A few weeks ago, my family and I went on a two-week whirlwind road trip around Ireland and Scotland! We had an incredible time and I can’t wait to share all the details of our trip! To kick things off, I’m starting with a post all about our first destination: Dublin! We arrived on a Saturday morning and had a solid 24 hours in Dublin. It was a short and sweet visit, but here’s how we spent 24 hours in Dublin.
Where to Stay:
Our trip started off with a bang with the most charming taxi driver, Brian! He quelled our nerves about driving around Ireland (we were picking up our rental car the next day) and even gave my dad a driving lesson in the city! Safe to say the Irish are one friendly group of people! We checked into our hotel, The Green, which was located right on St. Stephen’s Green. It was a nice hotel and we loved the location – within walking distance to all the main sites.
For other hotel options, I would check out The Shelbourne, The Westbury, The Westin Dublin, and the Merrion Hotel.
What to Do:
After relaxing for a bit, we set off to the Temple Bar neighborhood. As it was a Saturday, it was packed with people shopping, drinking, and listening to the buskers. We enjoyed some people watching and then stopped by Trinity College and walked around the campus. We didn’t have time to view the Book of Kells, so we had to save that for the next time we’re in Dublin.
Up next was our visit to the Guinness Storehouse! We had reserved tickets online in advance (can do so here) – highly recommend doing this because the lines were so long! We were initially unsure if we wanted to visit the Guinness Storehouse as I’d heard mixed reviews. However, we decided we wanted to experience it for ourselves and I’m glad we did. It’s a self-guided tour that you take at your own pace and it ends with a free pint of Guinness at the bar. I enjoyed our visit but it was absolutely packed with people, even though we were there late in the day. I would probably recommend visiting early in the morning, if possible, to try to avoid the worst of the crowds.
Afterwards, we set out in search of food. I had heard good things about Brazen Head, so we were originally planning to go there, but it was really crowded! So instead, we happened upon O’Shea’s Merchant across the street and had dinner there. After a long travel day, nothing tastes better than a pint of Guinness and some fish and chips! And to be honest, I think their fish and chips were the best that we had all trip!
The next morning, we woke up pretty early as we wanted to walk around the city before going back to the airport to pick up our rental car. We walked down Grafton Street and back to the Temple Bar area and it looked almost unrecognizable without the hordes of people! It was a very different experience than what we had the day before! We took a few pictures in front of the famous Temple Bar pub and then continued over to St. Patrick’s Cathedral. We didn’t go inside the cathedral, but it was worth it just to view from the outside – it’s beautiful!
Our last stop of the morning was a stroll through St. Stephen’s Green. The park is lovely and a great destination on a nice day!
Then it was time to say goodbye to Dublin and get ready for our road trip throughout Ireland! 24 hours in Dublin was just enough time to see the main “highlights”, but I wish we had more time to really experience the city and all it has to offer. I would recommend staying at least two full days, if possible!
What I Wore:
It was pretty chilly and windy while we were in Dublin, so I wore a black turtleneck sweater (also seen here), a leather jacket (I also like this one; also seen in this post), my favorite jeans from American Eagle, and the best black booties (they’re also waterproof and super comfortable!).
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