Dublin: Money & Costs

• Currency

  Name

  Euro

  Symbol

  €

  Euro notes come in denominations of 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200 and 500. It is often difficult to get change for a €500.00 note.

  One euro is divided into 100 cents or centimes. Coins of 1, 2 and 5 centimes are copper-coloured; coins of 10, 20 and 50 centimes are gold-coloured; 1 and 2 euro coins are gold-and-silver coloured.

• Changing Your Money

  Most major currencies and brands of travellers cheques are readily accepted in Ireland, but carrying them in pounds sterling has the advantage that in Northern Ireland or Britain you can change them without exchange loss or commission. Banks generally give the best exchange rates, but change bureaus are open longer hours. Many post offices offer currency-exchange facilities and they're open on Saturday mornings.

• Money Tips

  Ireland (especially Dublin) is expensive, but costs vary around the country. Assuming you stay at a hostel, eat a light pub lunch and cook your own meal in the evening, you could get by on US$45.00 a day. Once you factor in moving around the country, you'll need to increase your budget a bit. Added extras to account for the awful practice of charging an extra pound or two for a bath and the more pleasurable ruin of standing the assembled company expensive pints of Guinness.

• Sample Price Guide

  movie ticket

  € 8.50

  newspaper

  € 1.60

  36-exposure colour film

  € 7.50

  city centre bus ticket

  € 0.90

  pint of Guinness from Temple bar

  € 4.50

  pint of Guinness outside city centre

  € 3.40

  litre of petrol

  € 1.00

  CD

  € 20.00

  three course meal with wine

  € 30.00

  Average Room Prices
  Low	Mid	High	Deluxe
  €15-80	€80-150	€150-250	€250+
  Average Meal Prices
  Low	Mid	High	Deluxe
  €5-15	€15-30	€30-50	€50+

• Tipping

  In restaurants, it is common to tip around 12% of the bill and up to 15% to 20% for especially good service, unless a service charge has been automatically added to the bill. If so, check to make sure that the staff actually receive it; if they don't, you can refuse to pay it. With other services, from hotel porters to hairdressers, a small gratuity is commonplace, although you're under no obligation to fork out. The same applies to taxi drivers; usually a euro or two is plenty.

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