Not all tours are bad, in fact sometimes tours work out better than doing a self-guided visit. Logistically and financially speaking. But for other situations like staying in Dublin there are many places you could easily visit on your own be it car, bus or train.
One thing I enjoy about planning trips is figuring out ways to visit places on our own time without being tied to a set itinerary on a tour group.
Here are a few of the places you can visit as an easy self-guided day trip from Dublin without needing to book a tour group. Straight from my Ireland trip notes!
But before I begin, please double-check timetables and routes prior to your visit as the ones mentioned are now up to date at the time of publishing this post. Also, I have no monetary affiliation with any of the businesses linked in this post. They are listed because I recommend them based on my trip research.
Rock of Cashel
I wanted to visit the Rock of Cashel but we didn’t have enough time in Ireland to get to it. However, if you do, take the bus instead of the train (or drive if renting a car.) The route on Bus X8 using Bus Éireann is about 2 hours 5 minutes travel from Busaras station to Main Street in Cashel. From there, the castle is a few minutes walk via Moor Lane then go left on Rock Lane.
You can always pop in to one of the restaurants or shops and ask as well if you’re unsure once you get off the bus.
This is the bus route that ends in Cork (Expressway Route X8, Dublin Airport – Dublin – Cashel – Cork) and vice versa. It looks like the last bus to leave Cashel returning to Dublin’s Busaras is at 19.40 (7:40pm) and earliest from Dublin to Cashel is 08.00 (8:00am).
There are some tour companies who stop at the Rock of Cashel, but if you don’t want to be tight on time, a self-guided trip would allow more time to walk around not just the grounds but the town itself.
Rock of Cashel is historic because it is said to be the site of the conversion of Aengus the King of Munster by St. Patrick who converted the king to Christianity.
The site is also known as St. Patrick’s Rock and Cashel of the Kings.
Belfast
Take a self-guided trip to Belfast by hopping on a train! Board the train to Belfast from Dublin Connolly station. You will get to Belfast Central station in just 2 hours and the route there is pretty scenic.
We cannot stop recommending a visit to Titanic Belfast.
It’s amazing to not only hear the story of the Titanic but to actually view the dock where it was built is surreal. You can also tour the neighboring SS Nomadic – the Titanic’s tender that was made for transporting passengers to and from the ship.
Tip: If riding on the Enterprise train from Dublin, your ticket allows boarding on a train that goes directly to the Titanic Quarter free of cost from Belfast Central Station. You must keep your ticket to ride the train to the Titanic Quarter Station.
If you prefer to walk, the Titanic Quarter is 15 minutes away and you’ll be able to walk along the waterfront for some nice views.
The first train to Belfast is at 7:35am and the last train leaving Belfast is at 20.05 (8:05pm) arriving in Dublin at 22.15 (10:05pm).
Trim
If you’ve seen the movie, Braveheart, then you will most likely recognize Trim Castle as it was used in the movie.
Take Bus 111 to Trim, an hour’s ride away. You can view the timetable for this route, here. Once you’ve entered Trim, get off at the Boyne Bridge Bypass stop.
One way you can get to the castle is by walking via Castle Street. It’s the first street on your right hand side. The castle will be around the corner. Follow the castle walls and you will get to the entrance.
For a more scenic way to the castle, use the gated door seen on your right once you’ve gotten off at the bus stop.
You can read more about our time in this lovely town on our blog post about Trim.
Kilkenny
Oh my gosh, Kilkenny is such a cool town! It’s a medieval town and compact enough to get around by foot to see the sights.
Do not miss Kilkenny Castle, the exterior is gorgeous and looks like a castle from fairytales. We didn’t go inside to do the tour but we did spend a lot of time on the grounds (tons of locals were doing the same!) and it’s free!
We grabbed a take away lunch at Supermac’s and had a picnic in front of the castle. Also, there is a store called Penneys at Market Cross Shopping Centre – that store is awesome! So many great bargains, I compare it to a Ross, Marhsall’s or TJ Maxx.
We could’ve bought a ton of stuff there but it would’ve required an extra suitcase to get back home!
Kilkenny also has the Black Abbey, a 14th century church of the Dominican Order with its highlight being beautiful glass stained windows.
To get there, take the Kildare/Waterford Service route from Heuston Station to MacDonagh Station in Kilkenny. It’s about 1 1/2 hours away on Irish Rail.
You can get there by bus but it’s much longer, a 3 hours ride from Dublin’s Busaras.
From MacDonagh Station walk along Dublin Road eventually crossing the river and you should end up on High Street – the main artery of Kilkenny where you can reach the sights, shops and restaurants. The walk to High Street is around 15 minutes.
The earliest train to Kilkenny departs at 7:25am arriving at 9:00am and the last one back to Dublin is at 19.02 (7:02pm) arriving at 20.38 (8:38pm) just in time for some pub crawls!
Galway
Galway is such a vibrant city and I wish we had more time to spend there.
We did not visit Galway on our own since it was a stop on our tour from the Cliffs of Moher, but since we were short on time in Ireland we had to visit Galway via tour.
If you do go on your own, it’s very easy to get there from Dublin’s Heuston Station. The earliest train from Dublin is at 7:35am and you will arrive at Ceannt Station (Galway’s railway station) at 10:08am. The last short journey train back to Dublin is at 7:20pm (19.20) arriving at Heuston Station at 9:48pm (21.48).
If you can, stay overnight and have an authentic Galway bar hopping experience with John from Craic & Cultúr.
While I haven’t met John personally, my favorite PBS travel gurus Nikki and Dusty from Two for the Road recommended him and John was very helpful in answering Irish bar related questions I had prior to our trip to Dublin.
Can I also throw in that I really loved Galway after watching Ed Sheeran’s video for “Galway Girl”? We were only there for a couple of hours and I feel like we missed out on so much the city has to offer.
Be Your Own Guide
So as you can see, self guided travel isn’t that scary after all! I just wish or trip to Ireland allowed more time to do most of these things on our own. Unfortunately, due to flight delays and cancellations our trip had about 3 days taken away from us so we had to skip a ton of places.
Maybe we’ll have better luck next time?
Do you prefer tours or doing things on your own? Comment below and share this post! And if you have any questions about planning self-guided day trips or overnight trips in Ireland do not hesitate to email me. I am happy to help if I can!
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