Day 1:

Arrive early! My flight landed at 8:10am. An overnight flight is my recommendation to get into Europe from the United States, so you can hit the ground running. The Dublin Airport made navigating customs and entering Ireland easy. Follow the signs to ground transport to take a cab from the airport to the heart of Dublin to get your day started.

I stayed at The Morrison Dublin, Curio Collection by Hilton. The location was perfect! Everything was truly within walking distance. On the north side of the river and just a couple blocks from the Ha’Penny Bridge, I had the opportunity to walk the city extensively. The hotel held a system in place to hold my bags until my room was ready.

Get your bearings. As I started my exploration, I knew I just wanted to walk the city as I had zero desire to rent a car and deal with driving on the left side of the road. By 11am local time, I was walking around the Temple Bar area and getting lunch. There are a lot of bars with food along the river, but I will challenge you to venture back into the neighborhoods of Dublin and find something small. Dublin has a bunch of small space dining options that will blow your mind.

Don’t be afraid to get lost. You likely will have a smart phone in your pocket. Call a ride or navigate your way back if you really need it, but I love walking a city and finding things off the beaten path. When I stumbled upon this umbrella lined street, it was a great surprise.

Take things slow. Sit and take things in. I chose to find the Palace Bar, a famous whiskey bar in Dublin, and have an afternoon drink. It was great to speak with the bartender, engaged with other folks at the bar, and quietly take in my surroundings.

Day 2:

Hop on/Hop off Bus Tours. I know this can be controversial, but I love the hop on/hop off bus tours. These tours are offered in multiple languages. Big Bus Tours was provided a great experience.

A bus tour on the morning of my second day was the right choice for me. I rode the tour for one full rotation to better understand the main attractions of the city. The tour allowed me to assess whether or not I wanted to or had to time to see various things.

I started at stop 24, since it was closest to my hotel, and got off at the same stop about two hours later.

The driver was fun to listen to, and the information he gave was timed nicely with the driving tour. I am pretty good with directions and the tour helped me to get a sense of the city layout and how I could best navigate.

Adventure out of the norm. On the recommendation from of great friends, I took the DART up to Howth. Howth is a town north of Dublin. It was great place for a seaside hike and lunch by the water. I was blessed with sunshine in Ireland, and I took full advantage.

The DART was inexpensive and easy to navigate. I mean, Howth is literally the last spot on the line. The town is beautiful and easily walkable. There are sit-down and take-away dining options right on the water. The day I was there was perfect for hiking the trails that loop all around the coastline and back to town. Bring those hiking boots (or, at least decent trainers).

Explore the night. Walk around and see what you find. I ran into a stag party that was Elvis themed. This was an adventure. A group of later 20-something men from Wales were in Dublin for the weekend for a bachelor party. The soon-to-be-groom was a huge Elvis fan; I am talking two massive tattoos on his legs of the peanut butter loving singer. He showed off his tattoos without prompting, and dressed in one of the worst Elvis impersonator costumes I have ever seen. All the stag party members were a few drinks in, but have a great time.

Talk to people. My fellow introverts will hate me for this, but when traveling solo, chatting folks up can get you some great recommendations and short term travel buddies.

Day 3:

Booked tours ahead. I toured the Trinity College library and the Book of Kells. You should book your ticket time ahead of when you want to take the tour is highly recommended. I reserved my tour that morning for an afternoon time slot, which worked out fine. It was a bit more crowded than I liked, but the tour is self-paced. I chose to read quite a bit of the information presented, and really take my time going through the various rooms of information and artifacts.

The Temple Bar area and the Dublin Castle State Apartments were also worthwhile tours. Blink and you will miss it. Dublin has done a great job of building up around this castle, and, as an American, I envision most castles to be on a hillside, tall, and set apart from the village or town. Dublin Castle is smack dab in the middle of a very busy area of town. It’s not until you enter the gate and see the courtyard, that you truly understand the beautiful of what they have relatively hidden in their city-center.

Pack up the night before. I knew I wanted to be out in the city until I had to leave for the airport, so I packed up most items the night before I was set to leave. As I was leaving the hotel, I dropped my luggage off at front desk to be held and checked out of my room. My flight to London was in the evening, so I knew I could leave the hotel around 4:30pm to arrive at the airport for my 8pm flight. My ride got me to the airport early, so I got dinner and planned the next leg of my trip.

Bonus:

My favorite lunch spot was the Irish Potato Cake Company on the north side of the River.