Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Credit Cards
Visa and MasterCard credit and debit cards are widely accepted in Dublin. Smaller businesses prefer debit cards (and
will charge a fee for credit cards). Nearly all credit and debit cards use the chip-and-PIN system and an increasing num-
ber of places will not accept your card if you don't.
Tipping
You're not obliged to tip if the service or food was unsatisfactory (even if it's been automatically added to your bill as a
'service charge').
Hotels
Only for bellhops who carry luggage, then €1 per bag.
Pubs
Not expected unless table service is provided, then €1 for a round of drinks.
Restaurants
10% for decent service, up to 15% in more expensive places.
Taxis
10% or rounded up to the nearest euro.
Toilet attendants
€0.50.
Opening Hours
The standard opening hours in relatively late-rising Dublin are as follows:
Banks
10am to 4pm Monday to Friday (to 5pm Thursday).
Offices
9am to 5pm Monday to Friday.
Post offices
9am to 6pm Monday to Friday, 9am to 1pm Saturday.
Pubs
10.30am to 11.30pm Monday to Thursday, 10.30am to 12.30am Friday and Saturday, noon to 11pm Sunday (30
minutes 'drinking up' time allowed). Pubs with bar extensions open to 2.30am Thursday to Saturday, pubs with theatre
licences open to 3.30am; closed Christmas Day and Good Friday.
Restaurants
Noon to 10.30pm; many close one day of the week.
Shops
9.30am to 6pm Monday to Saturday (until 8pm on Thursday and sometimes Friday, to 9pm for the bigger shop-
ping centres and supermarkets), noon to 6pm Sunday.
Post
The Irish postal service, An Post, is reliable, efficient and usually on time. Post boxes in Dublin are usually green and
have two slots: one for 'Dublin only', the other for 'All Other Places'. There are a couple of post offices in the city
centre including
An Post
(
01-705 8206; St Andrew's St;
8.30am-5pm Mon-Fri) and the
General Post Office
(
01-705 7000; O'Connell St;
8am-8pm Mon-Sat).
Postal Codes
Postal codes in Dublin (presented as 'Dublin + number') are fairly straightforward. Their main feature is that all odd
numbers refer to areas north of the Liffey and all even ones to areas south of the Liffey. They fan out numerically from
the city centre, so the city centre to the north of the river is Dublin 1 and its southern equivalent is Dublin 2.
