HOTEL

Location is always more important than whatever hotel you actually stay in.  Look for something centrally located so you can just walk out of your door and go. 

Iveagh Gardens Hotel – We stayed here, and loved the hotel and location. It was a beautiful boutique hotel on a street lined with gas lamps, steps from beautiful Iveagh Gardens, St. Stephen’s Green, and Grafton Street.  The breakfast and coffee was great before heading out each morning.  Richly furnished lobby, friendly staff.  It had everything we needed to set out and explore!

I love Booking.com for booking hotels, and they have a great app.  They make it easy to search by map, change a reservation, message the hotel if needed, etc.  I use them whenever I can.

I used the Map to search by area, and these hotels look like wonderful options as well; in great locations and a bit less expensive than Iveagh:

The Dean Dublin                  Wren Urban Nest

Harcourt Hotel                     Leonardo Hotel Dublin Christchurch

TOUR IDEAS

Don’t get my wrong, renting a car and exploring on your own is usually my preferred way to go.  However, with only 4 full days I would recommend doing one full day tour out of Dublin and one half day tour.    That way, you get two full days to wander Dublin (plenty of time to see all the top sights!) and then a chance to see the countryside.

I always use GetYourGuide.   I prefer to book “small group tours” where the max number of people is 12 or so, but sometimes those tours cost double so I have definitely taken the less expensive ones (think coach bus, bigger group) and they are totally fine too.    Hot tip- when we were walking to the Guinness Storeroom to do the tour and go to the tap room, we purchased entry tickets on our GetYourGuide app, and when we got there we got to skip the massive line.  So its great for advance entry tickets as well!  Always pay attention to the meeting location and meeting time for your tour.

From Dublin: Glendalough & Wicklow Mountains Morning Tour – We did this half day tour on a nice day and it was beautiful!    Wear some sneakers for a short hike and enjoy the scenery.

Dublin: Boyne Valley with Newgrange and Bru Na Boinne Entry – We also did this – I love history, and Newgrange is so cool. Newgrange is a prehistoric monument built during the Neolithic Period, which predates Stonehenge and the Egyptian pyramids! You can go inside with a guide and see what a marvel of engineering it is, built to let light into its inner circle on the summer solstice.

Cliffs of Moher & Galway Day Tour – this is 13 hours long, but if you want to see the a bit of the west coast, this is the way to go!    I wish we did this one.   It’s a long day, but so what!   Get back and head to the bar for a toastie and a pint.

Dublin: Giants Causeway, Dark Hedges, Dunluce & Belfast Tour – This is a really cool one too!  Also a full day.  I would probably only do one full day, and maybe one half day tour.  But you’re more adventurous than me, have at it!

TOP DUBLIN SIGHTS – for your days where you stay in Dublin

·       Guinness Storehouse

·       Jameson Distillery

·       Grafton Street

·       Temple Bar / Temple Street (at night!!)

·       Dublin Castle

·       Trinity College – Walk the grounds.  Also this is where the Book of Kells is.  We tried to get in to see it, but the tours were full for the day, so I recommend booking this in advance.  This little walking tour will get you in to this and Dublin castle.

OTHER TIPS

Bring a good raincoat!  It really does rain a lot there.  And lots of warm layers, maybe even gloves and a hat, depending on time of year.  Maybe an extra pair of shoes too.  We had good weather half the time, but the other half of the time we were just out walking in the rain.