Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Getting to Dun Laoghaire by Bus: The best way to get to Dun Laoghaire is to take
the Aircoach bus (€9, hourly, 50 minutes, tel. 01/844-7118, www.aircoach.ie ) .
Taking a Taxi: Taxis from the airport into Dublin cost about €25; to Dun Laoghaire,
about €35; to Howth, about €20 (see “Getting Around Dublin—By Taxi,” here ) .
By Ferry
Coming from the UK, you have two choices. Irish Ferries has four sailings per day
arriving at Dublin Port at the mouth of the River Liffey (two miles east of the town
center). Stena Line also has four sailings per day, three arriving at Dublin Port and one at
Dun Laoghaire (does not run off-season, easy DART train connections to and from Dub-
lin—see here ). For more information, see “Dublin Connections” on here .
By Car
Trust me: You don't want to drive in downtown Dublin. Cars are unnecessary for sight-
seeing in town, parking is expensive (about €25/day), and traffic will get your fighting
Irish up. Save your car-rental days for cross-country travel between smaller towns and see
this energetic city by taxi, bus, or on foot. If you have a car, sleep out in the suburbs (Dun
Laoghaire or Howth), and ask your innkeeper about the best places to park.
Drivers renting a car at Dublin Airport but not staying in Dun Laoghaire or Howth can
bypass the worst of the big-city traffic by taking the M-50 ring road south or west. The
M-50 uses an automatic tolling system called eFlow. Your rented car should come with an
eFlow tag installed; confirm this when you pick up your car at the airport. The €3 toll per
trip is automatically debited from the credit card that you used to rent the car (for pass de-
tails, see www.eflow.ie ).
Note: Your rental car's eFlow tag will only work automatically for the M-50. On any
other Irish toll roads (there aren't many), you'll have to pay with cash (under €3).
Helpful Hints
High Costs: Despite the demise of the Celtic Tiger economic boom (1995-2007—R.I.P.),
Ireland is still one of the EU's more expensive countries. Restaurants and
lodging—other than hostels—are more expensive the closer you get to the touristy
Temple Bar district (see cheaper options under “Sleeping in Dublin” on here ). A pint
of beer in a Temple Bar pub costs €5 (a sobering thought).
Pickpockets: Irish destinations, especially Dublin, are not immune to this scourge. Wear
a money belt or risk spending a couple of days of your cherished vacation in bureau-
cratic purgatory—on the phone canceling credit cards (see here ) and at the embassy
waiting for a replacement passport (see below). Wasting vacation time this way is like
paying to wait in line at the DMV.
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