12 hours in Dublin may sound like no time at all, but with £22 return flights who could say no?
My friends and I were wanting to plan a day out but we wanted something different than usual. We turned to skyscanner and found £22 return flights to Dublin. It would cost us more to travel into our local city centre and have a day out. You may be thinking, surely we wouldn’t have enough time to see all of Dublin? For £22 we didn’t mind if we didn’t get to see everything.
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The Flights
We booked our flights directly on the Ryan Air website and the return price from Manchester to Dublin was £22pp. We did also then pay extra to sit together and this was an extra £9 each. You could get away with not paying to sit together. The flight is only 30 minutes but that would be personal preference.
Early Start
Our cheap tickets had us leaving on a 8.30am flight. We got to the airport at 6.30am. Security queues were a little long and we queued for around 35 minutes. Getting through security was painless as we only had a small handbag each with not much in. Once we were through, we grabbed a meal deal from Boots and found somewhere comfy to sit.
The flight itself was pretty quick. Surprisingly the flight to Dublin only took 30 minutes. By the time we we’re up in the clouds, we we’re coming back down. Ryan Air did try to provide a drinks service, but didn’t get to everyone before we began to land.
welcome to Dublin
Once we landed in Dublin, we took the Dublin Express from the airport to the city ventre. We bought return tickets for €12 each and the journey only took 20 minutes. The Dublin Express dropped us at Ashton Quay, right outside a little cafe. It was the perfect spot for some breakfast before we began exploring.
The weather was a little all over the place, changing from sunny to raining but we got on with it. Once we were fuelled up, we walked along the River Liffey and took in the sights. We started by heading towards the temple bar area. Souvenir shops lined the streets before walking by the famous Temple Bar and making our way across the river. Once we crossed the river, we headed towards the shopping centre – we couldnt resist! A quick trip to Penneys (the irish primark) and it was one of the best Primark’s I’ve been in.
Making our way down O’Connell Street, we saw The Spire before heading into Arnott’s for a browse around. Heading back towards the river, our chosen lunch spot was Bar Italia which was beautiful! We had booked a River Boat Tour in the afternoon so made sure to fuel up again before more exploring.
Afternoon Wandering
The afternoon started with a boat tour down the River Liffey. I booked this using the travel programme that I am a part of. The tour took us up and down the River Liffey. Our guide talked to us all about Dublins landmarks, as well as how the city has changed over the years. The sun was shining and it really was a lovely tour. It lasted an hour and it was quite smooth too! It can get a little nippy though so be sure to wrap up!
After our tour, we headed back towards temple bar and had a walk up to Dublin Castle. It doesn’t look like a castle though so it took us a little while to find it. It was a beautiful building none the less. The evening soon rolled in and we found ourselves a rooftop bar and settled in for a few drinks. A few drinks turned into a few shots and soon enough we were needing a bite to eat. In true us style, we found ourselves a mcdonalds and fuelled up.
Heading Home
Fuelled up and ready to go we took one final walk along the river. The city was beautifully lit up as we headed to the bus stop. The Dublin Express took us back to the aiport and the journey was quick again. Getting through the airport was super quick and I was soon browsing the shops. Ultimately, my feet finally gave in on me so we settled for a comfy seat. Our flight home was just as quick as flying out and we were back home by 11.30pm.
Overall, Dublin was a great day trip from the UK. I would do it again in a heartbeat and we are looking to do it again but to somewhere different. Cheap flights to different countrys are the new day trip!
