CITY WALKS AND CITY TOURS IN DUBLIN – FROM CLASSIC TO SPECIAL FORMATS

Last updated on May 15, 2024

Would you like to see Dublin for a day and would you like to do it together as a guided tour?

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Then I have good news for you today: That’s no problem at all in Dublin!

Photo: dodublin.ie/de/city-sightseeing-tours/ghostbus

Intro

There are plenty of guided city tours or guided walks. There’s something for everyone, from the classic sights to ghost tours!

Dublin is really worth seeing – I know the city quite well because we live nearby (second home). Originally from Germany, my family and I run a motorbike rental business south of Dublin in the summer months (https://www.easycruiser.tours) and also have guest rooms.

I’ve summarised a few great tips for you below. You can browse through them. I’m sure there’s a nice tour for you too:

Topless: Hop-on hop-off bus tour

The hop-on hop-off bus tours with the green buses from Go Dublin are a classic. For example, you can buy a 24-hour ticket or a 48-hour ticket and travel around Dublin all day long on the special Go Dublin buses.

The buses are double deckers with an open top deck. You can hop on and off at any time and the buses stop at all the major sights. There are optional audio guides in several languages. See: https://dodublin.ie/de/city-sightseeing-tours/ticket-options.

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Creepy: Ghostbus tour

The first (original) Ghostbus tour is also offered by Go Dublin.
The two-hour tour takes place in the evening and takes you through the dark side of Dublin with its spooky secrets.

An actor on board will introduce you to the dark secrets of the city. There is also a children’s format, which is not quite as spooky.
See: https://dodublin.ie/de/city-sightseeing-tours/ghostbus.

Irish Teatime: Vintage Tea Trips Dublin

Vintage Tea Trips offers a very special city tour: The bus is a vintage double-decker bus and during the city tour there is tea and cake – a bit cheesy, but very nicely done! See: https://www.vintageteatrips.ie/.

On land and water: Viking Splash Tours

Viking Splash Tours is a very special bus tour. The Viking Splash Tours bus is an amphibious vehicle. It can drive and swim, and it does both on the tour.

The vehicle is covered, but open at the sides. Passengers wear Viking helmets (if they wish) and experience Dublin’s sights on land and on the River Liffey. See: https://vikingsplashdublin.ie/.

On the water: Dublin Discovered Boat Tours

The bright red Dublin Discovered boat has glass walls and a glass roof. It travels between the Old Town and Docklands and the captain tells you a lot about historic and modern Dublin during the tour on the River Liffey. Simply beautiful and cosy! See: https://dublindiscovered.ie/.

Old and beautiful: Old Liffey Ferry Experience

Dublin’s oldest ferry is not a big ship, but rather a smaller and very nice boat with an open deck. Ferry No. 11 dates back to the 1960s and looks back on a long tradition of harbour ferries dating back to the 17th century.

You can take a tour of the docklands and harbour on Ferry No. 11 and listen to the ferryman’s stories. See: https://oldliffeyferry.com/.

Two wheels are enough: BAJABIKES guided bike tour

With BAJABIKES you can take a guided city tour on bicycles. The tour lasts around 2.5 hours and takes in many of the city’s main sights.

Dublin city centre is completely flat, so the tour is suitable for everyone.

There is a “Dublin Highlights Tour”, but you can also book private tours. See: https://www.bajabikes.eu/de/fahrradtour-dublin/.

Free of charge: Dublin Free Walking Tours

The guides with the yellow umbrellas show you the classic sights of Dublin city centre every day on a guided walk and tell you about them in detail. This is the “Best of Dublin Tour”.

There are other tour formats, such as the “Traditional Pub Tour” or “Mysteries and Legends”.

The special thing here: All tours are free and “tip-based”, which means you pay exactly as much as you want after the tour – or not. See: https://dublinfreewalkingtour.ie/.

Private city tour: With Locals

With locals offers private guides who will either take you on an existing programme or design it 100% according to your wishes.

You can choose your guide in advance and always get guides who have grown up in Dublin and know the city inside out. Your guides will endeavour to make your private tour a special experience.

There are different formats that you can choose in advance, such as “Sights and Hidden Treasures” or the “1916 Rebellion and Prison Tour”. See: https://www.withlocals.com/de/experiences/ireland/dublin/tours/city-tours/.

Dark tour: Unearthed Tours

Unearthed Tours offers guided tours – with a pink umbrella. The “Dark Dublin Tour” is a two-hour tour that takes you into the spooky history and stories of Dublin.

Less spooky is the “Free Tour of Dublin”, a free walking tour of the city’s main highlights (with a tip of your choice). Both tours have been recognised by Tripadvisor.

There are more tour formats. See: https://www.unearthedtours.com/.

Historical tour: Historical Tours of Dublin

This is a special format, because the guides are real historians from Trinity College, so the city tour is high-calibre! See: https://historicaltours.ie/about-us/.

With vocals: Dalton`s Musical History Tour

Fiona is a professional singer who offers very special Dublin Walks, namely with singing! Her programme includes group walks, private walks, pub walks and history tours – always accompanied by Irish songs. See: https://historicaltours.ie/about-us/.

Georgian Treasure Hunt: Big Little Treasure Hunt

St Stephens Green is a little treasure in the middle of Dublin – a beautifully landscaped Georgian park.

The Little Museum of Dublin offers a treasure hunt in and around this lovely park, which you can do alone, in pairs or in a group – without a guide. You will be given a map with tasks and search for hidden historical treasures.

Along the way, you will learn a lot about the history of St Stephens Green and Dublin. See: https://www.littlemuseum.ie/whats-on/the-big-little-treasure-hunt/.

Photo: generationtours.com/dublin/private-tours/fables-folklore-free-tour

Pub tour: Generation Tours Pub Crawl

Generation Tours offers a pub crawl in Dublin. You will experience the pubs and clubs that are popular with the locals. There are also normal city tours and a musical tour with Generation Tours. Siehe: https://www.generationpubcrawl.com/dublin?_gl=11ydlxwe_gcl_au*MTUwNzcxNDc4OS4xNzAwNDA2NTc1&_ga=2.112407364.1315548563.1700406575-1905991118.1700406575.

Mystical Dublin: Generation Tours Fables and Folklore Free Tour

The free walking tour offers a wealth of knowledge about mystical Dublin and Ireland: gods and heroes, fairies, goblins and other creatures, myths and legends, myths of the Celts and the Middle Ages, witches and occult Dublin. See: https://www.generationtours.com/dublin/private-tours/fables-folklore-free-tour.

Absolutely delicious: walking food tours
“To properly experience a culture, you must experience their cuisine”. I have nothing more to add to that! Walking Food Tours offers exactly that: a culinary city tour through Dublin – eating like the locals. Alternatively, there is also a drinks tour. See: https://walkingfoodtours.ie/food-on-foot/.

Conclusion

There are so many cool ways to experience Dublin! I think there is something for many tastes.

I have prepared a selection of interesting city tours and city walks for you in this article and hope you have acquired a taste for them.

Dublin is simply fun.

I wish you a great holiday in Ireland!