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Yankeesmama


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Should I skip Dublin?
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Still planning my trip in May and checking airfares each day.  I am leaning towards flying into and out of Shannon, if possible, staying in the West, and skipping Dublin altogether.  It is our first trip, and I originally thought I would like to spend my last day in Dublin and fly home from there.  I feel as if I should see it, although I don't really know what I want to see there, other than to say I was there.   If we do go, I would want to return the car, then maybe do a "hop on/hop off" bus tour.  Is that a good way to see some of the sites in the city? With three adult kids in their late 20's, it might also mean a pub crawl for us that night.  Oh boy....   Do you think it's a mistake to go all the way to Ireland (for 7 nights) and not spend any time in Dublin?



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Kathy

 
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I LOVE spending time in Dublin.  There are enough interesting and compelling things to do there that you could EASILY spend many days, just scratching the surface of all the city has to offer.

THAT said, if you can only spare seven days, MY advise is to give it a pass.  Depending on where you are coming from, you will spend close to 1/2 a day, just GETTING there, and dumping the car.   Then, since you'll need to be at the airport at LEAST 2 1/2 hours prior to your flight (assuming a USA destination), you'll need to chose a hotel -- near the airport, with shuttle service, (but necessitating a 30-60 minute travel time , IN and Back, to City Center) -- Or, stay in the Center and ADD an hour to your departure time.

That seems like WAY TOO MUCH wasted logistics time-- just to gain bragging rights for only 4 - 6 hours of touring ...

My advice is to save Dublin for another time and concentrate on the West.  Seven days is BARELY enough time to really EXPERIENCE the wonders of that PART of Ireland.

Bob



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Bob

Help Us to Help You.  The more you tell us about your plans (dates, interests, budget), the better we can tailor our advice to suit!
Michele Erdvig


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If you were going to Disney in Florida would you want to spend one day in Washington D.C.? That is the type of decision you have to make. What would you see in one day? How long would it take to get there? How much time would you waste of your 7 days traveling to and from the destinations?

As Bob pointed out the logistics say skip Dublin if you want to use Shannon as your gateway. Every single person on this forum has the same dilemma. What to see and what to leave out. As I often say, you will not miss what you don't see. Instead you will enjoy the places you have decided to visit even more because you were not rushed and had the time to enjoy them.

Work with the time you have to make your trip the best it can be. Pub crawls can happen in the west - not just Dublin.





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Melissa5


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Yankeesmama: Funny I spent at least HALF of the research for my first Ireland trip on Dublin, and then ended up skipping Dublin on our first trip! However we spent 3 nights in Dublin on our second trip and LOVED Dublin.

If you skip Dublin to focus on the west, you will be fine and have a great trip! If you decide to include Dublin, I recommend at least 3 nights in Dublin. Big cities need a bit more time to get into them, in my opinion.

My favorite "ireland" so far has been the west coast and southwest of Ireland. But as I mentioned we DID love Dublin when we at last visited Dublin on our second trip.

Enjoy friendly Ireland! This forum has amazing advice by the way! Michelle is the best.  (-:



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