Hello friends - well, i screwed up and took a chance w/priceline for a hotel in dublin city... i ended up at a days inn on rathmines.
does anyone have insight for easy transportation from this southside neighborhood into the city center for touristy stuff? we are trying to avoid taking the car -
from what i can see - the luas and dart are no where near where we are staying.
anyone know good restaurants around there either? i assume our nights will wrap up early and we might end up near the hotel looking for dinner.
I don't have any restaurant recommendations in the area but you can ask for recommendations at your hotel. I had a look at the hotel's website and on it they say: "You can then take a bus from Fleet Street to Rathmines. The bus numbers are 14, 14A, 15, 15A. You can view time tables and maps on www.dublinbus.ie "
Have you looked at the Luas map? The green line goes to Ranelagh. http://www.dublintourist.com/maps/luas_tram_services_map_dublin.shtml Rathmines is south of Ranelagh and the Luas line goes very close. On the hotel's website it says: "Take the tram to Charlemont Station. Walk west up the canal for 150 Metres. Turn Left onto Rathmines Road. The hotel is in front of you on the right hand side." This would seem to indicate that you can walk to the Luas line at Charlemont Station. You will need to contact your hotel to see exactly how far of a walk it is.
I checked out the website for the inn as well, and it seems to be on the street my school was when I was in Dublin (I was at 27-29 Lower Rathmines Road; the inn's website doesn't give an address but down say Lower Rathmines Road). Assuming it is on the street, the Charlemont LUAS station is no more than a 5 minute's walk from the hotel. From there, it's just two stops on the LUAS to get to Stephen's Green.
Alternatively, if you wanted to walk a few times to or from Stephen's Green, it's a nice 20 minute walk but does occassionally get a bit confusing with the twists and turns.
Going one stop in the other direction on the LUAS, to Ranelagh (I would walk rather than take the LUAS; just walk away from the Canal/Stephen's Green side), you will find a ton of Thai restaurants. Around the Canal there are some nice pubs such as the Barge and Portobello's, but they can have pricier pub meals. I can't quite remember the name of a tiny tiny pub on Rathmine's Road... George Something... you can't miss it; it's the name of a famous author. They have fabulous soup! My personal favorite was a little sandwhich shop called De-Lish on the corner of Rathmines and the Grand Canal. I personally recommend their egg sandwhich with brown sauce.
Further down Rathmines, in the direction of Ranelagh, there are some American chain-style places such as Subways and Dominoes which I'm sure is the reason you're going to Dublin ... and across the street is a beer garden with a few pubs. It's all I can remember, but I hope I helped a bit! Either way, it's a great area and you'll have a lot of fun in the evenings seeing an area that is not overloaded like Grafton.
Figured I was would just tag along on this thread...
I find the bus maps to be very confusing. Can anybody tell me the best way to get from the airport to the Aston Hotel??? Here is the address... 7 - 9 Aston Quay, Dublin 2.
Are there any services (bus, aircoach, etc) that are walking distance to this hotel?
Thank you friends!!! as always, you come to my rescue and encourage me!
the in-laws are coming and we are doing a whirlwind of everything since we doubt they will come back to see us, of course there is always the chance they might just stay!
West coast weather update if anyone is interested: after 4 crummy days of gale-force winds and unending rain - it is finally clear and sunny and warm again!!!
i think i jinxed it last week when i announced i was breaking out the short pants.
we stayed at the Aston Hotel... is a GREAT location but noisy. The late night, after hours pub crowd tended to stumble in after 2am and really banged around. we were too tired to do anything about it but try avoid a room near the elevator.
it located right on the south side of the liffey between the O'Connell Bridge and the Ha'penny Bridge. The Abbey St LUAS station is probably the best to get off from. I don't know the details of the bus transfer from the airport but it will take you to Heuston or Connelly station and you can get the LUAS from there.
The clerks at the hotel were as helpful as they were able and it is such a good location, you probably will want to walk everywhere.
We found pretty good Thai right on the corner there at O'Connell street and Temple Bar is directly behind the hotel. Touristy but fun.
Thanks for the help. I didn't really understand the printed bus schedules, so I really appreciate it. As far as the bar crowd, we'll probably be in it...at least for the first night! But, thanks for the heads up about the noise. Hopefully we'll get a little sleep.
I recommend taking the Aircoach from the airport - it's 7EUR one way and 12EUR for a return - to O'Connell Street. It will let you off right by the spike, about a block up O'Connell from the Liffey. Not sure exactly where Aston is, but if it's right by Temple Bar, and you don't have so much luggage that you're unable to walk, it couldn't be more than a 10 minute walk from the spike.
Carrie: Thanks for the additional great info on the area and restaurants. It seems that everyone has their transportation sorted out now. I hope you all have fun in Dublin.
now i have another new question - i haven't had to use the dublin airport before - and sure have not thought about transportation to/from there til now - would it be less hassle and comparable cost to just take a cab from the airport up to our hotel on rathmines for 4 people or should we take the shuttle into the city center then get a cab to defray costs but with greater hassle (ie- dragging around of luggage)?
Actually since Dublin Airport is north of the city you will be going "down" to Rathmines. Since you have four people, taking a cab will be a lot easier and the fare will not be that much more than public transport. Depending on how much luggage you have opt for a taxi van. They may charge extra for luggage but it is not much. There is a great deal to be said for eliminating the "hassle factor" of struggling with luggage, changing transport, etc. Sometimes paying a bit more for something makes more sense. And if it is raining you will really be glad you took a taxi and got set down right at your hotel.