Weekend in Dublin or Edinburgh?

[Kerryoke]

I would like to take a weekend off in September and go somewhere not in England, and I've narrowed it down to either Dublin or Edinburgh because they are easy and cheap to get to and I like them.

DUBLIN
- Transport costs £30 round-trip (plane) (yay Ryanair)
- get in midnight Friday, get back mid-Sunday afternoon
- very expensive! (strong Euro and roaring Irish economy and tourist town)
- Hostels cheap, clean and close to pubs
- pub music sessions go all night

EDINBURGH
- Transport costs £60 round-trip (train) (yay environment)
- get in midnight Friday, get back 1 am Monday morning six hours before press day
- less expensive (indirect relationship between UK latitude and beer price holds true)
- Hostels cheap, clean, close to pubs and slightly less likely to be full of vomiting drunk 19-year-old Americans
- pub music sessions close up at 1-2 am

[Phoebe,OrNotPhoebe]

Dublin, Dublin, Dublin!!!

I've been on me holibobs to both places in the past, and while both are fab, Dublin just has more. In terms of expensive, a lot of people warned us before we went that Dublin was costly, but it's comparable to London. I noticed you're from London too, so I wouldn't let that be a factor.

I liked the people there better (just a personal opinion) - there was more laughter generally and banter; people would chat in to you in a pub, whereas Edinburgh was more London-like in that people tended to keep to themselves.

One thing - beware the Ediburgh Festival unless you've already booked a place to stay!!!

I'll ramble on forever if you want me to, but if I had a chance to go back to either place it'd be Dublin in a flash

[blank]

Sorry to hear that you have to fly Lying (bastard) Air. And correction- Irish economy is no longer roaring. The good news there is the prices are coming down across the board for hotel accommodation and restaurants (I noticed one of my favourite restaurants is now doing a 3 course meal for 2 with a bottle of wine for €55). Beer is still around €5 a pint, though it is coming down slightly. The only things that have gone up in the last year is the public transport- screw the government.

[Fromage A Trois]

I say Dublin, too, although not for any particular reason - I just think it's a more fun town. However, I can't believe anyone would say "yay Ryanair" - it's almost enough for me to choose Edinburgh instead to avoid going Ryanair! Incidentally, you know you can fly from London to Edinburgh with the cheapos too? You'd have to get to Stansted though (or maybe Gatwick), but it might be cheaper than the train (and better times).

Yay holidays!

[WednesdayAddams]

I will be the sole dissenting vote. Edinburgh! I love Ireland, it's beautiful. But Edinburgh is nigh on perfect.

[Phoebe,OrNotPhoebe]

We flew to Dublin via BA - and it was as cheap as RyanAir (shudder)

Don't get me wrong - Ediburgh is beautiful, but vibe-wise Dublin!!

[WormTheRed]

Never been to Scotland, but I had a great and rowdy time in Dublin!

[Kerryoke]

Hello, blank, beer is one of the primo expenses I am worried about! In Edinburgh you can get a pint for less than £2 and I intend to be spending enough time in pubs that that's something worth considering.

I will say I don't mind RyanAir at all -- it's "yay" because it's cheap and it does what it says on the tin. I'm not exactly a luxury traveller!

[Scruff]

Edinburgh for the win.

See if you can do the "Rose Street Mile"; post about it if you make it.

[Caprese]

I liked both, but for me, the best thing about Dublin was the day trips out of it.
I enjoyed actually being *in* Edinburgh.

[blank]

Originally Posted by Tracy Lord

Hello, blank, beer is one of the primo expenses I am worried about! In Edinburgh you can get a pint for less than £2 and I intend to be spending enough time in pubs that that's something worth considering.

I will say I don't mind RyanAir at all -- it's "yay" because it's cheap and it does what it says on the tin. I'm not exactly a luxury traveller!

You are going to be spending between £3 to £4 a pint in Dublin city- more if you want to drink in Templebar. Fosters is the cheapest. Bulmers (Magners) brought their prices down recently but a lot of pubs never passed the discount onto the punters. Still, you won't get Guinness cheaper (or fresher) anywhere else in the world.

[Fromage A Trois]

Originally Posted by blank

Still, you won't get Guinness cheaper (or fresher) anywhere else in the world.

Mmmmm... Guinness... that's some good shit.

[Lungfish]

Edinburgh, natch.

[Doyle]

I still have a bitter taste in my mouth about Dublin. When I went to see Dublin Castle, (where Sigtrygg Silkbeard watched the Battle of Clontarf) it was a fucking office building!

[blank]

Originally Posted by Doyle Hargraves

I still have a bitter taste in my mouth about Dublin. When I went to see Dublin Castle, (where Sigtrygg Silkbeard watched the Battle of Clontarf) it was a fucking office building!

Worse- it's a government office building

[cormac]

i would say dublin, but to also take the time and visit other parts of Ireland. the beer is cheaper outside dubland

[Kerryoke]

I should clarify, I think, I've spent lots of time in both cities, as well as western Scotland and most parts of Ireland except the southwestern leg of the teddy bear. So I'm not going to be missing anything and I'm sure I'll be back to both! I just can't decide which one I feel like for a quick weekend Away! Hmmm.

I have just remembered that the vomiting American tourists are also more likely to buy pub musicians rounds of drinks. Is it worth it, self?

[scareyfaerie]

Dublin's full of drunk 'murricans and stag parties. I vote for Embra!

[Sinfai]

Both great places to visit but I voted without hesitation for Edinburgh.

Transport was my deciding factor. The train service is reliable and you can kip for a few hours on the way back so you won't be too wrecked for work on Monday. Any air travel is subject to delay for a number of reasons including weather. Also getting to and from airports is a pain in the bum and can add hours to your journey.

I'd love to spend a weekend in Dublin but preferably as part of a longer stay in Ireland and definitely not with work looming on the Monday.

[Promethea]

I agree with Sinfai - once you start dicking around needing to catch flights, I'd recommend not doing so if you need to be back on time Monday morning. Besides, flying short distances can be a total pain with all the hanging around, queues , needing to park the car etc etc. Catching the train up to Edinbrugh is pretty cool, especially with a window seat, watching all the scenery change and get ever more stark as you travel further north. Bit like the start of Get Carter. Although obviously even more so.

[Fromage A Trois]

The trains can be an absolute nightmare on a Sunday though. You've done the research, I know, but delays, bus transfers, engineering work... it's all on Sundays, when you're trying to get home!

[PastAllReason]

Originally Posted by blank

Worse- it's a government office building

But a pretty damn cool place to be at for a conference!

[An Gadaí]

I'm from Dublin and I say go for Edinburgh!

[Bear_Nenno]

Vicenza, Italy!! It's close to Venice, and some really awesome people live there. I hear you can fly there from the UK on Ryan Air for like 20 bucks.

[InappropriateHumor]

So, where are you going to end up, Tracy? Inquiring* minds want to know. How am I gonna live vicariously through you with such incomplete information?

*Enquiring gets the squiggly red underline of doom.

[Lungfish]

Rain, tourists and the sodding festival has started. O joy. Unless you enjoy such delights I implore you to stay away from here. Go to Dublin, Vicenza, anywhere but here.