Day 5: Dublin, Ireland

Our cruise was originally scheduled to dock at Dun Laoghaire. A few weeks before we sailed, it was changed to the port of Dublin. This change made it easier to reach the city itself. Instead of taking a train ride, we instead took a cab to Trinity College which only cost €10. We arrived at Trinity College around 10am. We bought our tickets online prior to the cruise for €13/person. The cost of a ticket bought at the door is €10/person. For €3 more person, I strongly suggest you pre-purchase your tickets online. As you can see from the 3rd picture below, the line for tickets can be quite long. You reserve your tickets for a certain time but the guard at the door never checked our ticket times. Prior to visiting the Book of Kells, we went on a student-led tour of the college for an extra €6/person. This was very enjoyable as the student who led our tour was funny and informative at the same time. The Book of Kells inside the Old Library was very impressive.

From Trinity college, we walked down Dawson Street towards St. Stephen's Green and had lunch at Hatch & Sons. I had the bacon sandwich made with Blaas, a local soft white roll. After lunch, we boarded the Hoho bus. I don't recall the cost of the Hoho ticket but children are free and it was a good way to travel around the city. Our first stop was Temple Bar/Dublin castle. We then walked to Christ Church Cathedral, and from there walked to St. Patrick's Cathedral.

Blaas Sandwich

Temple Bar

Christ Church Cathedral

St. Patrick's Cathedral

From St. Patrick's Cathedral, we tried to stop at Kilmainham Gaol (historic jail) but the line was long so we decided to skip it. We just stayed on the bus until it's final stop at O'Connell Street. We then transferred to the Docklands Route bus for the Jeanie Johnston ship. The Jeanie Johnston was a ship that transported immigrants from Ireland to North America in the 1800s. Its claim to fame is that no lives were ever lost in any of its journeys.

Guinness Brewery (the Hoho bus stops there but we decided not to go inside)

Jeanie Johnston

Our stop in Dublin was another enjoyable one. The change in port made getting into the city more convenient. We got to see several interesting places (Trinity College and the Book of Kells, St. Patrick's Cathedral, the Jeanie Johnston ship), we were able to sample some local cuisine, and enabled us to stroll through some parts of the city.