Maximize Your Time AND Money in Dublin (When You Only Have Two Days)

If you are anything like us, you have limited time to see ALL of the sites of Dublin!  We spent 16 days traveling ALL over Ireland, but that only left us two whole days to see Dublin.

So, how do you pack as much as you possibly can into two days?  Lets us show you!

We chose to purchase the Go City Pass for two days.  After figuring out which destinations we wanted to visit…and factoring in the hop on hop off bus as transportation, this really was the best value for the money!  The two-day pass was only 16 Euros more than a one day pass, so it totally made sense.  The total cost for the pass was 86 Euros per person…and that included admission into 36 different attractions!!!  There are options to purchase the pass for 1 to 5 days. 

If you would like to get $20 off of $200 or more when buying a Go City Pass: Click Here! 

We started the Hop on, Hop off bus at the first location of the tour…and rode for about 20 minutes.  Our first stop that we “hopped off” for was Dublin Castle.

Dublin Castle was the seat of English rule in Ireland, until the country gained its independence from the British in 1922.  The castle was originally built as a fortress.  In April 1684 there was a fire that caused major damage to the castle. 

After this fire, the castle was rebuilt from a medieval fortress into the palace that it is today.  The property is used for special events and state dinners…and has hosted some famous names like Benjamin Franklin, John F. Kennedy, Nelson Mandela, and Queen Elizabeth II.  Now, you can enjoy spending some time in this beautiful and historic place too.

When we left the castle, we walked a couple of blocks to the Christ Church Cathedral. This Cathedral was originally a Viking church and is located right in city center.  In fact, we joked that we passed it a million times…like we were going around in circles!

Some notes of interest about the Cathedral: Strongbow is buried here; the heart of St. Laurence O’Toole is on display (after a 6 year stint of being missing); they have a rare copy of the Magna Carta; and don’t forget to visit the Crypt to see the mummified cat and rat!

Right next door to the Cathedral is Dublinia, which is a Viking museum.  The two buildings are actually connected via a bridge over the street, so if you start in Dublinia…it flows right into the church.  We discovered this after our visit to the church. 

Dublinia takes you right back to the times when the Vikings lived in Dublin.  This interactive museum puts you right into that history.  This is your chance to experience what it was like to be on a Viking ship.  Learn about the clothing, the weaponry, the fairs, the disease, and the “medicines” of the time!  This is a great museum for the whole family!

If you have ever seen a picture of a pub associated with Dublin, it was probably Temple Bar.  This Iconic red pub is a favorite for tourists!  The bar was established in 1840 and is said to have over 450 different kinds of rare whiskey. 

Even with Covid-19 looming, there seemed to be quite a crowd at the pub.  We did not go into the bar because we were traveling to another country in a few days and did not want to risk being around larger crowds.  Check out their web cam to see the bar in real time: Temple Bar Live

Even though we did not go to the pub, we did wander around the Temple Bar Area.  We decided to have lunch in this area.  We ate at a BBQ restaurant – Smokin Bones.  The pulled pork was the star of our meal!  So, if you find yourself in the area and have a craving for BBQ, this is your place!  If BBQ is not your thing, this area has just about any type of food you could be craving…so, this neighborhood is a great place to grab lunch! 

If you are looking for a sweet treat, we recommend grabbing a gelato from Cloud Nine, which is right next to the Temple Bar. 

After lunch, hop back on the bus and head to St. Patrick’s Cathedral.  This Cathedral was founded in 1191 and is the National Cathedral of Ireland.  St. Patrick is known as the Apostle AND the primary Patron Saint of Ireland. 

Over 500 people are buried at this church, including Jonathan Swift. Swift was a satirist who is best known for writing "Gulliver's Travels" and "A Modest Proposal." He was also a cleric who became Dean of the Cathedral.  Make sure you get the free audio guide that is available with your admission. 

There were a few other locations we could have fit into this day of sightseeing, but we had a date at the Shelbourne Park Greyhound Stadium.  We were there at Christmas time, and they were hosting a Christmas Party.  We sat in the clubhouse, enjoyed a fancy Christmas dinner, and cheered on the dogs!  It was definitely a fun night out! 

After a good night’s sleep, it is time to hit the ground running again.  We recommend starting the day at The Sweetest Thing.  Order one of their amazing hot chocolates…and why not have a delicious piece of cake for breakfast.  After all, you are on vacation!  Enjoy it! 

I stumbled on this café because I searched for best hot chocolate in Dublin.  After visiting this place, I can attest that it fits the bill.  I got some kind of mint hot chocolate.  They literally melt a Cadbury mint chocolate candy bar in the hot milk.  It was divine…and I am still thinking about it a month later!

Covid-19 has changed the way we travel…and today’s itinerary reflects this.  In the past, you could have showed up at Guinness or the distilleries and waited for your turn to enter.  But because they are limiting the number of visitors, we had to schedule our visits ahead of time.  I contacted the venues the day before via email to schedule our visits.  This is great because you don’t have to wait in line, but for us the downside was that I did not plan very well around the bus schedule.  So, if you want to use the hop on bus for your travels, my advice to you is to plan around the bus schedule.  We ended up walking and using Uber to get around for this day of sightseeing. 

A trip to Dublin MUST include a trip to the Guinness Storehouse!  Even if you are not a beer drinker, this place is fascinating!  The first impression…it is HUGE!  They really cover EVERYTHING!  The exhibits walk you through the entire brewing and storing process.  They also have an entire section about their advertising past and present.  There is a scent lab and an option to learn to make the perfect pour.  Your tickets also include a free beverage up in their Gravity Bar, which has 360 degree views of Dublin from above!  Expect to be here for a few hours, so you can really enjoy all that they have to offer!

You can either hop on the bus, walk, or Uber to the next location – the EPIC Irish Emigration Museum.  EPIC is an interactive museum about the achievements and history of the Irish people.  So many people have roots that can be traced back to this wonderful country.  Neville Isdell, founder of the museum, was inspired to open this museum because of his own immigration experience. 

At the start of your journey, you are given a passport that you can stamp in each room of the museum.  The museum is very interactive and even includes an area where you can learn to do an Irish dance! 

I was really excited to go to The Irish Family History Center at the completion of the museum.  You give the genealogists the information that you know about your family roots and they will help you discover more.  Unfortunately for me, they closed five minutes before we arrived.  I was pretty bummed!

After the museum, we headed over to the Teeling Distillery for a tour and tasting.  This was another venue that required an advanced reservation due to Covid.  Plan ahead! 

This distillery opened in 2015 and was the FIRST new distillery in Ireland for over 125 years!  While this distillery is only a few years old, the Teeling Brothers come from a long history of whiskey makers (dating back to 1782)! 

Our tour guide took us through the distillery where we learned about the process of distilling and storing the whiskey.  After the tour, we went to the tasting room where we were able to try some of the whiskey and also a cocktail made with their whiskey. 

Technically we could have probably fit in a couple of more attractions, but just based on the things we did during these two days, the Go City Pass was the way to go!!!  We actually saved 36.50 Euros by buying this pass…AND it includes transportation!  It does not get much better than that!  See the price breakdown below!  And if you want a discount when buying your pass, don’t forget to use this link: Go City

Click the link below to hear more about our time in Dublin!

Whatever you decide to do in Dublin, enjoy every minute of it!

Erin go Bragh!