TravelGuides

(TGA) - I have forever wanted to visit Ireland....and my dream is coming true at the end of June! I just booked The Ireland Coast to Coast Hiking Tour thru REI. Here's the link for the description: rei.com/adventures/trips/europe/ireland.html
I am traveling by myself. I'm a little bit nervous about it, as this is a whole new adventure for me - I thought a small tour group would be good instead of going on my own. I have a day in Dublin and a half a day (from12:30 pm until the evening-I leave early the next morning) over by Shannon to spend by myself. I would love some suggestions of what to do...it's so overwhelming when I look at all there is to see!! I was thinking maybe a fun historical tour or walking tour of the city.Any tour company's that stand out??I am open to other ideas, too. I will be staying at the Jury's Inn-Custom House...it's the meeting place for the tour(besides the airport).So something not too far from that would be good. TA has always been great for our other trips and because I'm doing this on my own, I'm counting on you guys more than ever to help :) Thanks!
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WOW, what a trip and a lot of it on foot - I LOVE IT ALREADY. I had never heard of this type of trip before (by bike yes, but not on foot). The itinerary is excellent, and you get some respite too with their backup motorised transport. All I can add is - ENJOY.
Jurys Inn - Custom house key is a standard J.Inn but one of the better ones and the location is excellent in the rejuvenated docs area. I've stayed there a few times and never been disappointed. It's only a brisk 10 min walk to O'Connell street. Ask them for a high floor (there are only 5 floors, but the rooms on 5th are better for singletons)
My only tip for you in Dublin is to take the HOHO bus and use that as your guide.
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Byrno - thanks so much for the info. I'm happy to hear that the hotel is in a good location. I just looked at the HOHO website. That sounds like something that would work really good for me! First day almost taken care of :)
Could you recommend a good pub for dinner that's close to where I'm staying and where I won't feel too weird going by myself?
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I'm afraid not, you will need a Dublin DE or recent visit to the area to get decent restaurant recomms. Not to worry, there are very many eatery choices for you in Dublin city
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We did two tours in Dublin that you might enjoy. First is the Historical Walking Tour of Dublin. The tour starts at Trinity College and over the next two hours, you cover a lot of ground--both on foot and historically. The tour guides are all graduates of the Trinity College history program and are, therefore, quite knowedgable. Our tour guide was also very entertaining--a great storyteller. See http://www.historicalinsights.ie/
The other tour is the Traditional Musical Pub Crawl. You begin the tour in one pub and the two musician/guides take you to two other pubs. The musicians play and sing some great traditional music, tell you about the traditional instruments and also relate some good Irish stories. You are free to drink as much or as little as you like at the pubs. The evening is more about the music than drinking and it was one of the highlights of our visit to Dublin. See: www.discoverdublin.ie/musicalpubcrawl.html
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For a nice atmospheric pub with food close to your hotel, head for The Harbourmaster (about 5 minutes' walk away, back towards Connolly Station), based in the 18th harbourmasters' offices. It's popular with local residents, office workers from IFSC (International Financial Services Centre) and visitors. You won't feel at all weird going in there by yourself.
http://www.harbourmaster.ie/
You might also like to take a look at the Top Questions about Dublin section on the right hand side of the Dublin Forum and click on 'Visiting Dublin as a solo woman traveller?' where you'll find useful information and recommendations as well as trip reports from recent solo women visitors. You'll also find tons of helpful information, advice, suggestions and recommendations about all aspects of visiting the capital, as well a series of maps and information which gives you an idea of the scale of the compact and very walkable city centre.
We've also stayed in Jury's CHQ on a number of occasions and as Bryno has said, it's a good location on the river and close to the city centre. All Jury's Inns are pretty much identicial in terms of facilities and services - decent sized, pretty standard rooms plus restaurant and bar. They are pretty bland and characterless but are comfortable, clean and good value for money. The last time we stayed there last summer we had fabulous views on two sides from a corner room on one of the upper floors. The hotel is located in the renewed docklands area and while busy during the day, the area is much quieter in the evenings.
In terms of the HoHo we'd recommend the Dublin Bus HoHo and the nearest stop to your hotel would be O'Connell Street. Tickets are usually cheaper when purchased online.
http://www.dublinsightseeing.ie/cityTour.aspx
Suggestions for walking tours:
- the combined campus tour (led by Trinity students) of Trinity College and visit to the Book of Kells/Long Room at Trinity College is great value at €10.
tcd.ie/Library/old-library/tour-attractions/
- the historic 1916 Rebellion walking tour gets great feedback
http://www.1916rising.com/
- Pat Liddy tours are also excellent: -
http://www.walkingtours.ie/
A pleasant way of spending an evening in entertaining company and getting to see a number of Dublin's renowned traditional pubs is to head out on the Literary Pub Crawl.
http://www.dublinpubcrawl.com/
Once you'd had an opportunity to check out these suggestions and the Top Questions about Dublin section, just post again if you need any more advice or information.
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