Two days based in Dublin is enough for the family’s two cheapest, easiest day trips: Howth and Bray to Greystones, both reached on the regular DART with no ticket to book and no tour bus. Together they run roughly EUR 30-50 including food, a fraction of what a single Cliffs of Moher coach costs. For the deeper gateway family, Glendalough, Newgrange, the Cliffs of Moher, and Belfast, our 3-day plan and beyond keep adding one trip at a time to this same spine.

Three days based in Dublin nests the 2-day plan exactly, Howth and Bray to Greystones on the DART, and adds Glendalough, a EUR 14-23 bus fare each way to a free monastic site. All three days run without a rented car and without a packaged coach tour. For Newgrange, the Cliffs of Moher, and Belfast, our 4-day plan and beyond keep extending this same spine. Book these before you go:

Four days based in Dublin nests the 3-day plan exactly, Howth, Bray to Greystones, and Glendalough, and adds Newgrange, the one trip in this family where the money isn’t the problem, the booking window is. For the Cliffs of Moher and Belfast, our 5-day plan and beyond keep extending this same spine. Book these before you go: Newgrange and Boyne Valley tour : the real sell-out risk on this itinerary, book 3-7 days ahead in peak season Glendalough and Wicklow half-day tour : only if the public bus timetable doesn’t suit your day Your Dublin hotel : compare a central room before you land Day Day trip Travel time from Dublin Cost 1 Howth 25-35 min by DART EUR 4 return, no booking 2 Bray to Greystones About 40 min by DART to Bray EUR 4-6 return, no booking 3 Glendalough and the Wicklow Mountains About 1h20 by St Kevin’s Bus EUR 14-23 bus, free site 4 Newgrange and the Boyne Valley Guided tour only, no walk-up EUR 18 direct, or EUR 45-75 coach Day 1: Howth, the cheapest day out Take the DART from Connolly, Pearse, or Tara Street, 25 to 35 minutes depending on the station, trains every 20 to 30 minutes, roughly EUR 2 each way on a Leap Card, about EUR 4 for the round trip.

Five days based in Dublin nests the 4-day plan exactly, Howth, Bray to Greystones, Glendalough, and Newgrange, and adds the Cliffs of Moher, the priciest and longest day in this entire family. For Belfast and the Giant’s Causeway, our 6-day plan keeps extending this same spine. Book these before you go: Cliffs of Moher day tour : the single biggest booking on this itinerary, weekend departures fill by midweek in summer Newgrange and Boyne Valley tour : book 3-7 days ahead in peak season Glendalough and Wicklow half-day tour : only if the public bus timetable doesn’t suit your day Your Dublin hotel : compare a central room before you land Day Day trip Travel time from Dublin Cost 1 Howth 25-35 min by DART EUR 4 return, no booking 2 Bray to Greystones About 40 min by DART to Bray EUR 4-6 return, no booking 3 Glendalough and the Wicklow Mountains About 1h20 by St Kevin’s Bus EUR 14-23 bus, free site 4 Newgrange and the Boyne Valley Guided tour only, no walk-up EUR 18 direct, or EUR 45-75 coach 5 Cliffs of Moher 3-3.

Six days based in Dublin nests the 5-day plan exactly, Howth, Bray to Greystones, Glendalough, Newgrange, and the Cliffs of Moher, and adds Belfast and the Giant’s Causeway, the only trip in this family that crosses into a different currency. This is the full gateway family, all six day trips, sequenced from cheapest to priciest. Our 7-day plan adds one free flex day on top. Book these before you go:

Seven days based in Dublin nests the 6-day plan exactly, all six day trips from Howth to Belfast, and adds one free flex day at the end for weather, a repeat visit, or simply catching up. Nothing new needs booking for Day 7; it’s the one day in this itinerary that costs whatever you choose to spend, or nothing at all. Book these before you go: Belfast and Giant’s Causeway tour : book the all-inclusive coach version ahead in peak season, or take the Enterprise train and sort the Causeway leg yourself Cliffs of Moher day tour : weekend departures fill by midweek in summer Newgrange and Boyne Valley tour : book 3-7 days ahead in peak season Glendalough and Wicklow half-day tour : only if the public bus timetable doesn’t suit your day Your Dublin hotel : compare a central room before you land Day Day trip Travel time from Dublin Cost 1 Howth 25-35 min by DART EUR 4 return, no booking 2 Bray to Greystones About 40 min by DART to Bray EUR 4-6 return, no booking 3 Glendalough and the Wicklow Mountains About 1h20 by St Kevin’s Bus EUR 14-23 bus, free site 4 Newgrange and the Boyne Valley Guided tour only, no walk-up EUR 18 direct, or EUR 45-75 coach 5 Cliffs of Moher 3-3.

Dublin’s cheapest day trips cost less than a Guinness Storehouse ticket, and its priciest costs more than a night’s hotel room. Howth is a EUR 4 DART round trip with a free cliff walk at the end. The Cliffs of Moher, by contrast, run EUR 65-89 for a 12 to 13 hour coach day that hands you maybe 90 minutes at the actual clifftop. Six genuine day trips sit within reach of Dublin, and the honest budget math on each one is different enough that “just book a tour” is bad advice for at least half of them.

Two days in Dublin splits cleanly into a near-free day and a splurge day, and knowing which is which ahead of time keeps the budget honest. Day 1 leans on the free National Gallery, Grafton Street, and a tip-jar trad session, for maybe EUR 30 total outside food. Day 2 is the one expensive day: Kilmainham Gaol and the Guinness Storehouse together run roughly EUR 35-45 in tickets alone. No day trips fit into two days; for the Cliffs of Moher, Glendalough, or Belfast, see our Dublin, Ireland itinerary instead.

Five days in Dublin means only one genuinely expensive day, the rest run on free museums, free parks, and a couple of cheap extras. Day 1 is near-free (National Gallery, Grafton Street, a tip-jar trad session). Day 2 is the splurge, Kilmainham Gaol and the Guinness Storehouse, roughly EUR 50-70 in tickets alone. Days 3-5 add the Liberties, Phoenix Park, Iveagh Gardens, and the Georgian squares, all free or close to it.

Six days in Dublin still has only one genuinely expensive day. Day 1 is near-free (National Gallery, Grafton Street, a tip-jar trad session). Day 2 is the splurge, Kilmainham Gaol and the Guinness Storehouse, roughly EUR 50-70 in tickets alone. Days 3-5 add the Liberties, Phoenix Park, Iveagh Gardens, and the Georgian squares, and Day 6 adds a free walking tour plus the Docklands, all free or close to it. No day trips fit here on purpose; for the Cliffs of Moher, Glendalough, or Belfast, see our Dublin, Ireland itinerary instead.

Seven days in Dublin is a full week on the ground with still only one genuinely expensive day. Day 1 is near-free (National Gallery, Grafton Street, a tip-jar trad session). Day 2 is the splurge, Kilmainham Gaol and the Guinness Storehouse, roughly EUR 50-70 in tickets alone. Days 3-6 add the Liberties, Phoenix Park, Iveagh Gardens, the Georgian squares, a free walking tour, and the Docklands, and Day 7 is a flex day for whatever got skipped, all free or close to it.

Dublin’s best budget secret is that its two best museums cost nothing, every single day, not on some rotating free-entry schedule. The National Museum of Ireland and the National Gallery are both free walk-in, no ticket required, and together they beat most of what visitors pay EUR 30-plus for down the road. The cheapest big-ticket attraction in the city, Kilmainham Gaol, is also its hardest booking: EUR 8, released 28 days out at midnight, gone in minutes.

Dublin is not a cheap city, but its free-versus-paid split is more forgiving than it looks. The National Museum of Ireland and the National Gallery are free every single day, no rotating schedule, no ticket. The cheapest big-ticket attraction, Kilmainham Gaol, is also the hardest to actually get: EUR 8, released 28 days out at midnight, gone within minutes. Budget realistically for the Guinness Storehouse and the Book of Kells, roughly EUR 45-60 combined, and skip anything tied to Dublin Castle for the rest of 2026.

Howth is the cheapest day trip Dublin has to offer, and it isn’t close. No tour bus, no advance booking, no attraction fee: a EUR 4 round-trip DART ticket and a free cliff walk are the entire cost of the day, versus EUR 65-89 for a Cliffs of Moher coach or EUR 14-23 for the Glendalough bus. This page covers Howth as the flagship of Dublin’s gateway day trips; the wider network, Glendalough, Newgrange, the Cliffs of Moher, and Belfast, gets its own Dublin day trips guide .