Dublin

By boat

Dublin Port has several passenger ferry services to/from Wales and England, but more popular is the suburban port of Dún Laoghaire 10 km (6 mi) south of Dublin. The port of Dún Laoghaire is serviced by the DART.

If you are travelling to Dublin from anywhere in Britain, a very cheap option is to purchase a combined rail and ferry ticket. Tickets from any rail station in Britain to Dublin Port will cost no more than £30.50 one way (as of June 2010), which is incredibly cheap considering that the ferry ticket alone can cost up to £30 if purchased seperately. Foot passengers departing Ireland do not need to book combined ferry/rail tickets in advance and can just buy them on the day at the ferry port. However returning from England it is sometimes wiser to prebook as ferry/rail tickets may not be available on the day at some stations. Annoyingly return tickets from the UK are usually substantially cheaper than those purchased from Dublin.

These combined tickets can be purchased direct from rail stations in Britain or online from https://www.raileasy.co.uk (with £1 booking fee plus £0.75 debit card fee).

By bus

A single bus station, Busáras, is the terminus for Bus Eireann services to almost all towns and cities in Ireland (except for a few services to County Meath and County Dublin, which leave from the surrounding streets). It is next to Connolly train station, 10 min by foot from O'Connell Street. There are also services to Northern Ireland and Eurolines services to Continental Europe. Luggage lockers are in the basement, along with the pay-to-enter public toilets.

A number of private bus companies also operate out of the airport and stop in city centre. Kavanaghs has a good service to Limerick and Waterford. Citylink coaches has a good price to Galway and the West, while GoBus now provides a nonstop Dublin-Galway service.

By car

If you are visiting Dublin only for a daytrip and have a car, you can beat the traffic by leaving your car at a Park and Ride station. If you are coming from the south, two ideal places to leave your car are at the Sandyford Luas stop, located just off junction 15 of the M50 on Blackthorn Road, or Bray DART stop, on Bray Road. If you are coming from the west, your best option is the Red Cow Luas stop, off junction 10 of the M50. Coming from the north east, you would do best to use the Park and Ride station at Howth DART station. Tariffs at Park and Ride stations range from €2 to €4.

While all car rental companies in Ireland have rental desks in the arrivals hall of Dublin Airport, the list of car rental companies with inner city locations is far less. Some of the car rental companies will advertise city centre locations, but these locations are mostly only drop-offs for which an additional charge will be added. Distances mentioned below are approximations from O'Connell Bridge.

• Car Hire Ireland Offices located at Dublin, Cork, Shannon, Galway, Kerry and Knock airports. There is also an office on the N11 (Stillorgan Road) in South Dublin.
• Budget Car Rental Ireland – Pickup and dropoff in Drumcondra, situated 3.5 km (2 mi) north of the City Centre.
• Rent-A-Car Enterprise - Pickup and drop off at the airport from their Swords branch.
• Argus Rent a Car – Locations in Santry and Rathgar. The Argus Rathgar office is situated nearly 6 km (4 mi) from the the city centre. The Santry office is situated only 3 km (2 mi) from the Dublin Airport location and is in reality a drop off service rather than a location office.
• Thrifty Dublin – Located in Lombard Street, Dublin 2. Depot is situated within 2 km (1 mi) from the city centre.
• Atlas Car Hire – Shares a location with Thrifty in Dublin city centre.
• Avis – Located in Kilmainham, situated 4.5km (3 mi) to the west of Dublin city centre.
• National – Located in Stillorgan, situated over 10 km (6 mi) from the city centre. The North City depot is advertised but is the same depot that services Dublin Airport.
• Dan Dooley Car Rental – Located in Westland Row, Dublin 2, situated just over 2 km (1 mi) from the city centre and within five minutes of Trinity College.
• Hertz – Located on South Circular Road, Dublin 8, situated within 4.5km (3 mi) of the city centre.
• Irish Car Rental – Located in Terenure, situated nearly 7 km (4 mi) from the city centre.
• Malone Car Rental Ireland - Part of the Dollar Thrifty Ireland umbrella.

By plane

Dublin is served by a single terminal airport approximately 10 km (6 mi) north of the city centre. A second terminal will open in 2010.

A full list of airlines flying to Dublin, along with timetables, can be found on the Dublin Airport website.

Ireland's flag carrier airline, Aer Lingus, flies to Dublin from a large number of European cities and from the USA. Aer Lingus fares are often lower than other flag carriers, but in part this has been achieved by matching the service levels of low-fare competitors. As a result, they now charge for checked-in bags and seat reservation at time of booking (note that this does not apply to United States flights).

Europe's largest low fares airline, Ryanair has one of its main bases in Dublin from which it flies to a large number of European airports including Paris, London, Manchester, Liverpool, Madrid and Frankfurt as well as smaller regional airports such as Nantes or Kaunas. While famous for its low fares, Ryanair can be more expensive than other airlines for last minute bookings. Ireland's third airline Aer Arann links Dublin to many regional Irish airports and some smaller UK cities.

Low-fare airline Flybe links Dublin to Exeter, Norwich and Southampton in the United Kingdom, and also Jersey and Guernsey in the Channel Islands.

There are three types of bus transport to Dublin city:

• Aircoach express service (large blue bus) connects the airport and the city centre and many of Dublin's major hotels, most of which are on the south side of the city. Buses leave the airport every fifteen minutes and the journey time to the centre is approximately thirty minutes. The cost is €7 single or €12 return. Aircoach also offers services to other destinations within Ireland, including Cork and Belfast.

• Dublin Bus offers an express AirLink service (routes 747 and 748) every 10 minutes at peak times to the city centre and bus station for €6 or €10 return. Some of these services now use the Dublin Port Tunnel to avoid the city traffic and can reach the city centre in minutes.
• Dublin bus also have a number of other local routes that serve the aiprort, and these offer substantially cheaper standard services to the centre and further afield in the southern suburbs: these are non-express and stop significantly more times going to and from the airport. Cost is €2 and buses run every 10-25 min depending on time of day. You can save 10 cents by purchasing a Travel 90 ticket for €1.90 in the ticket machines next to the airport bus stops, the ticket also allows you to transfer on to any other Dublin Bus services for up to 90 minutes, saving you another bus fare should you need to transfer.

• The 16A goes right through the city, stops at O'Connell Street and continues up Georges Street and, finally, to southern areas of Dublin.

• The 41 takes a slightly more direct route and finishes on Lower Abbey Street. It stops at O'Connell Street and at Busáras (Dublin Bus Station).

By train

Dublin has two main railway stations. Heuston, in the west of the city centre, serves much of the west and south of the country including an hourly service to Cork which also services Limerick. Connolly, in the north-east centre of the city, serves the south east and east coast, Belfast, Sligo in the north-west and suburban commuter services including the Dublin Area Rapid Transit (DART) system. The two main stations are connected by bus and Luas routes. Visit the website for all train services local and intercity.

Irish Rail has one of the youngest train fleets in Europe and the Cork train in particular is extremely comfortable. Older trains were phased out completely in 2008 with the arrival of a massive fleet of brand new trains built in Japan and South Korea.There are internet intercity train fares for offpeak services which are substantially cheaper than over the counter tickets. Food on trains is awful, sparse, and expensive - there is often no dining car with only a trolley service serving indestructible danish pastries, gross prepacked sandwiches and bars of chocolate.

By bicycle/motorbike

Dublin has a large student population and is relatively cycle-friendly. Hiring a bicycle is a handy way to get around if you want to get outside the very centre of the city and are comfortable cycling in traffic. There are bikes to hire in several locations around the city centre with the Dublinbikes scheme, there is also a bike hire place located at the entrance to the Phoenix Park, dublin 8. When cycling in the Phoenix Park, note that while there is a dedicated cycle lane on both sides of the main thoroughfare unfortunately pedestrians also use these. When cycling in the city centre, be aware that cycle lanes, where they exist, are generally shared with buses, taxis and motorcycles, and cyclists should pay particular attention when approaching bus stops where a bus is pulling out.

Motorbikes are not allowed to use the cycle lanes, but many still do so. Passing on the left is also allowed only in limited circumstances but is in fact still common even otherise.

By bus

An extensive bus service operated by the state-controlled Dublin Bus serves the city and its suburbs, right out to the very outer suburbs. There are around 200 bus routes in Dublin. However, the route numbering system is highly confusing, with numbers having been issued non-sequentially and also suffix letters and alternate destinations. The Bus will display its final destination on the front of the bus, but there are no announcements as to intermediate stops; therefore, obtaining a route map from Dublin Bus is essential. Here are some pointers about using the bus services:

• Dublin Bus accepts coin fares only, no notes. If you have no coins, you can buy multiple or individual trip tickets from most shops. Certain newsagents and the Dublin Bus Office (59 O'Connell Street) sell one day, three day and five day bus passes which offer a good value and much convenience (no need to make sure you have the right amount of change!)

• Bus fares can be paid directly to the driver, just tell him your destination. If you don't have exact change, you'll get an extra slip along with your ticket, which you can exchange back at the main bus office at 59 Upper O'Connell Street, Dublin 1 (next to Post Office).

• Most city buses leave from the O'Connell Street area, (including Mountjoy and Parnell Squares, Eden Quay and Fleet Street), or from the Trinity College area, (including Pearse Street, Nassau Street, Dame Street and College Green).

• Daytime buses run from around 5AM to 11:30 pm, and there are also 24 late-night routes (known as the Nitelink service), suffixed by an N, that run from midnight until around 2AM or 4AM on weekends. Not all night link routes run at the same time every night of the week. The Nigtelink fare is a flat rate of €5..

• The Xpresso is a special service designed to allow for faster and more efficient bus travel for daily commuters during both morning and evening rush hour traffic. Xpresso routes are more direct than many other bus routes, offering passengers a quicker service. These routes also have fewer stops and therefore reduce journey times between destinations. There are 22 of these routes in operation. The numbers on the front of a bus are suffixed with an 'X', e.g. 84X. A minimum flat fare (varies based on distance traveled) is charged on these services, so they are usually more expensive than a normal, non-Xpresso bus that may be traveling along the same route.

• Railink is an express bus that links Eden Quay, Custom House Quay, Jury's North Wall, Docklands Station, Connolly station, Heuston Station, and the International Financial Services centre.

• There is a ferry port link operated by Dublin Bus from Dublin Port and Dun Laoghaire ferry port to Busaras (Central Bus Station).

• It should be noted that, while there is effectively no queuing system at bus stops, those paying with cash generally enter to the left of the doors, and those using card tickets enter to the right. Your position in a perceived "queue" for a bus may be effectively irrelevant once it arrives. If you have a prepaid ticket, don't bother queuing: just get onto the bus on the right hand side of the front door.

• When paying with cash, try to ensure that you have the correct amount of change, as the bus drivers cannot issue any change. If you have only larger coins (€1 or €2), you will receive a "change receipt", which can be exchanged for cash at the Dublin Bus headquarters on O'Connell Street, Dublin 1.

• If you see An Lár written as the destination on a bus, it means that it is going to the city centre.

• NOTE: Times displayed on timetables either at stops or elsewhere DO NOT indicate the time the bus is expected to pass that stop--they are the times the bus departs from its terminus either in the city centre or at the other end. This is mainly due to the fact that Dublin's roads are exceptionally overcrowded, making it very difficult to predict the actual time.

By car

Taxis were deregulated in 2001 leading to a massive oversupply with Dublin now boasting more taxis than New York. This is bad news for taxi drivers but good news for tourists as taxis are now extremely easy to come by. They may be ordered by telephone, at ranks, or just hailed on the street. Point-to-point trips in the city centre should cost between €6 and €10. There is a national standardised rate for all taxis.

Driving in Dublin is not to be recommended for much of the day, particularly in the city centre. Traffic can be heavy and there is an extensive one-way system, which some say is explicitly designed to make it very difficult for cars to enter the city centre. There are a large number of bus lanes (buses, taxis and pedal cycles are permitted to use them, the use of which by cars is liable to strict fines. It is usually possible to drive in bus lanes at certain off-peak times, with signs displaying these periods.

It can be difficult to find parking other than in multi-storey car parks. On-street parking for short periods is allowed at parking meters, but beware of over-staying your time or you will be "clamped" by the clamping companies who patrol frequently.

A system of two ring roads around the city has been introduced in recent years, with color coded signage in purple and blue (see the orbital route map. The M50 is Dublin's ring-motorway, it connects to the M1 (to the north of Ireland and Belfast) near Dublin airport and to the M11 (servicing Wicklow, Wexford and the South) south of the city and to other motorways and national roads along its "C-shaped" route. It is continuously being upgraded so is liable to change in route and lane layout at any time and is highly congested. This road is not recommended for the unsure tourist. In addtition crossing the river using the M50 entails crossing the Westlink bridge. This is a toll bridge with the amount of the toll varying depending on the type of vehicle and how it is paid. It is important to note that the toll CANNOT be paid at booths while crossing the bridge but must be paid by internet or phone (or using electronic passes in the vehicle). The vehicle passes through the toll gate without stopping / being stopped but the registration plate is photographed automatically. The toll must be paid by 8 pm the following day After this deadline, the longer the toll remains unpaid the higher the fees involved. For foreign registered vehicles, this currently presents no problem as the Irish vehicle registration base does not have access to foreign ownership details, but for Irish registered vehicles, including rental cars, any fees due, including penalties for late payment, may well be reclaimed through the rental company and subsequently from the credit card of the person hiring the car.

By train/tram

The Luas (a tram/light-rail system) runs frequently and reliably, and is handy for getting around the city centre. There are two lines - red (running from Connolly railway station and the Point Theatre to the suburb of Tallaght) and green (running from St. Stephens Green to Sandyford). The lines do not connect. The distance between Abbey Street on the red line and St Stephens Green, the start of the green line, is about a 15 min walk. The Luas is frequent and reliable. Tickets can be bought on the platforms at the machines and do not need to be validated. A large amount of further expansion of this network is expected within the next decade.

The DART suburban rail service runs along the coast between Greystones in the south and Howth and Malahide in the north. Tickets can be bought in the stations, from a window or a machine. There are four other suburban rail lines servicing areas around Dublin:, three of these lines operate from Connolly Station, the other from Heuston Station.

For Luas and DART network and station maps visit Dublin transportation Office site.

Internet cafés

• Moneygram/Kaah ExpressCheap internet café offering a reliable internet connection and well-maintained computers.

Wifi access

• Dublin City Public Librariesprovides free Broadband and Wireless access to the Internet in its network of branch libraries.
• The GlobeBar offering free wifi access.
• Havana CaféVery good restaurant-café-tapas bar offering very reliable, free wifi.