Capital of Republic of Ireland (Dublin) - Part I

This post is regarding to the visitation in the Dublin, the capital and largest city of Ireland. Dublin is in the province of Leinster on Ireland's east coast, at the mouth of the River Liffey. As England and Ireland are separated by the Irish Sea, it is impossible to travel the entire distance by rail, however, the Welsh national train company, Arriva, offers Sail Rail packages, which include rail transport to Wales and a ferry crossing to Dublin, the capital city of Ireland. Trains are available from any station in London to Holyhead, Wales, where you pick up the ferry.

The route via Holyhead is the traditional route from London to Dublin which costs only £38 one way (include the train & ferry). 

London Euston > Holyhead Port > Dublin Port

The whole journey from London to Dublin spend almost 6 hours, which then you will approximately reaching Dublin Port around afternoon even though you get the swift fast ferry services at 11:50am in Holyhead Port. Port-to-Port are 1 hours 49 minutes with an easy 30 minutes check in. Quite recommended to refer to the following webpage for step-by-step travel from London to Dublin in the cheapest price. But, the drawback was the long hours seating around the train and transfer to ferry.
  

Upon viewing the webpage, we pick the scale of 'Ulysses' that is truly impressive. There is plenty to do onboard, with a 2 screen cinema, bars, shops, and lots of dining choices as well as experiencing the panoramic sea views on the top of the ferry.

check-in counter - 30 minutes before departure

interior of the 'Ulysses'

Finally reaching the Ireland

Dublin Port

Dublin Ferryport is situated 2 miles from the centre of Ireland's vibrant capital city, and is positioned at the heart of Ireland’s road and rail network. Dublin Port Tunnel is situated within the port complex &  provides quick access to the M50 & M1 motorways, the main routes to the North and South of the country. A public bus service operates from the terminal building to the main bus station in Dublin City Centre.

However, by the time we reach Dublin Ferry Port is at 5.25pm. Then, we planned to pick a taxi directly from Dublin Port to hotel check-in. After sometimes, we still unable to stop the taxi and even we couldn't stopped them in the middle of the road for safety purposes. Thence, the either way is to queue in taxi stand or make a taxi call. Although, the system seem to be similar in London but we consider going outbound to Ireland in which connecting to international roaming. Luckily, we spotted a small phone stand calling taxi for free while we walk out to the Dublin Port. Then, we made the taxi booking upon our request in the call centre. Normally, the taxi will come within 10-15 minutes depending where you located. 

Dublin Port

dublin city

I have no idea of what to visit in Dublin but straightaway check-in to our hotel first. But, we still come with plan and the first attractions to visit is the Samuel Beckett Bridge and Sean O'Casey Bridge. After this trip, I found that Dublin have the most bridges to be view upon the journey. There are total of 24 bridges to visit if you are interested and each of them are different design (old to new). 

the convention centre dublin

Samuel Beckett Bridge

Samuel Beckett Bridge
Add: Crossing the river from Sir John Rogerson's Quay to Guild Street

Then, we walk around the city and searching for dinner.
 

Dublin town

 Finally, we walked into one restaurant and have our meals as below:

after so much of heavy food, soup is the best choice for meal

Irish Stew

Pork Belly

risotto

our table meal

After the expensive meal, the night turn dark and leave a little energy back to the bridges to see the night view. It might be due to the long haul flight, we easily feel tired even though not much of attractions for today.   

Seán O'Casey Bridge

Seán O'Casey Bridge

Seán O'Casey Bridge
Add: Crossing the river from Custom House Quay to City Quay

Samuel Beckett Bridge (Night View)

Dublin Night View

Night!