I have a confession: I used to think city bus tours were cheesy. They just seemed too touristy, and I didn’t feel like you could actually explore the best parts of a city that way. But I was wrong—at least where Big Bus Tours are concerned.
You see, on my recent trip to Dublin, I ran into a slight problem. My friend and I wanted to explore the city as much as possible, but we wanted to do it in a budget-friendly way, and neither of us wanted to drive on the opposite side of the road. That just seemed like an accident waiting to happen.
So, I began to do some research on how to get around town efficiently, and Big Bus Tours popped up as an option. At first, I kind of dismissed them. But after doing more research into their tour routes, I saw that they presented an awesome opportunity to get around the whole city for a fraction of what it would cost to hire taxis!
Of course, the opportunity to learn more about the city’s history and significant landmarks along the way was a bonus. And I have always wanted to ride on a double-decker bus, so double-bonus!
I ended up booking two 48-hour tickets for our two days in Dublin, and I was so glad I did! It wasn’t perfect, but it did make our lives easier, and we even got more than we bargained for!
We had such a good experience that I decided to dedicate an entire blog post to our Big Bus Tour in Dublin and let you know how it can enhance your journey!
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FAQs About Big Bus Tours
- How much do tickets cost? Adult tickets come in several tiers, starting online at €32 for a 24-hour ticket, €40 for a 48-hour ticket, and a couple more options with additional tours to Howth or the Guinness Storehouse.
- How much do kid tickets cost? Good news–for a limited time, each Discover or Essential adult ticket includes one free child ticket (ages 5-15)! The regular price is €18 per child.
- When and how often do the buses run? The buses run daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in 20- —to 30-minute intervals.
- How many stops are on the route? The Big Bus Red Route has 25 stops.
- What language is the tour in? Your Dublin guide will give your tour in English, but you can access pre-recorded commentaries in English, German, French, Spanish, Cantonese, Japanese, Italian, and Russian. Just ask for earphones when you board!
- Where does the tour start? Wherever you want! One of the big pluses of this tour is that you can begin at whatever bus stop is closest to you.
Our Big Bus Tours Dublin Experience
As I mentioned, we ended up buying 48-hour passes for our trip to Dublin. We were able to activate these anytime we wanted from the app, so we didn’t use up time until we actually needed them. I also loved that the Big Bus Tours app allowed me to track incoming buses to see how long we’d have to wait for a ride at any given stop.
48-Hour Big Bus Tours Passes
The ticket we bought was the Essential ticket, which provided 48 hours of unlimited hop-on, hop-off action at Dublin’s greatest highlights. To give you an idea of where it was useful and where it was not, I wanted to give you a brief rundown of how we utilized the tickets.
Because we were staying at the Iveagh Garden Hotel, we made good use of Stop 7 at St. Stephen’s Green, which was just a few minutes walk from our hotel and made for a very convenient start and stop.
On our first day, we wanted to visit Dublin Castle but had no idea that it was right within the city. We discovered how easy it was to access because Big Bus Tours stopped there, and we were easily able to hop off and explore! We also really enjoyed the convenience of hopping on a bus after exploring Trinity College. So, if you are already planning to explore some of these highlights, the bus will be a great choice!
On more than one occasion, we would hop off and explore an area, then realize that we were closer to a different stop than the one we hopped off at. The number of stops made it very easy to find a bus whenever we needed it without having to backtrack. However, there were times we did have to walk a bit to find a stop because we’d ventured quite a ways from the route.
Near the end of our second full day, we made a point to get on the bus and ride it all the way around the city so we could take full advantage of the sightseeing and learn more about Dublin. This was also a great chance to rest our legs because we had done a lot of walking as we explored different areas. Unfortunately, we were under a bit of a time constraint, so we didn’t get to stop at all the places we really wanted to, like Phoenix Park.
A couple of times, the bus schedule did not align with our personal schedules, so we chose to walk. We also had an occasion where we chose to walk rather than ride a part of the route we’d already been on.
In retrospect, I probably would have tried to plan more of our activities around the bus schedule if I had known earlier that we were going to buy the tickets. It’s not necessary, but I think we would have gotten even more use out of it with some better planning.
But for 40 euros, we got to rest our feet more than planned, learn about the city, and easily access some places we already wanted to visit from our hotel. I think that’s a win!
Dublin Night Tour
One of my favorite parts of our Big Bus ticket was the included Dublin Night Tour! When I bought the tickets, I didn’t realize that we got a bonus tour. But I was so excited to add this to the schedule. It did take a bit of planning (and this is why we rode the full route at the end of Day 2), but I think it was worth the time.
The night tour is 60 minutes long and starts from Stop 1. While there is some overlap between the standard route and the night route, the Night Tour focused on landmarks that really shine at night. Literally! We saw so many beautiful buildings and bridges that were lit up–often in colorful lights. It looked like a completely different city from the one we’d been exploring for two days, and I loved it!
We learned a lot more about the history, culture, and important people who made Dublin what it is today. It was educational and fun, and I felt like it really made this ticket worth more than we paid!
The only downside here was that the tour started and ended at Stop 1, which was about a fair distance from our hotel. And since the buses don’t run the route at night, we had to walk back to our hotel, which took about 40 minutes.
However, I do want to say that we didn’t really mind. We could’ve gotten a taxi for less than €10 euros, but Dublin really comes alive at night–especially on the weekend. The streets were full of people, so it was not a dark and scary walk like it would be in some cities. It felt very joyful and safe, and we really had a good time strolling back to the hotel.
Get a Sneak Peek of Big Bus Tours Dublin on YouTube!
Closing Thoughts on Big Bus Tours
If you can’t tell, I have a new outlook on hop-on, hop-off tours! While I will continue to weigh all my transportation options in new cities to see which is best for us, I’ll definitely be looking into more Big Bus Tours. They have options all around the world, so I can see a lot of potential here!
What do you think? Do hop-on, hop-off tours sound like a good option for you, too? Let me know in the comments below! Your feedback helps me create content that’s helpful and valuable to you, so please don’t be shy (but being nice is always requested)!
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Thanks for reading this post. If you’re interested in more Dublin content, be sure to check out the posts linked below for more helpful information on planning your upcoming adventure.
Trinity College Library: A Visit To One Of the World’s Most Beautiful Libraries
From Dublin to Belfast: Full Review of Our One-Day Tour
Spilling the Tea on Dublin’s Exciting Vintage Tea Trips Experience!
Until next time, happy travels!
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