Ok, I might have lied there, it was around £50. I will tell you why. I cocked up the booking! When I booked the return flight was accidentally booked for the same day as my departure. I will talk more about that in a bit. So.... Dublin, is the capital of Ireland. It is a fantastic city, I have been there once before and I decided to visit Dublin again. First of all I chose dublin because it is a cheap destination for british visitors. Flights are generally cheap as Dublin is swamped with cheap flights. (and Aer Lingus)
I booked my trip in advance and people it is the best method to save money. The £50 covered the flights and hotel. Flights were on a deal for £3 from Ryanair The best thing is to always keep an eye on the ryanair website. It is the best way to find out what deals there are out there. Also don't be picky, flights may be more expensive if you choose a specific place. Usually popular destinations are more expensive. Ryanair are a very cheky airline, they advertise £3 but in fact it may not be the price you pay. You must make room for those horrible charges! When I booked flights it was £3 each way + £5 card handling fee. Online Check In was surprisingly free! The total cost of the flights was £16. Now to my little white lie, I booked my return flight on the same day of my departure. Bugger! Bugger! Bugger!. I was in a lot of trouble as I have booked a non refundable hotel room. Ryanair wanted me to pay £35 to change my flight. Of course the cheap me decided no! So I booked a new flight. It cost me £11 for a new flight. Not bad. A JD TOP TIP: Don't be suckered into the additional charges that the airlines offer. There are ways around it. If you cock up a booking, book a new flight, it is cheaper than paying charges to change your booking. If you get your name wrong, you could part with more than £50 to change your name per flight. Book a new flight. I will talk to you about the flight further on and what I did to avoid those costs.
Hotels are bloody expensive, If you book a hotel in the city centre you could pay a lot for a crappy room with a bed with bugs! But luckily there is a way around it. Airport hotels are usually dirt cheap. You pay less for more. I booked a room at a Travelodge. The reason is that I am not a fan of sharing a room with strangers. My room total was £34. You get a standard double room for that price. It is a non refundable room so if for unforseen circumstances you have to cancel your booking say goodbye to your money! Your hard earned money! Precious money! I booked using Hotels.com City hotels will have the benefit of being close to all the major attractions and transport interchanges but you will have to spend more to enjoy the benefits. Airport hotels are useful as they are close to the airport but be warned some hotels (the cheaper ones) do not operate a shuttle bus to and from the airport. This is a royal pain in the arse as it means you need to find out how to get there by public transport or catch a taxi. Bad times.
Booking over the time finally came for me to go to Dublin. The night before I packed my bag. For a cheap trp, you will need to pack light to avoid baggage costs. Checking in your bag will set you back £15! A small bag will be suffice. I call them Ryanair-friendly bags. I have a small green wheely bag. Wheely bags are wheely good for airports (notice the use of puns) as some require you to walk to the furthest gate possible. Make sure you leave space for any extra items that you pick up on your trip as it must fit into your bag. This includes camera bags. If you can't fit it in the bag you have to check it in, or pay the fee, or leave it behind! What do you pack? Clothes that you will need on the day (maybe a spare set), washbag (obeying liquid laws) and of course your camera! (in my case camcorder) I went for an over night trip. MAKE SURE YOU CHECK IN ONLINE AND PRIINT OUT YOUR BOARDING PASS! IF NOT YOU PAY £40! Sucks doesn't it? You can see the general jist of how Ryanair works!
The flights were conveniently timed so I can get 2 full days of Dublin sightseeing in. The outbound flight was early in the morning, t would get into Dublin for mid-morning which gives me a full day of Dublin sightseeing. The flight home would be in the evening. Again I can get another full day of sightseeing crammed in. My flight was for an 8am departure. This meant that I needed to be out the door by 4:45am to make it to Bristol Airport by 6am. I live in a rural town in Wiltshire, and public transport is rubbish. You can't get a bus to the train station at the early hours of the morning! I decided to drive as it meant I did not have to mess around waiting for bus and trains. It is more convenient for me! Bristol Airport parking is CRAP! Discount is not brilliant and the car parking comparison websites were showing the same price as the airport price. I paid £21 to park my car overnight. Not brilliant. Usually in this case I would pick public transport as it is far cheaper. But timing may not be of the essence. Also on my return I would just want to get home, not dread another 2 hours waiting and changing trains and buses. If you can try to use public transport but the car can come in a lot of handy. If you choose to fly from other airports look at airport parking comparison sites such as TravelSupermarket.com /. you may be surprised but folks from the west country, you will have to put up with the normal prices.
After a peaceful drive to the airport (as well as taking a wrong turning in Bristol and following the A37 and not the A38) I made it. Allow 3 hours at the airport, usually the summer months and holidays are the worst times to travel, The line for easyjet was out going out of the terminal, security was busy! Be warned that there are utter jobsworths at security, they shout "BOARDING PASS, LINE UP THERE, NEEEEXT" Once through I played the waiting game. The weather was glorious in Bristol, what a sunrise as I drove along the M4. I had some breakfast and boarded the flight. One new thing that Ryanair do now which me personally I think is silly, is that they bark at you like prison guards (please watch the Shawshank Redemption to understand my viewpoint) to get your bag and place it in a metal bag compartment. If it does not fit, you pay £40. Gee great customer service Ryanair. Also the woman who barked at everyone obviously did not want to be there, she was a classic bristolion. Had a face on, proper Bristol accent, too much make up and negative body language. On the plane the captain came on and told us that it was raining in Dublin. Crap I forgot my coat! Crap!
A very bumpy landing into Dublin and I got through arrivals without a hitch, although passport control was busy! I headed straight for the city. Dublin has a good public transport infrastructure, it consists of buses, suburban trains and trams (LUAS). Dublin are also planning to create a metro system in the future. Head over to the transport desk in the arrivals hall. There you can purchase a ticket which enables unlimited travel on Dublin's Bus system. It is called the Rambler Ticket. You can purchase either 1 day, 3 day or 5 day tickets. I purchased a 1 day ticket for 6 euros. The ticket enables you to travel on the 747 service to and from the airport, allow you to board the Dublin bus tour which is a hop on and hop off service and allow you to travel on any Dublin bus service within the 24 hours. It is a good deal and it is worth getting as Dublin Bus wants you to pay for each fare in exact change. It is cheaper to buy the rambler ticket. I caught the 747 bus to O'Connell Street. It takes 20 minutes but it is pretty fast as the bus diverts through the Port Tunnel to save time. The bus is every 10 minutes. There was a nice feature which I must point out is that there was a TV screen on the bus, first of all it looped CCTV footage of the bus. Then all of a sudden a piturecard would pop up welcoming you onboard the 747. THEN.... a video would play. There were multiple videos. One explaining about the bus service and an introduction to Dublin, another about bus tours and another introducing other attractions around Dublin. Also when you arrive, the bus would announce where it was. Useful for first time visitors.
Dublin is a very beautiful city. It is a strange place. It sort of feels like you are in the UK, but it does feel foreign at the same time. It really is the best of both worlds. Please... let me explain. When you walk around, you get a sense of britishness as there are lots of the british brands. Again lots of your favourite high street stores are found in Dublin. But the traffic lights are different, roads are different, everything feels more European. Dublin has 2 major shopping areas. O'Connell Street and Grafton Street. Both are great places to shop. They have a good mixture of main brands and also irish brands! Using the Dublin bus tour I was able to get on and off at different places. Some of the places to visit includes the Guinness Storehouse. It is an interactive museum which tells you how they make Guinness. They also teach you how to pour a pint and you get a certificate! Your ticket also includes 1 free Guinness (or a soft drink) at their bar situated at the top of the building. The bar is a circular glass building which boasts panoramic views of Dublin. Also it is worth visiting the Trinity College. It is like the Oxbridge of Ireland. It is a great place to relax as you can rest on the college green, or take a tour of the bulding.
Temple Bar is Dublin's cultural quarter. It is a very touristy area but it is great fun in the evening. If you go into one of the pubs, there will be live music. Of course it is Irish music. It really is toe tapping fun, just grab a Guinness and enjoy it all. They have performances during the afternoon in certain pubs but in the evening most pubs will have performers. The nice thing is that when you walk around Temple Bar it is a very different party vibe. If you walked around your own local town centre during the party nights, it is very rowdy. It is nothing like that at all. To be honest we are veryt stereotypical of Ireland being a boozy sort of place. People hang around in groups, one of them usually have a guitar or another instrument and they all sing and have fun. It is a very different atmosphere than your own local street corner!
To be honest it got to a point during the day that I could not last in the rain. So I decided to head to the hotel to dry up and have a shower! People in Dublin are generally nice. Whilst waiting for my bus I was getting horrendously wet from the rain. A woman also waiting for the bus came up and offered for me to come under her umbrella. And of course all of us at the bus stop started talking. It was really nice, it really helped time go by as the bus was a bit late. You can approach people in Dublin and ask for directions. They are very friendly and are willing to help. Dublin is a safe city. It has the lowest crime rates than other European capital cities but make sure you take precautions and not just assume that nothing will happen. Just like any other city, Dublin can have pickpockets in tourist areas so make sure you keep your wits about. Also one thing I noticed is that Dubliners are very inpatient people. When you are waiting to cross at pedestrian crossings people just cross in very little gaps. I saw somebody cross in front of a bus. I nearly swallowed my tongue when I saw that! Also somebody ran in front of a LUAS tram. So because of that its time for another JD TOP TIP. FOR GOODNESS SAKE wait until the green man. If you follow what Dubliners do sometimes it can go wrong! Dublin roads are busy, just wait unless it is clear. Also ensure you get an EHIC (European Health Insurance Card) It is free from the NHS and it is useful as if you get injured in Europe you can get free or reduced cost health care.
I caught the number 4 bus that came every 15 minutes. My hotel was located in Ballymun which is located a few miles from the Airport. It is a suburb of Dublin. I chose the hotel as it was in the greater Dublin area which meant that it was served by Dublin Bus routes. I was warned by a friend about Ballymun but I did not take any notice about it. Ballymun is the equivalent to South London. It is a very deprived area. The whole area was council housing. But it is going through a development, with new hotels popping up and new shops. My hotel was a modern building next to the bus stops. It overlooked the very run down and deprived shopping center and flats. I decided to have a night in as I have been up since 4am. As the tescos was across the street I decided to get a snack from there. I noticed that there was a sign. It was a picture of Tony Blair with a sign saying 'WAR CRIMINAL'. A week before there was a protest in Dublin as Tony Blair was in town. The sign was telling people where the protest was. This made me very scared. I have a very distinct english accent and most likely I would get stabbed if I stayed too long. I walked into the empty shopping center which the majority of shops were either bookies, job shops or dodgy launderettes and other establishments that I would get food poisoning from! The tesco was extermely poor. It felt very dodgy. I asked a member of the mall staff where the tesco was and he just glared at me! Also other people heared my accent and stared. I felt very strange. Inside the tesco I went to pay for my food d all the staff were crowded around the one till. When I went to pay, they all glared and were complete jobsworths. Even the manager was a complete jobswoth. I decided that it was time for me to stay in my hotel room and not come out again! on the way back, some irish chavs approached me, cornered me speaking in irish, waving a picture at me. To be honest it looked like Maggie Thatcher! These kids were obviously underaged so I just barged through and carried on walking. (quite fast!) That experience made me think about the harsh reality of Irish life. It is all not what I said it was, friendly Irish charm. In fact just like the UK there are many who live on the social income and struggle to get by.
My hotel room was very good for £34. I got a TV, en suite and a double bed. Travelodge were very comfortable. I had a good night sleep there. Later I went back into town. Food wise, Dublin is quite expensive. As I was on a tight budget I ate at Subway and Burger King etc. Food is more expensive than what I pay in the UK. Bad Times. Be warned that you will need to have a bit of money when you go to Dublin. You will spend a bit. the £50 you pay will be at the time of booking. It then gives you time to save up for your trip.
I left at 8pm and the sun was setting over Ireland. As the plane flew over the irish coast, I reflected on my trip to Dublin. It was a very enjoyable experience and for the price I paid. I was surprised of the quality of the hotel room and I paid so little for it! Dublin is a thriving and developing city and it is a place that I will visit again and again and again. The amount of cheap flights going to Dublin has opened up opportunities for many visitors to visit this fantastic city. I reccomend this city as a first time place, as it has that good mixture of english and Irish features. You won't feel like you are in the deep end. You don't need to learn a different language, people are friendly and you won't have to worry about different gestures being offensive! Dublin is not as boring as they say, it is not exotic but my goodness has it got a lot going for it. One day I would take my car and explore Ireland, it really is a fantastic country. Don't let the weather let you down, its just like the UK. Because of this there are 2 videos that I would like you to watch. They both describe how I feel about Ireland in general. The first video shows how there's more to Ireland than what meets the eye. The music really feels like Ireland is developing into a international world class destination from its traditional roots.
The second video show the party atmosphere that I experienced in Temple Bar. The music best describes that party feeling in Dublin.
In conclusion, Dublin is a great cheap destination. For £50 I was able to visit an European country. Honestly you won't find any deals like that anywhere else(such as France or Germany). I hope that this blog informs you about how I did it cheaply. I went overnight and got 2 full days in Dublin. Please let me know if you do a trip like this and tell me how it went.
I will leave you with a few tips:
1- Pack light, If you pack light you won't need to check in the bag. Also it leaves space if you purchase any souvenirs in Dublin.
2- Ryanair are very strict when it comes to their charges. You can avoid some but if you don't do what Ryanair say they will punish the wicked with a hefty fine! Make sure you check in ONLINE before you fly, Don't check in your bag, double check all your details are correct. Adhere to the baggage regulations, don't get suckered into paying for piority boarding or paying for crap you don't need. It is not worth the money!
3- Research the location your hotel is, I did not research Ballymun. I was shocked. If you find a hotel which is in a bad area, don't book it unless you feel safe enough. Take into consideration what your transport links are like. You don't want a hotel nowhere near any major bus route.
4- You will need money. £50 covers hotel and flights, but once you are there you will need to pay for other things (food and transport)
5- Make sure you pack for the weather! If it is raining pack a coat!
It takes time to find the right deal so be patient. You will find something!
I hope you have enjoyed reading this blog. I will inform you of my next trip soooon!
Jamie
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