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!!

I have a lot of friends who have done this but the usually get a slightly earlier & later flight home, around 7am and home around 11pm are there no earlier/later flights that day?

OP if you normally prefer to avoid flying then I wouldn’t “use” a flight to go to Ireland - it’s really easy to get the train to Holyhead/Liverpool (depending where you are) and then a ferry. I also think it is such a waste to go to Dublin for an afternoon to “tick off” Ireland - there is so much to see, so much beautiful countryside that you could explore with more time.

If you wanted to go somewhere for a short time I’d choose somewhere further afield (that would be more tricky to get to without flying) and spend a weekend there.

Yeah

Go to the Green Hen

It's amazing

Ideally I would, but I am very tight on time due to caring responsibilities.

Easy trip and a great day out we have done Dublin for the day and Northern Ireland for the day both different but a great day out. We did Dublin via Public transport, Northern Island we had to hire a car as the places we wanted to see are further apart. Our Daughter managed 22 countries in the year she was 21. I hope you have a great time

Green hen lovely; also recommend Rosa Madre for lunch; it’s in temple bar - it’s fab
enjoy the time with your daughter! X

I've been to Dublin for the day for work a few times, it's perfectly doable.

Have you looked at both Ryanair and Aer Lingus as you might be able come back a bit later if you can cope with a long day? Ryanair at least can be very cheap, from £30 return.

I'm sure I flew back around 9 or 10 pm when I've done it so time to see more of the city.

Dublin Airport is huge so don't skimp on time going back.

go for it, i went to dublin for a day from edinburgh years ago on a free ryanair flight think it only cost a couple of quid in taxes

Go to Cork City instead :)

There is no hope for the future of human civilisation.
😡😢

Sorry but I agree travelling to Vienna by train is notbenough to cancel or balance the effects of flying somewhere for lunch, OP.

I honestly think you both would enjoy it a lot more and feel less stressed and rushed if you went for at least a weekend.

Speaking personally, I have flown in and out of Dublin airport several times over nearly 30 years and I find it a stressful (very busy and prone to delays with long walking times and expensive for food and drink) airport, and I really would NOT want the experience of navigating it twice in the same day, without an extremely good reason.

We have family lists of where we have all been. We only count a country if we spend a day and a night there. Could you use the voucher in the October half term and stay over for more of an experience of Ireland?

I've flown from Dublin to Stansted, hired a car, driven to Cambridge and returned in the one day, op, so it's entirely doable. Enjoy the planning and have a great day!

There is an extreme day trip group on Facebook

www.facebook.com/share/p/kgYQQQLZT62CbxxA/?

Yes, visiting all countries in the world takes a lifetime and even then not all I'm sure. You need to spend time there, not just a few hours to say you've done it. She's 13? A wonderful goal but she needs to understand what it really means. X

This! Ireland is an island.

Just to note, even though UK and Ireland share the Common Travel Area, both Irish and UK citizens MUST go through passport control. No one seems to know why as flights from Ireland to UK have a separate channel on arrival and you just sail through!

I mention this as a possible time factor for anyone going to Ireland from UK under the CTA.

Thanks everyone for the challenging thoughts on sustainability and Irish politics and also for the useful information regarding passage through Dublin airport.

I would love to go away for longer for all the reasons given. Everyone I go away, I have to organise someone to look after my mum. At the moment it's a sibling who is visiting. Since they're a teacher and their half term is different to ours, it can't be them. There will be a few days during October half term where ds will be away on a school trip, and one of those days dh will be able to take leave or wfh and be on hand for dm (he normally works away during the week). It is a finely balanced situation and difficult to make changes to the routine.

We had an office day outing to Dublin the other month. Caught the first flight out of Birmingham and the last flight back. We had a top time. Didn't see much of Dublin but saw the inside of plenty of bars !! 😂

Surely given all of this it would be better to wait until a more suitable time for the trip OP? You could always just book flights or a hotel with the travel agent’s voucher for a later date.

I think it sounds like a really fun, special birthday treat for your daughter.
Yes it may be a bit rushed, but you have a voucher to use, a birthday to celebrate and limited time due to responsibilities.
Make the most of what you can do and enjoy your day! I hope your daughter loves it!!

Could you fly to Cork instead? It's much more compact than Dublin and the airport is a lot easier to get to/from the city. It's a lot less congested than Dublin and a nice vibe walking around. Lots of restaurants / cafes to lunch in. A day trip is very doable.

It is suuuuuuuuch a waste to tick off Ireland only seeing Dublin. Could you look at flying to some of the other airports in Ireland and seeing a different part? The flight times might work better and usually the wait times through security are less than in Dublin Airpott, freeing up more time! Dublin is honestly my least favourite place in this country!

If she's serious, and you're determined to help her, I have no idea why you'd set her the example of flying to one of the few countries directly accessible by ferry.

Visiting every country in the world is the very definition of unnecessary travel, so the ethical thing is to keep the carbon footprint down.