Dublin, Ireland is a bucket list city. We loved our few days in the city and exploring Ireland – we spent a few days in Dublin, but also visited the towns of Galway and Howth, as well as the iconic Cliffs of Moher. Here is everything we did in the five days we spent in this beautiful Irish city…
Every year, UMKC Law School offers a CLE Abroad trip to Oxford, England. My mom, an attorney, decided to book this adventure, and my teen son and I happily tagged along. It felt like an adult study abroad experience, and it was truly incredible! We stayed on iconic university campuses, and part of our journey included an exciting excursion to Dublin, Ireland. I can’t say enough about how wonderful this experience was. Being part of the group was enjoyable, and staying at Trinity College was an opportunity we wouldn’t have had without the university connection. The best part? You don’t have to be a lawyer to join this amazing trip!
Here’s our YouTube vlog… and you can see the Oxford portion of our trip in this video!
Photo nerds: if you are curious about all of the photography details (camera, lens, focal length, etc.) click on the album and then the little information circle – it’ll give you all of the details. My favorite camera is the Fuji XS20 and my second favorite is the Sony ZV-1 for a tiny little compact camera.
Dublin
The Hop On Hop Off tour is the best way to see the city. The biggest claim to fame historical item is the Book of Kells, which has an entire museum dedicated to it at Trinity College. Live music and street performers in the shopping sections make walking around the pubs and shops fun!
World of Guinness
The coolest place we visited in Dublin was the Guinness Museum. The history is fascinating – and the museum is pure entertainment! Plus, you get a Guinness on the top floor overlooking Dublin.
Cliffs of Moher
Gorgeous. We had a clear day. We hiked along the trail until the safety wall ran out – and then quickly turned around.
If you are planning an Ireland trip, you HAVE to go to the Cliffs of Moher. Note: I later learned that almost all of the bus trips arrive at the same time, and leave at the same time. So if you visit when the bus trips are not there, you have the Cliffs to yourself.
Morbid side note: I learned two people died this year getting too close to the edge for SELFIES. Don’t tempt gravity. Stay on the other side of the wall.
Galway
The same day we visited the Cliffs of Moher, our bus dropped us off in Galway for a few hours. What a beautiful town with so many cute shops & restaurants. Eating oysters with Guinness felt like an iconic coastal Galway experience. I would go back here to stay!
Howth
FYI: Howth rhymes with Both.
I booked a tour of Howth called Coastal Hike and Pints & Puppies from GetYourGuide.com (my favorite site to book travel experiences) with a Cavalier King Charles named Missy and a local named Mark.
What an AWESOME experience!!
We took an Uber rather than the train (but the train would have been easy) and loved the scenic tour from Dublin to Howth, which is about 30 minutes. Leaving the big city behind and arriving to the quaint Coastal town was a pleasant and unexpected escape. Dublin is so huge, and Howth seems so remote for being so close!
Mark walked us around the city with Missy the Cavalier, sharing history and Irish customs, with a few others. Our group was small and it was fun to be with others exploring this beautiful Irish town.
Truth: when we got to the scary cliffs, I turned around with my mom to head back to the town and my teen son trekked on with the crowd and loved it.
This was one of my favorite days on our entire trip.
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