Weekend Getaways from Dublin

By Richard Greenbury
15 Oct 2019

After a long and tiring week, we all want to relax and getaway from the crowdedness of Dublin for a couple of days. For this purpose, we would like to recommend you some travel options via DART ( Dublin Area Rapid Transit) and by car which is also a fast and easy option.

DART is one of the most convenient forms of public transportation in Dublin if you are planning to travel along the coastline of Dublin Bay. This option is much more faster than traveling by bus. You can buy the tickets for DART online or at the station before boarding the train. The trains run every 15 minutes during the day and you can find the schedula at every train stop or online at http://www.irishrail.ie/train-timetables.

So let’s begin, here you can find some options for amazing places to go outside of Dublin for your weekend plan!

Dalkey

Dalkey town clock

Dalkey is a small seaside town, just south of the Dublin City Centre. In Dalkey, there is a place to visit for everyone. If you are an adventurer, you can make a backpack and go for a walk at Killiney Hill, it has some panoramic views you can’t find in the city. When you visit the Dalkey Castle and Heritage Centre, you will notice that history comes to live in there. Of course, food and drink are important for your visit. You won’t go hungry because, at any time of the year, there is always an option. Bono’s favourite spot, Finnegan is one of the fanciest places of Dalkey. When you crave some seafood, Ouzo’s Bar and Grill is an amazing place for fresh fish. For wholefood shopping, award-winning place, Nearby Select Stores is open any time of the year.

If you want a train ride to this beautiful seaside town, it is just 30 minutes from the City Centre via DART and it costs about 6-8€. The road trip with a car is around 13 km and takes around 20 minutes.

Malahide

Malahide seafront

Malahide is a seaside village that is only 30 minutes away from Dublin City Centre. When you arrive in this small village, Malahide Castle will welcome you. It is one of the oldest castles in Ireland. If you want to discover the Talbot family who lived in the castle for 800 years, doors of the castle is always open to the public. Walk along the beach with fresh sea-breeze is something to miss. Coast walk is about 4 km and the gorgeous view of the Dublin bay will be going to feel you at home. If you come to this beach at summertime, you can show your swimming skills. After a long day, you can enjoy one the pubs of the Malahide, Gibney’s. In this place with traditional Irish music and amazing food, you will relax. Every trip needs a souvenir but don’t worry, a curated selection of Bianco and Lulu Belle will help you what you’re looking for. For the literature fans, Manor Books is a great place to visit!

Malahide is 13 km north of Dublin. You can take the bus from the City Centre of Dublin, it would cost you around 4€, and will take 45 minutes. With train ride from Dublin, DART will take you here about 40 minutes, and would only cost 3.25€.

Howth

Howth cape

If you want a boat trip to a relaxed and charming village, Howth is the place for you. Howth is a fishing village of the dreams, if you want an angler quest, this harbour can give you what you want. Along with the fishing, you can enjoy seafront serve up restaurants. The Brass Monkey and Oar House Fish Restaurant are one of the best places to feel fulfilled with some fresh seafood. If you didn’t arrive in this village by boat, don’t worry because Ireland’s Eye, an amazing island is just about 15-minute boat ride away. You must taste this easy-breezy atmosphere with a boat ride or a walk by the coast. Howth Market is for the handmade jewellery lovers, also you can find some Irish crafts and vintage antiques in this market. For some entertainment, The Abbey Tavern and The Bloody Stream can offer some music, dancing and comedy event nights.

To arrive this small village, you can use Dublin Bay Cruises which would take around 75 minutes from the Dublin City Centre. For more detailed information you can visit this website: www.dublinbaycruises.com. Another option is with DART, you can arrive Howth by train. It would cost around 7€ and takes about 30 minutes to arrive.

Dun Laoghaire

Dun Laoghaire town centre

If you desire a fancy weekend, Dun Laoghaire is an elegant port to spend the weekend. You can join the locals with a mile-long East Pier Walk. Your view will include all the sailing clubs, The Royal, The National and the Irish National. You can try to learn to navigate the swells in these clubs. If you don’t feel like a sailer, you can try the famous ice creams of Teddy’s Ice Cream and enjoy the view. If you crave for some green, you can visit the People’s Park. Park is a formal Victorian garden, inside this park beautiful and bright flowers will welcome you. On Sundays, food and craft market is open so you can shop and enjoy the view at the same time. For literature lovers, James Joyce Tower and Museum is a great option. Also for some antiquarian and rare books, Naughton’s Booksellers is open for visitors. Other than ice creams, good seafood is a must for this trip, so the Caviston’s Food Emporium is one of the local places. The Purty Kitchen is another fancy option.

To arrive this fancy little port within 30 minutes you can take 46A bus from Kildare Street. DART is another option for the train ride lovers, in about 20 minutes you would arrive the centre of Dun Laoghaire.

Skerries

skerries

A perfect getaway is possible, thanks to this picturesque town Skerries. If you are an adventurer who wants to show some sporting skills or a newbie who craves for some activities, there is a thing to learn for everyone in Skerries. After arriving with a short train ride to this beautiful town, you can enjoy the sea by comforting sea tours of Skerries Sea Tours or with the help of Outdoor Dublin, you can learn surfing and sailing. If you visit Skerries around September and October, a lot of music, theatre, sport and comedy festivals will welcome you. When it comes to food, warm family restaurants that mastered seafood won’t make you disappointed. Also, 12 traditional pubs can easily get you to breathe the traditional Irish atmosphere.

A short train ride from Connolly Station from the Dublin City Centre can get you here easily about in 30 minutes. Or you can take the bus from the same station, and it would take around 1 hour to arrive. Both of them would only cost you around 7-9€.

Greystones

Greystones’ impressing coastline will welcome you while you take a DART to get in here. You can take a lot of stops to immortalize this impressive views with a picture. With having two Blue Flag beaches, water sports lovers will find what they’re looking for. If you’re a walker, there are a lot of routes to take with various landscapes and difficulty levels. After these activities, for healthy option Camile Thai Greystones is great, or for gourmets Chakra by Jaipur is a place that you won’t regret entering. Also for wine lovers, wine bars such as The Hungry Monk and La Touche Wines are the places for you.

To arrive Greystones from Dublin City Centre, you can take the DART, it takes around 50 minutes to get here and costs you only 7-9€. With 155 Bus, 1.5 hours of a bus ride is another option, the cost of this bus ride is about 6-8€.

That’s the end of our recommendations, hope you have a great and peaceful weekend!

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Richard

Richard is the founder of Cribmed. He was born and grew up in New Zealand. In his twenties, he traveled and backpacked extensively before finally settling down in Rome, Italy in 2011.