Can I go to Dublin for lunch?

[IbizaToTheNorfolkBroads]

DD (nearly 13) wants to go to every country in the world. We are currently on holiday in her 11th country.

Her birthday is just before October half term. I was considering taking her to Dublin for the day (she has not been to Ireland, only NI).

The flights from our local-ish airport leave at 8:45 am, arrive at 10 am, then return at 18:20 pm.

I've never been to Dublin, and I've only ever ferry-ed to Ireland. How long will it take to travel from the airport to the city centre? Do we need to leave 2hrs to pass through check in and security as if we were going further abroad?

I know people go to Dublin on business, but it feels like if we don't get to the city until around 11am, and have to leave at say 15:30, then we're hardly there at all!!

You certainly can - not sure why you wouldn’t just spend a proper day or two though? Much less tiring and more enjoyable.

You sure could, just like people from Dublin would go to London for a day for work. I've done Belfast to London for the day for work a good few times and quite like it but it is a long day and very tiring.

Still though, what an adventure! Go for it.

Yes, you will need 2 hours for check in/ security etc. in Dublin on the way back and bear in mind that the weekday evening traffic starts around 3/4pm and can be terrible so factor that into your journey time to the airport.

When you arrive in Dublin you will also have to go through passport control. This normally moves pretty quick but again depends on how many flights are arriving at the same time as yours. The Aircoach bus service will take you into the city or you can get a taxi. This will probably take about 30/40 minutes depending on traffic. At the moment it's saying 32 minutes on Google maps. There will probably be less traffic when you are traveling mid morning.

Dublin is a small city so you'd have plenty of time for lunch in four hours but not much time to see more of the city or visit any museums/attractions. Could you make a weekend of it instead? There's lots to do!

This sounds like trainspotting with countries - sounds wasteful on all levels to me.

Sorry OP but I’m inclined to agree with this. No point ticking a country off her list when the most she has seen of it are a few hours in the airport and quick lunch in the city. Ireland has so much to see and explore, it would be such a waste to just ‘do’ it in an afternoon.

Dublins about half hour from the airport iirc.

Easy flight as well.

Just factor in getting out of the airport (non eu now so may take longer?) and same for getting back.

Any reason you can't do whole weekend? Lots to do in Dublin and their breakfasts are legendary

My DD and I have just got back from Dublin. With not having to check a bag in we still arrived the 2 hours before the flight but were surprised to fly through security and then had ages to wait for the flight 🙄You can get a bus from the airport into the city centre which takes about 30 minutes and you can book this online in advance. The flight itself from Birmingham to Dublin, there and back again, took just 40 minutes (even though Ryanair had it at 1 hr 5 mins) Any reason you couldn't book a hotel for the night and stay over? Make a night of it? Would be better than having to rush giving you more time to enjoy Dublin.

If your daughter has been to Northern Ireland she has been to Ireland.

Well yes it's doable but I do it for work, it seems a bit pointless just to go for lunch. Anyways she has already been to Ireland.

Dublin airport is often ridiculously busy, half hour bus to the airport.

Whether your political persuasion agrees with this statement or not the north and south have a very different feel culturally. I wouldn’t say that anyone who hasn’t visited RoI has truly seen Ireland.

Does your DD know anything about global climate change and specifically the contribution of aviation emissions to the destruction of the planet?

Would you consider staying overnight and then returning the next day? Even somewhere cheap and cheerful, would be nice not to have to rush and be able to get an evening meal while you're there maybe?

Has she been to Wales?

Join Extreme day trips on FB , people do these days all the time. Plenty of advice there

Without wanting to get into a heated debate (I am Catholic of Irish origin, I do get it), NI and the Republic of Ireland have different flags, different governments, they are different countries.

Yes I am aware that this is a bit "trainspotting". Due to a number of other commitments, we really only have a day. I also have a £200 voucher from a travel agent that expires at the end of October.

Yes, this is precisely why we have travelled from the north of England to Vienna by train this holiday.

Ferry to the Netherlands last summer.

Train/ferry to Orkney the previous summer.

Often

Agree. This sounds like the height of spoilt wastefulness to me.
Better to teach decent values than indulge a child’s whims.

I've done this more than once. Keep an eye on flights as they vary in price. I've been to Edinburgh for lunch too. I live near London and went from LHR. Enjoy!

To want to go on trips and spend time with your child? I am pretty sure the OP teaches decent values to her child also.

@Blackcats7 she's taken 4 flights in nearly 13 years. From my earlier post you'll see that our family holidays are usually by train/ferry/bike. She refuses to listen to Taylor Swift because she flies everywhere. I understand the wider environmental concerns professionally (I am an Earth scientist/environmental engineer working g in decarbonising my industry) and personally (see holiday choices; solar panels; don't buy liquids in single use plastic bottles). You're right though, a single return flight will damage my credibility.

I have some credit with a travel agent that expires in the next few months. I thought this might be a fun way to treat her. But actually we'll stay at home at talk about Irish politics and global warming on her birthday instead.

As a PP said - join Extreme Day Trips on FB! This is a super common destination on there and there are a huge number of posts and tips for doing it in a day!

Thank you

It’s definitely do-able. Uk and Ireland share the common travel area so no need to worry about non-Eu queues etc. as others have said the flight is under an hour and you can get a bus into /from the city centre quite easily. I travel Dublin - London for work a lot and usually just do a day trip. If you want recommendations for lunch places in Dublin let me know. Having said that I don’t think you get a sense of Ireland at all from one lunch in Dublin City centre. It has become a real kip recently and personally I wouldn’t recommend it .

OP - please don't feel that you need to defend your choices to randoms on MN. You have asked whether it's doable and asked for tips for your day out - not for other people's opinions on how you spend your time .