Dublin Getting there & around

Getting there & around

Ireland’s capital and biggest city is the most important point of entry and departure for the country – the overwhelming majority of airlines fly in and out of Dublin Airport. The city has two ports that serve as the main points of sea transport with Britain; ferries from France arrive in the southern port of Rosslare. Dublin is also the nation’s primary rail hub. Flights, tours and rail tickets can be booked online at www.lonelyplanet.com/travel_services.

Bikes are only allowed on suburban trains (not the DART), either stowed in the guard’s van or in a special compartment at the opposite end of the train from the engine. There’s a flat €4 charge for transporting a bicycle up to 56km.

Local transport

Taxi

All taxi fares begin with a flag-fall fare of €3.80, followed by €1.50 per kilometre thereafter from 8am to 10pm. In addition there are a number of extra charges – €1 for each extra passenger and €2 for telephone bookings. There is no charge for luggage.

Taxis can be hailed on the street and found at taxi ranks around the city, including on the corner of Abbey and O’Connell Sts, College Green in front of Trinity College and St Stephen’s Green at the end of Grafton St. Numerous taxi companies dispatch taxis by radio. Some options:

City Cabs (872 2688)

National Radio Cabs (677 2222)

Phone the Garda Carriage Office (475 5888) if you have any complaints about taxis or queries regarding lost property.

Train

Dart

The Dublin Area Rapid Transport (DART; 1850 366 222; www.irishrail.ie) provides quick train access to the coast as far north as Howth (about 30 minutes) and as far south as Greystones in County Wicklow. Pearse Station is convenient for central Dublin south of the Liffey, and Connolly Station for north of the Liffey. There are services every 10 to 20 minutes, sometimes even more frequently, from around 6.30am to midnight Monday to Saturday. Services are less frequent on Sunday. Dublin to Dun Laoghaire takes about 15 to 20 minutes. A one-way DART ticket from Dublin to Dun Laoghaire or Howth costs €2.20; to Bray it’s €2.50.

There are also Suburban Rail services north as far as Dundalk, inland to Mullingar and south past Bray to Arklow.

DART passes include the following:

Adult Weekly Inner Rail Pass (€23) Valid on all DART and suburban train services between Bray to the south and Rush and Lusk to the north.

All Day Ticket (€7.20) One-day unlimited travel on DART and suburban rail services.

Irish rail

All rail information, including timetables and ticket and pass sales, is available from the Rail Travel Centre (Iarnród Éireann; 836 6222; www.irishrail.ie; 34 Lower Abbey St). The city has two main train stations: Heuston Station, on the western side of town near the Liffey; and Connolly Station, a short walk northeast of Busáras, behind Custom House. Heuston Station has left-luggage lockers of three sizes, costing €2 to €6 for 24 hours. At Connolly Station the facility costs €3.

Luas

The Luas (www.luas.ie) light-rail system has two lines: the green line (running every five to 15 minutes) connects St Stephen’s Green with Sandyford in south Dublin via Ranelagh and Dundrum; and the red line (every 20 minutes) runs from Lower Abbey St to Tallaght via the north quays and Heuston Station. There are ticket machines at every stop or you can buy a ticket from newsagents in the city centre; a typical short hop fare (around four stops) is €1.70. Services run from 5.30am to 12.30am Monday to Friday, from 6.30am to 12.30am Saturday and from 7am to 11.30pm Sunday.

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Bus & tram

To/from the UK

Busáras (836 6111; www.buseireann.ie; Store St) is just north of the river behind Custom House; it has a left-luggage facility costing €2.50 per item per day.

It’s possible to combine bus and ferry tickets from major UK centres to Dublin on the bus network, but with the availability of cheap flights it’s hardly worth the hassle. The journey between London and Dublin takes about 12 hours and costs around €34 return. For details in London, contact Eurolines (0870 514 3219; www.eurolines.com).

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Air

There are direct flights toDublin from all major European centres (including a dizzying array of options from the UK) and from Boston, Baltimore, Chicago, New York and Los Angeles in the USA. Flights from further afield (Australasia or Africa) are usually routed through London.

Airlines

No airline has a walk-in office in Dublin, but most have walk-up counters at Dublin airport. Those that don’t have their ticketing handled by other airlines. The website of the Fáilte Ireland (Irish Tourist Board; www.ireland.ie) has information on getting to Dublin from a number of countries.

Airlines that serve Dublin:

Aer Árann (1890 462 726; www.aerarann.ie)

Aer Lingus (01-886 8888; www.aerlingus.com)

Aeroflot (01-844 6166; www.aeroflot.com)

Air Canada (1800 709 900; www.aircanada.ca)

Air France (01-605 0383; www.airfrance.com)

Air Malta (1800 397 400; www.airmalta.com)

Air Wales (1800 465 193; www.airwales.com)

Alitalia (01-844 6035; www.alitalia.com)

American Airlines (01-602 0550; www.aa.com)

BMI British Midland (01-407 3036; www.flybmi.com)

British Airways (1800 626 747; www.britishairways.com)

City Jet (01-8700 300; www.cityjet.com)

Continental (1890 925 252; www.continental.com)

CSA Czech Airlines (01-814 4626; www.csa.cz)

Delta Airlines (1800 768 080; www.delta.com)

Finnair (01-844 6565; www.finnair.com)

Iberia (01-407 3017; www.iberia.com)

KLM (01-663 6900; www.klm.com)

Lufthansa (01-844 5544; www.lufthansa.com)

Malev Hungarian Airlines (01-844 4303; www.malev.com)

Ryanair (01-609 7800; www.ryanair.com)

Scandinavian Airlines (01-844 5440; www.scandinavian.net)

Airport

Dublin’s only airport (DUB; 814 1111; www.dublinairport.com) is 13km north of the city centre. Along with pubs, restaurants, shops, ATMs and car-hire desks, there are several airport facilities in the one passenger terminal:

Aer Rianta Information Desk (Irish Airport Authority; 24hr Jun-Sep, 6am-1am Oct-May)

Bank of Ireland (10am-4pm Mon, Tue, Thu & Fri, 10am-5pm Wed, bureau de change 5.30am-9pm Mon-Fri, 5.30am-midnight Sat, 5.30am-10pm Sun)

Dublin Airport Pharmacy (814 4649; 6.30am-6.30pm Mon-Thu, 9am-10.30pm Fri-Sun)

Dublin Tourism Office (8am-10pm)

Greencaps Left Luggage & Porterage Office (814 4633; left luggage per 24hr €5-11; 6am-11pm)

International Currency Exchange (5.30am-midnight)

Nursery (9am-10pm)

Post Office (9am-5pm Mon-Fri, 9am-12.30pm Sat)

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Car & motorcycle

Hire

Car rental in Dublin is expensive, so you’re often better off making arrangements in your home country with some sort of package deal. In July and August it’s wise to book well ahead. Most cars are manual; automatic cars are available but they’re more expensive to hire. Motorbikes and mopeds are not available for rent.

Nova Car Hire (www.rentacar-ireland.com) acts as an agent for Alamo, Budget, European and National, and offers greatly discounted rates. Typical weekly high-season rental rates are around €150 for a small car, €185 for a medium car and €320 for a five-seater people carrier. People aged under 21 are not allowed to hire a car; for the majority of rental companies you have to be at least 23 and have had a valid driving licence for a minimum of one year. Many rental agencies will not rent to people over 70 or 75.

The main rental agencies, which also have offices at the airport (6am-11pm), include the following:

Avis Rent-a-Car (1890 405 060; www.avis.com; 1 East Hanover St)

Budget Rent-a-Car (837 9611, airport 844 5150; www.budget.ie; 151 Lower Drumcondra Rd, Dublin 7)

Dan Dooley Car Hire (677 2723, airport 844 5156; www.dan-dooley.ie; 42-43 Westland Row, Dublin 2)

Europcar (614 2800, airport 844 4179; www.europcar.com; Baggot St Bridge, Dublin 4)

Hertz Rent-a-Car (660 2255, airport 844 5466; www.hertz.com; 149 Upper Leeson St, Dublin 2)

Irish Car Rentals (862 2715, airport 844 4199; www.irishcarrentals.ie; Old Airport Rd, Santry, Dublin 9)

Thrifty (454 6600, airport 840 0800; www.thrifty.ie; 125 Herberton Bridge, South Circular Rd, Dublin 8)

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Boat

Dublin has two ferry ports. The Dun Laoghaire ferry terminal (280 1905; Dun Laoghaire), 13km southeast of the city, serves Holyhead in Wales; and the Dublin Port terminal (855 2222; Alexandra Rd), 3km northeast of the city centre, serves Holyhead and Mostyn in Wales, and Liverpool in England.

From Holyhead to Dublin and Dun Laoghaire, the ferry crossing takes just over three hours and costs around €35 for foot passengers or €185 for a medium-size car with two passengers. The fast-boat service from Holyhead to Dun Laoghaire takes a little over 1½ hours and costs €45 or €210 for the same.

Between Liverpool and Dublin the ferry service takes 8½ hours and costs €34 (foot passenger) or €240 (car with two passengers). Cabins on overnight sailings cost more. The fast-boat service takes four hours and costs up to €60 or €370 respectively.

There are several ferry companies that run services to and from Dublin:

Irish Ferries (1890 313 131; www.irishferries.com; 2-4 Merrion Row, Dublin 2) Ferry and fast-boat services from Holyhead to Dublin.

Isle of Man Steam Packet Company/Sea Cat (836 4019; www.steam-packet.com; Maritime House, North Wall, Dublin 1) Ferry and fast-boat services from Liverpool to Dublin via Douglas on the Isle of Man.

Norfolk Line (819 2999; www.norfolkline.com; Alexandra Rd Extension, Dublin Port) Ferry services from Liverpool to Dublin.

P&O Irish Sea (407 3434; www.poirishsea.com; Terminal 3, Dublin Port) Ferry services from Liverpool or Mostyn to Dublin.

Stena Line (204 7777; www.stenaline.com; Ferry Terminal, Dun Laoghaire) Ferry and fast-boat services from Holyhead to Dun Laoghaire.

To/from the ferry terminals

Buses from Busáras are timed to coincide with arrivals and departures from the Dublin Port terminal. For the 9.45am ferry departure from Dublin, buses leave Busáras at 8.30am; for the 9.45pm departure, buses depart from Busáras at 8.30pm. For the 1am sailing to Liverpool, the bus departs from Busáras at 11.45pm. All buses cost €2.

To travel between Dun Laoghaire ferry terminal and Dublin, take the DART to Pearse Station (for south Dublin) or Connolly Station (for north Dublin). Or take bus 46A to St Stephen’s Green, or bus 7, 7A or 8 to Burgh Quay.

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Bicycle

Rust-red cycle lanes throughout the city make cycling in Dublin easier than ever, although traffic congestion, motorised maniacs and seemingly permanent roadworks can make the city something of an obstacle course. Bike theft is a major problem, so be sure to park on busier streets, preferably at one of the myriad U-shaped parking bars, and lock it securely. Never leave your bike on the street overnight. The following shops may come in handy for pedal pushers.

Cycle-logical (872 4635; 3 Bachelor’s Walk) A shop for serious enthusiasts. It has all the best equipment and is a good source of information on upcoming cycling events. It does not, however, do repairs.

Square Wheel Cycleworks (679 0838; South Temple Lane) Does repairs, and will have your bike back to you within a day or so (barring serious damage).

Hire

Bike rental has become increasingly difficult to find because of crippling insurance costs. Typical rental for a mountain bike is between €12 and €30 a day, or up to €150 per week. Raleigh Rent-a-Bike agencies can be found through Eurotrek (456 8847; www.raleigh.ie).

Cycleways (873 4748; www.cycleways.com; 185-186 Parnell St) Dublin’s best bike shop, with expert staff who pepper their patter with all the technical lingo. Top-notch rentals.

MacDonalds Cycles (475 2586; 38 Wexford St) Friendly and helpful, perfect for the amateur enthusiast.

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