I would love to pack up my little life and go travelling for a while, however, that's not currently financially viable at the moment, so instead, I'm determined to make 2018 the year of the city break. I already have one planned, and I am 99% sure I will be going back to Dublin for the third summer in a row with the girls - so I thought I would help everyone out and compile a list of tourist guides for the cities I have visited/plan to visit!
In December, I will be visiting Dublin for the third time and this booking process was the quickest yet, it was sourced and booked in roughly an hour and my first piece of advice is to be constantly glued to either the Ryan Air website or Skyscanner. You can get flights to Dublin incredibly cheap if you book them 2-4 months before you go, for example, this time we booked it at the start of September but aren't going until the middle of December and flights were £34 return!
As for things to do in Dublin, there are a handful that I personally think are imperative...
1. Visit the Beach
Okay, So I probably won't be doing this again in December because id rather not freeze my toes off - but in May we took a short train ride to the beach at either Killeney or Seapoint (I know we stopped and changed trains at one and then actually went to the beach at the other) and it was completely unexpected and totally breathtaking.The train was relatively cheap (no more than probably €7 each) and we packed a picnic (meal deals from Tescos) and headed off on the train completely unaware of what we would find when we got off. The beaches were pebbled which I prefer and we just sat in silence and relaxed for a while in complete serenity, before taking the obligatory boomerang videos of us jumping on the pebbles and loaded ourselves back onto the train to head back to Temple Bar, which leads nicely on to...
2. Temple Bar
Whilst there are great pubs with live music all across the city, you can't come to Dublin and not visit the Temple Bar area. Whilst I am yet to actually visit the Temple Bar - I can recommend some places that you should definitely take a trip too!
- Merchants Arch
The girls and I practically live in The Arch whenever we have been. Make sure that you go if you want a great traditional Irish Stew and amazing live music every day and night. Also, make sure you say hi to Frank, he's practically a living legend!
- The Quays
The Quays do a great traditional Irish breakfast, but it's at night that this place comes alive! With live music until the early hours of the AM, I have never seen this place less than fully packed!
-Bad Bobs
There's a mechanical fish ride and a photo booth, need I say anymore?
3. Leprechaun Museum
For €14 you can experience one of the best things to do in Dublin. From Irish folklore to oversized furniture, the leprechaun museum is fun for everyone and will leave you in hysterics. We wanted to go to the night time tour which allegedly has even darker and twisted tales, however, this book out really far in advance, so I'd recommend booking as soon as you know you will be visiting Ireland.
4. Dublin Zoo
Who doesn't love a trip to the zoo? My first piece of advice is to book your tickets online, we jus booked ours in the morning after we had decided that's what we would do that day and it was a life saver, the queues to buy tickets were ridiculously long! Also, check your timings, we went during the summer holidays and there were kids everywhere, and all the animals were either not there or asleep - so double check before you visit.Let me know if you think there's anything else that should be included
Emily xo
