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Experience Dublin like a ‘Dub’
Plenty of frugal fun to be had in the land of ‘a hundred thousand welcomes’
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Beyond beer Dublin, Ireland, may be famous for its Guinness, but see what else makes the city fabulous. more photos |
DUBLIN - Ireland may bill itself as the land of “a hundred thousand welcomes.” Too often, tourists come away feeling like the saying really refers to exorbitant prices.
It doesn't have to be like that. Much of the best that Dublin has to offer is either free or the cost of a pint of stout. With a weeklong St. Patrick's Festival full of free events around the corner — and recession hitting Ireland hard — Dublin's delights can be had at a discount, particularly if you're happy to live more like a real “Dub” than a jet-setter.
St. Patrick's Festival
March 12-17 kicks off the Irish tourist season with an ever-growing list of street attractions, performances and cultural events. The best freebie if you've got preteens in tow is the weekend-long Merrion Square funfair, featuring free access to bouncy castles and handouts of sausage rolls.
There's also March 17's two-mile parade, which, if the weather's fine, attracts a half-million spectators. Stake out your position before 10 a.m. for a clear view of the noontime promenade — and brace for boozy bedlam on the streets afterward. Favorite lookout points: O'Connell Street on the north side and College Green outside Trinity on the south.
Getting around
Dublin reserves much of its cramped road space for buses and taxis. Metered taxi fares for inner-city trips are $12-$20 (8-15 euros).
As you exit Dublin Airport, taxis are to the right, buses to the left. Taxis to the city center will cost at least $25 (20 euros), so they're cost-effective only for groups of three or more. Otherwise, take the dark-green, comfy Airlink buses, $7.60 (6 euros) one way.
Regular blue Dublin Buses, just $2 (1.55 euros), head straight into the city's working-class reality. Save more with a multi-day Dublin Bus pass from a machine at the airport bus stop. Adults can travel citywide for a week for $35 (26.50 euros), children for $12 (9 euros). Slightly higher-priced tickets include the city's two LUAS light-rail lines, and the DART commuter trains, ideal for day trips to coastal towns north and south. Dublin Bus also offers day-trip packages to major tourist centers outside Dublin.
To find out if your hotel is near a bus route, check here.
The easiest way to get oriented in Dublin is with a hop-on, hop-off bus that stops at most of the important tourist sites for about $20 (15 euros).
The biggest mistake that car-loving Americans make is to study a map of Ireland, note that the country is 300 miles top to bottom, and think they can "do it" in a week. There's no surer way to ruin a short trip to the Emerald Isle.
Cheap digs
Dublin is one of Europe's most compact capitals, with plenty to see and do by foot, so book a hotel or B&B in the urban heart. Dublin's inner north side — delineated by the River Liffey that cuts the city in two — is scruffier and less desirable to the image-conscious, but convenient on foot or by bus.
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The backpackers' Mecca is on down-at-heel but strategically located Gardiner Street. Next door lies the main Dublin bus station with shuttle buses to the airport; Connolly train station, with DART commuter trains and the option of a quick, cheap day trip to Belfast 100 miles north; and a light rail that links west to the Jameson whiskey tour and Guinness brewery. The nicest of the Gardiner Street guesthouses is the Townhouse.
For discounts on multi-day stays at more upscale hotels, check out the Irish Hotel Federation's page. Beware that many supposed Dublin-area hotels actually are somewhere between the sticks and the boondocks, of use only by car. If a hotel doesn't have a postal code at the end of its address, it ain't in Dublin. (Virtually the rest of Ireland goes codeless.)
The Bewleys Hotel chain offers rooms for up to three adults for $77 (59 euros) a night through year's end. Its flagship hotel in Ballsbridge (Dublin's answer to Beverly Hills) would be a bargain at that price. The canalside Mespil Hotel advertises discounts for the St. Patrick's period and beyond.
Cheap eats
Don't worry about finding authentic Irish cuisine. It doesn't exist — and if it did, would almost certainly be served by an immigrant from Spain, Poland or China.
The authentic Irish dining experience, however, means the pub — preferably a buffet-style lunch for about $13 (10 euros) a head before drinks. The word “carvery” on a pub's chalkboard sign typically means lunch includes beef, ham, turkey and stuffing, with salmon and pasta options, plus spuds and other vegetables — drowned in gravy if you like.
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Or opt for one of Dublin's “superpubs” — cathedrals to Ireland's modern fusion of hops and hubris. The most impressive are the Odeon Bar & Grill, a converted train station south of St. Stephen's Green; the Bank, a converted bank just west of Trinity College; and the Cathedral, a converted church still replete with organ pipes, stained glass and headstones on the premier Henry Street shopping thoroughfare.
Most proper restaurants are overpriced and particularly scalp you for wine. Stick to a pint of beer or cider; if you find a pint for under $5 (4 euros), you're doing well.
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