Exploring Dublin with CityDiscovery


As much as I love city breaks, they can be really expensive. There's no beach to laze around on for hours, there's only so much shopping you can do, there's a premium on just about everything because it's a city and for those who visit cities seeking culture and history, museums can chew away a hefty price of your budget. City passes are one of the latest innovations taking European cities by storm and most cities these days have one. These handy little cards give tourists the ultimate sightseeing pass to discover all the wonderful places that these large cities have to offer. CityDiscovery is a online retailer which sells tours, trips and unforgettable experiences at a fraction of the price that you would pay on entry to most attractions and their most popular deals are city cards. CityDiscovery sells city cards for almost every major city in the world, including Dublin where I recently visited. To help me discover more of Dublin and to try out their service, I was given a 48 hour Dublin Pass.



The Dublin Pass is a city card which includes free entry to 25 of Dublin's most loved attractions including fast track entry to all, a free airport transfer, a 24 hour hop on hop off bus service, 20 special offers including 2 for 1 meals and free cocktails at certain bars and a really handy guidebook all for £59 for 48 hours - which isn't bad when the Jameson Distillery and Guinness are nearly €20 each on their own. For those looking to do some initial research before you head off to Dublin, I really recommend this 25 things to do in Dublin post, it really helped me plan out my time in the city.

When we first picked up our card we headed straight to the hop on hop off bus and stayed on until the Jameson Distillery. The bus featured a live commentator who told us all about the history of Dublin and pointed out famous landmarks along the way. You can get off at any stop along the route and get back on at any point during the 24 hour period - personally I would recommend doing the Guinness Storehouse or Jameson first as they are two of Dublin's most popular attractions and even with fast track it can involve some waiting around. Luckily for us when we arrived at the Jameson Distillery there was no queuing and we were able to get on the very next tour which started ten minutes later. The tour guide took us around the old Jameson distillery and told us about the processes that go into making the famous Irish whiskey. At the end of the tour we had a whiskey tasting session comparing an American Bourbon, Scotch whisky and Jameson and then we were taken into the bar so we could have a complimentary Jameson which is served with ginger ale (which is lovely) or neat.


In true Irish fashion, our next stop also involved drinking, but this time it was to sample one of Ireland's biggest exports, Guinness. The Guinness Storehouse is a popular attraction in Dublin, in fact it welcomes more than one million of visitors a year and it has also seen it's fair share of celebrities over the years. The Guinness Storehouse is a self guided experience which tells the story of the history of Guinness, how it is made and why it became so popular. The experience also gives visitors the opportunity to attend a Guinness tasting session with an expert, a chance to pour your own Guinness and at the end of the tour, all visitors are welcomed up to the sky bar for a complimentary drink.


To take a break from all the drinking, the next day we decided to head to St Patricks Cathedral for a quick tour. St Patricks Cathedral is 1,500 year olds and St Patrick himself used to baptise people in Christianity using one of the wells and Jonathan Swift, author of Gullivers Travels is buried there. The cathedral is a must-see in Dublin as it is incredibly beautiful and the grounds, full of fountains and beds of colourful flowers, are lovely to visit on a hot summery day.


Our final stop on the second day was Dublin Zoo. Dublin Zoo is one of the world's oldest and most popular zoos located in Phoenix Park, a park so big that you can fit Hyde Park into it twice and it is according to the website 'one of the largest enclosed recreational spaces within any European capital city'. The Zoo itself attracts over one million visitors a year and houses over 400 animals.


If we didn't have the Dublin Pass our visits would have cost us €98.50 during our time in Dublin, instead the Dublin Pass cost us around €70 taking into account the exchange rate and we also managed to get a free dessert at Wagamamas out of it. My experience with CityDiscovery was great - the passes were easy to pick up, everything worked well and the Dublin Pass made our trip really enjoyable and most importantly it would have saved us a lot of cash. 

Have you ever bought any city passes?



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24 comments

  1. My friends did the Dublin Pass when they recently went to Dublin - they thought it was really good but didn't manage to see everything as there was so much to see. When I went last time I winged it but I would definitely do it if I went again.

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  2. I've always wanted to visit dublin. Looks like such a great place to go to with lots to see and do xxx

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  3. I've wanted to go back to Dublin for ages and this card sounds amazing. I had something similar when I went to Copenhagen and it saved us so much money x

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  4. This is such a good idea!!! Me and my partner are always going on city breaks and these would really benefit us!

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  5. I bought a Bergen Card when I visited Norway recently and saved a fortune with it. That was my first time ever using such a card, I'd never heard of it before, but I'm delighted to hear that cards for other cities are available too. It's a game changer when it comes to budget holidays, for sure!

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  6. Beautiful photos, I never liked Guinness- taste like tar.

    www.annanuttall.com

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  7. I would love to visit Dublin one day, we were talking about visiting here the other day, and love the sound of the pass x

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  8. I love Dublin as it is so interesting. A city pass is a great idea for saving cash.

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  9. I loved Dublin! We visited earlier this year, great place :)

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  10. I've always wanted to go to Dublin - my parents went and loved it!

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  11. I've been thinking about taking a quick trip to Dublin recently, I've found some really cheap flights from Manchester so it's great to read about some of the things we could do!

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  12. I'd love to visit The Guinness Storehouse, looks like a fun day out! Those elephants at the zoo look soo cute :)

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  13. Dublin is a city I really want to visit one day and I definitely want to try Guinness in Ireland x

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  14. We love visiting Dublin and my folks highlight is the Guinness Storehouse :) they like the views at the top!

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  15. Just come back from Dublin. My boyfriend is a Dubliner so I have had the opportunity to visit the town a few times. It's lovely. I love your pictures. I can see you've been enjoying the local drinks!

    Mika | www.la-french-connection.com

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  16. Great photos and looks like you had a lovely trip. As you say city breaks can be very expensive, but I do love to do them. I am for sure going to book mark this company for future reference :)

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  17. Visiting Dublin this month so will look this up. Fab post.

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  18. What a fabulous card! I've not been to Dublin yet, but it's on my list. Off to Budapest in two weeks so will see if they do one there!

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  19. I absolutely love Dublin! We did the Guinness museum last time we visited, but I might get this card next time because it sounds like great value. Love your photos as well

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  20. Wow that park sounds amazing and very big. I need to pay Dublin a visit.

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  21. I've always wanted to go to Dublin and this card makes an impending visit even more appealing! Looks like you guys had an amazing time xx

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  22. Those cards are so clever, I am going to Amsterdam in October so I will definetely pick up a card for the city.

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  23. I would love to go to Dublin, it looks amazing. Your photographs are lovely too.

    Daniella | Freshly Pressed Beauty

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  24. Wow, you lucky lady - looks like you had a brilliant time.
    I would love to visit Dublin on day, looks awesome! Can't believe the zoo has has elephants. Hayden would be blown away.
    Thanks so much for sharing hun
    Charlotte x

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