11 top tips for visiting Dublin on a budget

02.04.2024 - 23:59 / lonelyplanet.com

Even if your budget is tight and your pockets are light, there are ways to experience everything Dublin has to offer. You may have to bypass high-end restaurants and opulent castles but you won't miss out on a diet of international street food, live music sessions and sociable hostels.

Dublin, like any other major European capital, can be expensive, but the city has a lot of free and low-cost activities on offer. One thing that you're guaranteed to find at no cost is hospitality, great craic, and maybe a little rain! Here are some of our top tips for visiting Dublin on a budget.

Ireland’s main international airport is in Dublin, so the city benefits from global connectivity. With Dublin being the home and hub of budget carrier Ryanair, there are always cheap ways to get here by air from Europe. Aer Lingus often offers deals and flash sales on its many transatlantic routes. 

Unfortunately, the island of Ireland has no direct connections by rail to mainland Europe or the UK, but train travel can be combined with a ferry across the Irish Sea. Irish Ferries offers a special "RailSail" fare on the Holyhead to Dublin route that includes onward train travel, from as little as €45 per person each way. Stena Line also operates on the Holyhead to Dublin route, while Irish Ferries connects Dublin to Cherbourg in France for both foot and car passengers. Look for deals on both carriers.

The shoulder season, from late August to October, can also be the best time to visit Dublin, weather-wise. September, when the schools resume after the summer break, usually offers the best value for tourists. Peak times to visit the city include St Patrick’s Day in mid-March and the lead-up to Christmas in December; come either before or after these holidays (so in February, April, November or January) to help your euros go further.

Sometimes the best way to see a city is to get out into nature and look back. There are plenty of great views in town (for example, from the bridges over the Liffey), but the best views are from just outside the city, accessible for the price of a ticket on a DART train service. From atop Killiney Hill or Howth Head, you can drink in the fresh air and look out toward the Irish Sea on one side, and the sprawling expanse of Dublin to the other, and have the Dublin and Wicklow Mountains as a moody backdrop.

Keen to stretch your legs or take a refreshing dip in beautiful surrounds? Hiking enthusiasts and sea swimmers are well catered for, as Dublin is in striking distance of both coast and mountains. The popular Bray to Greystones walking route in nearby County Wicklow is an easy trip from the capital – visit on a weekday for a quieter time on the trail.

Many of the city’s top museums are ticketed but Dublin has