The best of Dublin on a budget(1)

With recession hitting Ireland hard - Dublin’s delights can be had at a discount, particularly if you’re happy to live more like a real “Dub” than a jet-setter.
 
> Getting around: Dublin reserves much of its cramped road space for buses and taxis. Metered taxi fares for inner-city trips are between 8 euro ($A15.60) and 15 euro.
 
As you exit Dublin Airport, taxis are to the right, buses to the left.

Taxis to the city centre will cost at least 20 euro, so they’re cost-effective only for groups of three or more. Otherwise, take the dark-green, comfy Airlink buses for 6 euro one way.
 
Regular blue Dublin Buses - just 1.55 euro - head straight into the city’s working-class reality. Save more with a multi-day Dublin Bus pass from a machine at the airport bus stop. Adults can travel citywide for a week for 26.50 euro and children for 9 euro.

Slightly higher-priced tickets include the city’s two LUAS light-rail lines, and the DART commuter trains, ideal for day trips to coastal towns north and south.

Dublin Bus also offers day-trip packages to major tourist centres outside Dublin, http://www.dublinbus.ie/sightseeing/.
 
To find out if your hotel is near a bus route, check out www.dublinbus.ie/your-journey/hotel-index.asp.
 
The easiest way to get oriented in Dublin is with a hop-on, hop-off bus that stops at most of the important tourist sites for about 15 euro.

The biggest mistake that car-loving Americans make is to study a map of Ireland, note that the country is 500km top to bottom, and think they can “do it” in a week. There’s no surer way to ruin a short trip to the Emerald Isle.
 
> Cheap digs: Dublin is one of Europe’s most compact capitals, with plenty to see and do by foot, so book a hotel or bed and breakfast in the urban heart.

Dublin’s inner north side - delineated by the River Liffey that cuts the city in two - is scruffier and less desirable to the image-conscious, but convenient on foot or by bus.
 
Hotel rooms in Dublin are pricey, usually charging per person rather than per room. Insist on a room rate or look elsewhere.

Those travelling solo will fare better in Dublin’s hundreds of home-based bed and breakfasts - www.dublin-bnb.com/.
 
The backpackers’ Mecca is on down-at-heel but strategically located Gardiner Street. Next door lies the main Dublin bus station with shuttle buses to the airport; Connolly train station, with DART commuter trains and the option of a quick, cheap day trip to Belfast 161km north; and a light rail that links west to the Jameson whiskey tour and Guinness brewery.

The nicest of the Gardiner Street guesthouses is the Townhouse (www.townhouseofdublin.com/).
 
For discounts on multi-day stays at more upscale hotels, check out the Irish Hotel Federation’s page, www.irelandhotels.com.

Beware that many supposed Dublin-area hotels actually are somewhere between the sticks and the boondocks, of use only by car. If a hotel doesn’t have a postal code at the end of its address, it ain’t in Dublin. (Virtually the rest of Ireland goes codeless.)
 
The Bewleys Hotel chain - www.bewleyshotels.com/index.asp - offers rooms for up to three adults for 59 euro a night through year’s end. Its flagship hotel in Ballsbridge (Dublin’s answer to Beverly Hills) would be a bargain at that price.

The canalside Mespil Hotel - www.mespilhotel.com/index.php?id—special-offers - advertises discounts for the St Patrick’s period and beyond.
 
> Cheap Eats: Don’t worry about finding authentic Irish cuisine. It doesn’t exist - and if it did, would almost certainly be served by an immigrant from Spain, Poland or China.
 
The authentic Irish dining experience, however, means the pub - preferably a buffet-style lunch for about 10 euro a head before drinks.

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