Many more transport questions (Howth, Kilkenny etc)

notlocal

Hi all,

I am sorry for creating multiple threads - i thought i'd be "smart" enough to figure out the routes by myself but i must admit i've been thoroughly defeated

I have a few questions regarding transport in Dublin:

1. What is the best possible way to get to Howth from Old Kilmainhaim?
2. Would it be advisable for me to travel to both Howth and Kilkenny in a single day?
3. Would it be possible to walk from Temple Bar to Grafton street, and Grafton Street to O'Connell?

THANKS SO MUCH ONCE AGAIN! have a digital pint of beer on me

copacetic

Depending on exactly where, luas then dart. If luas is too much of a walk, then bus/dart.

Depends what you mean by advisable, it's certainly easily possible and comfortable enough but a lot of day spent travelling.

Yes, 5 minutes walk or so for both.

notlocal

Thanks! Dang, i meant Meath, not Kilkenny.
I can't seem to locate Howth on the official DART website though

KD345

notlocal wrote: »

I have a few questions regarding transport in Dublin:

1. What is the best possible way to get to Howth from Old Kilmainhaim?

Howth is served by both bus and DART (commuter train). There is no direct link between Kilmainham and Howth, so you will need to make one change in the city centre.

Coming from Old Kilmainham, you can take the 13, 40 or 123 bus from James Street to O'Connell Street. If you're close to Heuston Station you can also take the 25A, 25B, 79, 79A or 145 which will bring you near to O'Connell Bridge.

From the Kilmainham area you can also take the red line Luas from either James' Hospital or Heuston Station to Abbey Street.

On Abbey Street you can switch to the 31 or 31B bus which both serve Howth. The 31 will take you to the main village part of Howth, while the 31B brings you to Howth Summit.

If you decide to travel by DART to Howth, you can stay on the Luas to Busaras or Connolly. From here it's a short walk to the Dart platform to link to the train. Not all DART trains serve Howth, so be sure your train displays Howth on the front.

notlocal wrote: »

3. Would it be possible to walk from Temple Bar to Grafton street, and Grafton Street to O'Connell?

Yes, these are about a 5 minute walk apart.

LXFlyer

LUAS = Tram by the way.

zagmund

You haven't said whether you will have your own transport or will be relying on public transport. This will make a big difference to logistics. You also haven't defined 'best' - fastest, cheapest, etc . . .

Kilmainham is well connected to the city and is only a short distance. Getting from there to the city by public transport has been covered above, as has getting to Howth from the city. If you are relying on public transport (and depending on where you are actually starting from in Kilmainham) you can expect to spend 60-120 minutes getting from one to the other between walking to the LUAS or bus stop, waiting, travelling, walking to Connolly Station, waiting for the train, travelling, etc . . . As a tourist, this might be a welcome break and a way to see bits of the city, or it might take a chunk out of your day. Depends on your perspective.

Are you visiting Kilmainham Gaol or the Museum of Modern Art, or are you staying in the Hilton, or something else. Starting from Kilmainham in the morning and getting to Howth is no biggie, but if you have to get to Kilmainham from somewhere else, spend a few hours there and then get to Howth you might find your day a little short.

If you provide a little more info I'm sure you'll get some good suggestions.

z

zagmund

I looked for a route map on irishrail.ie and couldn't find one. Way to go for a 'large public transport provider'

wikipedia has a reasonable approximation of a map here - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dublin_Area_Rapid_Transit

Google maps shows the location here - http://maps.google.com/maps?q=howth,ireland&hl=en&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=36.863178,79.013672&hnear=Howth,+County+Dublin,+Ireland&t=m&z=12. If everything goes to plan, then the big "A" will be placed at Howth DART station which is right beside the harbour.

z

notlocal

Hi all!

I'm actually staying at Kilmainhaim, and I'm hoping to spend a day just chilling in Howth and take in the sights. How long will it take by bus/dart? I was wondering Dart as i've heard the sights can be quite pretty when traveling on the coastline. I hope that doesn't sound too silly!

zagmund

LUAS from Heuston to Connolly takes ~15-20 minutes
Connolly station to Howth takes ~25-30 minutes

Walk from Kilmainham to Heuston takes . . . . well, it depends on how fast you walk but I would give it 15-20 minutes. Trudging around Connolly station to get to the correct platform can take a good 10 minutes. Waiting for LUAS, waiting for the train . . . depends on how lucky you are, but allow 0-20 minutes for the combination of both.

As above, this could mean your journey is between 60-120 minutes from end to end. It sounds like I'm painting this as a bad thing, but it's not. If I was going from Kilmainham to Howth that's how I would do it. It's just that all the little bits add up. If you wanted to shave a bit off that then get a taxi from Kilmainham to the city centre (Liberty Hall being the best location to give as a destination to avoid potential one way system induced delays), cross the bridge on foot and get a train from Tara Street. This would cut out the waiting for the LUAS, & the walking around Connolly which does add up a bit.

z

tricky D

Except for the last leg of the DART journey, the scenery is no good. If you are at the east end of Kilmainham, get the LUAS from St James Hospital to Abbey St Lower and then the bus to Howth from the bus stop which is a few dozen metres east of the LUAS stop on Abbey St. If you're in west Kilmainham, you're probably better off getting a bus into the city centre and walking to Abbey St Lower. Budget for 30/40 mins travel.

To get to Howth you can get the 31 or the 31B. Both go to the summit. As a local, what I recommend is that you get the 31B as there are great views from upstairs of Dublin Bay - 40 mins, non rush hour. Get off at the summit and pop into the Summit Inn for a pint and/or food. Then go up the hill beside the Summit Inn to the summit car park and follow the cliff walk signs north (left) all the way down to Howth Harbour. Lots of things to do there: walk the piers, have some local fish food, visit the Transport Museum, Howth Castle, Deerpark and a few nice pubs maybe with some trad music. The last DART or bus goes into town around 11:30 and connects with the last couple of LUASes.

Warnings/notes: if the weather is bad, leave the cliff walk out, if the weather is good and it's the weekend, get the DART as the road traffic along the coast road will be bad.

ProudDUB

Unless the OP is traveling at a time of the day or night when off peak trains and trams are running, they should be able to get from Kilmainham to Howth in about an hour. The LUAS ride from Houston Station to Connolly Station is about 20 mins. The DART ride from Connolly out to Howth is 25 mins. You shouldn't have to wait for more than 5-7 mins for a LUAS tram or a DART train.

Where is the OP going next, Kilkenny or Meath, and do they want to return to Dublin the same day or stay there? OP, Meath borders Dublin. It is not as not far away as Kilkenny, but most of Meath is pretty rural. It does not have the public transport buses/trams/trains that Dublin has. You'd need to really plan your journey via the Irish Rail or Bus Eireann websites, as you don't have as much flexibility regarding where you want to go and when.

Regarding scenery, you'll be passing through the city suburbs for most of the trip. You only get to see the coastal scenery for the last 5 mins of the trip. The southbound DART (to Bray/Greystones) gives much better coastal views. The view of the sweep of the bay between Killiney and Dalkey is spectacular. On a clear day, it is worth the price of the trip alone. Would also agree with the above poster who suggested doing the cliff walk up to the Summit of Howth Head. The views when you get there are spectacular. You can take the bus back into town from there too so you won't have to walk back down to the village to get the DART.

LXFlyer

zagmund wrote: »

I looked for a route map on irishrail.ie and couldn't find one. Way to go for a 'large public transport provider'

wikipedia has a reasonable approximation of a map here - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dublin_Area_Rapid_Transit

Google maps shows the location here - http://maps.google.com/maps?q=howth,ireland&hl=en&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=36.863178,79.013672&hnear=Howth,+County+Dublin,+Ireland&t=m&z=12. If everything goes to plan, then the big "A" will be placed at Howth DART station which is right beside the harbour.

z

There are maps in the "Travel and Station Information" section of the Irish Rail website which would seem the logical place for them.

Here is the link.

zagmund

Don't bet on having a 5-7 minute wait for the DART. The normal interval is 15 minutes, and not every train goes to Howth. If you just miss a Howth train, you could have to wait 15 minutes for the next train to Malahide to go by, then another 15 minutes for the next Howth train.

Or you could be lucky and have a 0 minute wait. Just don't bet on getting one straight away.

z

LXFlyer

Best option OP for Howth is:

LUAS tram from either James' Hospital or Heuston Station to Busaras (trams are every 3-5 minutes).
31b bus from Amiens Street to Howth Summit - timetable is here (it is limited).

If you miss the 31b, then take the 31 instead - it will also bring you to the summit but via Howth Village.

Then follow TrickyD's advice regarding the cliff top walk.

Coming back you can either take the DART train (Timetable here) or the 31 bus from Howth Village to Connolly Station and then a LUAS tram back home.

subway

notlocal wrote: »

1. What is the best possible way to get to Howth from Old Kilmainhaim?
2. Would it be advisable for me to travel to both Howth and Kilkenny in a single day?

the others have given plenty of routes, i would suggest that without a car it would be impossible to visit both places in one day.
get a 10am bus to howth, walk down to the village by lunch time.
have a ramble around the harbour, get some lunch, back to the city centre early evening by dart.

meath has lots to do and its very spread out compared to dublin city, consider guided tour bus and it will easily take a full day for you

notlocal wrote: »

3. Would it be possible to walk from Temple Bar to Grafton street, and Grafton Street to O'Connell?

are you using a dublin bike? they are a great way to get around the city, ie, cycle somewhere and walk back as you can leave the bike at the stands arounf the city