Going to Dublin in June. Any musts? Or any side trips?

Go out to the west coast. See the Cliffs of Moher. Forget Dublin, it's just another city.

How long will you be there?

1 week begining June 21

I really enjoyed Galway. There are also plenty od day trips you can take from there.

Galway is nice, like the above poster said, lots of day trips from there. If you are looking for something off the beaten path check out the Wicklow Mountains, its not too far from Dublin. I would also recommend the Mourne Mountains in N. Ireland if you are the outdoors type.

we did a little over a week in ireland in june 4 years ago on our honeymoon. flew into shannon on the west coast and hit lots of towns, driving the countryside, and ended up in dublin before flying home. i enjoyed all the towns we visited (galway and cliffs of moher are great), but i wish we'd had more time to spend in dublin. it's a big city with a lot to do. we did did the guinness tour, which i would highly recommend, but get there early (we did it at 10am-ish and left around 1pm and the line to get in was around the block).

In Dublin I would check out the Guinness brewery, Jameson distillery, Stephens Green, Trinity University, Ha'penny bridge, River Liffey, Bus Tour, and Temple Bar. You could do all that in 2 days easy. Most of these are in walking distance of eachother.

Definitely go out west. You can rent a car or take the train to Galway or Limmerick. Bunratty Castle & Durty Nelly's, Dingle Peninsula, Cliffs of Moher, Galway, Sligo, Donegal.

where would you stay if you went out west?

Depends on your situation. I was a student on an internship, traveling on weekends. I stayed in hostels when I could, if not then at a B&B. If I was there with a wife/GF maybe B&B would be the best route.

Oh and its pretty easy to find a room in a B&B, even during June. You still may want to try to check with a few ahead of time about space.

I went a couple of years ago for a week. I visited Galway, Dingle, and Dublin. I used Rick Steve's book and was able to find some great little B&B's to stay in. I recommend picking it up. I have never gone wrong with a Rick Steve's book.

Galway is a nice location, good to reach other places. Personally, I LOVED Doolin. Easy access to the Cliffs of Moher, tons of B&Bs, fantastic music scene at night. Arguably one of the best local Irish pub/music scenes.

Lehinch is also a good place to stay near the Cliffs of Moher. Good surfing, pubs and golf. I stayed in a hostel there last summer and had a blast.

Or go North and visit Belfast(do a black cab tour), Bushmills distillery(maybe the stay the night here), the rope bridge, giants cuaseway, and the castle on the cliff overlooking the ocean(forgot name)... lot less touristy than the west coast, but tons to do and see.

Take the train to Galway and rent a car. See the Connemara, it is Ireland at some of its best.

Then take a bus to Derry and rent a car. See all of Donegal and Inishowen such as Kennegoe Bay and Slieve League. Eat great seafood in Burtonsport and see the Dolman's at Glen Colmcille. You can buy sweaters in Ardara. The back road drive from Ardara to Glen Colmcille is breath taking.

Go to Derry, see some of the last remaining "City Walls" left in Europe. Then go to Bishop's Castle, Giant's Causeway, Bushmills etc.

Do not take the train from Derry to Belfast then on to Dublin. It is a very long ride. Take the Bus from Derry back to Dublin it is less than 4 hours on the express and you have a great view.

If possible, squeeze in Athlone on the River Shannon and have a pint at Sean's Pub. It has continually been a Public House since the 900's.

Those are my favorite places in Ireland. The South can be a little touristy.

And sit and enjoy a real Guinness as often as you can.

What about any good places in Dublin? We'll only be there for a day trip from London in May. The Guinness Brewery is already on our list.

If you are in Dublin at night, stop on by the Temple Bar too.

Just a warning, Temple Bar is very touristy.

Well they are tourists, aren't they?

The wife and I are going for 8 days in July. I pretty much have the itinerary set, and already have hotels and B&Bs booked. We're starting in Dublin for 2 days, then renting a car and driving all over.I found most of the accomodations either on Orbitz, hostels.com, or through Rick Steves' tour book. In fact one of the B&Bs is giving me 10% off for referencing Rick Steves.

I've been to Europe twice but have never rented a car. What kind of deposits are we looking at? Is it a big hassle or relatively simple? Do I need to attain a international drivers license or international insurance? For those who have been to N. Ireland--is it easy to drive between the countries? Will the rental company have a problem with me driving between countries?

Any and all help is appreciated! And please post advice when you return in June!

Some companies will not let you take the car across the border. Call your car company and make sure with them.

Your DL from the States is sufficient. The car company will make an imprint of your credit card for the deposit.

In most places you may not even know when you cross the border. There are rarely any signs between the Republic and Northern Ireland. During the hoof and mouth disease several years ago the Republic had a check station, but they no longer exist.

While you are in Dublin,the Guiness brewery and the Jameson distillery area couple of musts. If you take the guided tour of the Guiness brewery, the person who has the most correct answers on their card gets an extra pint at the bar upstairs. Just for the record, the official color of Guiness is Rich Ruby Red. That's what the bartender told me when I took the tour. if you do the Jameson distilery tour, be quick to volunteer when you go into the little auditorium at the beginning of the tour. Everybody who takes the tour gets a free shot of Jameson. If you are one of the volunteers that get chosen, you will take part in a taste-test comparision. The lucky volunteers get 4 shot:Jameson, Bushmills, Paddys, and some other brand I can't remember. After you choose your favorite, they bring another shot of it, plus a shot of Johnny Walker Red and a shot of Jim Beam. All this is in addition to the one free shot for taking the tour. All Irish whiskey is triple distilled,scotch is twice distilled, and bourbon is only distilled once. Triple distilling definitely makes it smoother. If you are on the last tour of the day and you are not one of the lucky ones who gets to do the taste-test, there is usually a table in the corner of the hospitality room with lots of drinks on it. The drinks that have had anything added, ice, water,or whatever, get poured out at the end of the day. One of my buddies was on the last tour of the day, and he managed to get quite toasty standing over by that table. Outside of Dublin, the west coast is nice as is the north.
GIGEM

The other whisky would have been Powers.

Undoubtedly one of the best whiskies in the world.

Visit the Four Courts

The Botanical Gardens in Dublin are really impressive.

I would second the Gardens.

The Brazen head pub is cool to see

Pour House, I think? Doesn't serve Guiness, but has tons of other great beers

I really enjoyed the Donneybrook area. Kiely's has great food and service.

A tour through the old jail (Kilmainham Gaol) is a good one and actually interesting

If you get a chance to go to Parnell park for a Gaelic football or hurling match, do it. It was an awesome experience.

Dublin Castle is cool, too.