallery Free National Gallery of Ireland 6 Northside history, Croke Park Croke Park stadium tour 7 Departure Airlink or Aircoach, no train Book these before you go

Dublin’s real advantage as an Ireland base is logistics, not sightseeing: six genuine day trips sit within reach of the city, and exactly one of them does not actually fit into a normal day. Howth is a 30 minute DART ride. Glendalough and the Wicklow Mountains run about 80 minutes each way by bus. Newgrange needs a guided slot booked days ahead. Galway and Belfast both clear 2 hours each way by train.

Here is the deal on Dublin in 2026: you need four to five days minimum, you need roughly EUR 90-130 a day if you want to eat and drink properly, and you need to book three things the second your dates are locked, Kilmainham Gaol, the Guinness Storehouse, and the Book of Kells, because at least one of those will otherwise wreck your first morning. Dublin Castle’s State Apartments are also shut to tours for the rest of the year, and Trinity’s historic Long Room is mid conservation, so this guide flags exactly what is open right now instead of repeating what worked in 2019.

Dublin in 2026 comes down to three tickets and one big closure. Book Kilmainham Gaol (EUR 8, sells out in minutes), the Guinness Storehouse (EUR 22-36, dynamic pricing) and the Book of Kells (EUR 21.50-25) before you land, and know going in that Dublin Castle’s State Apartments are shut to tours all year for Ireland’s EU Council Presidency. Get those four facts right and the rest of the city is easy, walkable, and genuinely one of the best pub cultures on earth.

Glendalough is the easiest genuine nature day trip out of Dublin: a 6th-century monastic settlement wrapped around two lakes in the Wicklow Mountains, about 1 hour 20 minutes away by bus and free to walk once you get there. This page covers Glendalough itself as the flagship stop; the wider Dublin-as-a-base network, Howth, Newgrange, Galway, the Cliffs of Moher and Belfast, gets its own Dublin Day Trips guide . Key facts at a glance Question Answer Entry to the monastic site Free OPW car park (Lower Lake) EUR 4 per day Travel time from Dublin About 1h20 by St Kevin’s Bus or car, no direct train St Kevin’s Bus fare EUR 14 one way, EUR 23 return Booking lead None for the site itself, book ahead for summer weekend tours What is actually at Glendalough The Round Tower, over 30 metres tall and visible from most of the valley floor, anchors a cluster of ruined churches, a graveyard and a cathedral dating to between the 6th and 12th centuries, all founded around a hermitage that St Kevin supposedly built after retreating here for solitude.

Temple Bar is a genuine historic riverside quarter, cobbled streets dating back centuries, and it is also, flat out, the most expensive place in Dublin for a pint. Both facts are true at the same time, so here is how to visit it properly: come for the streets, the trad music, and the atmosphere, and walk one block back before you order your third round. Key facts at a glance What Detail Cost to visit Free to wander; a pint runs EUR 10-12 here versus roughly EUR 7 citywide Best hours Daytime for the cobbled streets and shops, after 8pm for live music Time needed 2-3 hours to wander, a full evening for the pub scene Live music Free to walk into most sessions, tip jar on the bar, no ticket needed How to visit Temple Bar without overpaying Walk in from Dame Street or the Ha’penny Bridge during the day, when the cobbled lanes, the street art, and the original Temple Bar Pub itself (the building the whole quarter is named after) are easiest to actually see.