Cheap city breaks are the holy grail of travel in my eyes, especially when I can have a full weekend away without having to take any additional time of my holiday allocation. Hotels as a rule sky-rocket in cost on Fridays and Saturdays with many discounts not applying over the weekend. 
With this in mind; I bring you a 1nt stay in Central Dublin – including (well timed) flights from Liverpool for just under £70 per person. By all means, if you are happy to stay outside of Central Dublin, you could book a decent hotel for under £60 quite easily (Maldron Hotel £46, Rathview B&B £60, The Royal Marine Hotel – with pool £60) but the travel to/from Dublin depending on your plans, may eat into both your precious time and money.
Flights:
During the week flights to Dublin can be as cheap as £7 each way. As tradition with RyanAir it’s a hand-luggage only deal, but that really should not be a problem for a one night stay over.
Hotels in Central Dublin:
The idea of having a hotel in Central Dublin means that you can opt to get around the city using either day-saver bus pass, or just by walking. As standard, all my recommended hotels must have a rating of 3*, 4* or 5* and an average user-rating of 3.5/5 or higher.
Paramount Hotel (3*) – £95
The Paramount is situated in the Temple Bar area of Dublin, in the centre of the night life. Free wi-fi comes as standard, but breakfast is a surcharge of 12EUR each (approx.) Given the location, I’d recommend skipping the hotel breakfast and finding a café nearby. Book via Hotels.com unless you have a card that will give you a good exchange rate on Euros. If so, it may be worth booking with the hotel direct for 118.75EUR (~£88) which means you can have breakfast included.
Harding Hotel (3*) – £96
In a similar location to the Paramount, the Harding Hotel has a slightly higher guest rating (4.1/5). Free wi-fi but a surcharge for breakfast again 9EUR each (approx). No beneficial rates on this one by going direct, so I’d use Hotels.com to qualify towards your free-night.
O’Callaghan Davenport Hotel (4*) – £89
Just on the other side of Trinity College, the O’Callaghan Davenport Hotel is 10-15 minute walk from Grafton Street and all of the main attractions Dublin has to offer. In fact, Merrion Square, where the hotel is – is actually a recommended stop for the Georgian architecture!
Free wi-fi and access to the fitness suite are included, with Breakfast available for £7 at the time of booking (otherwise 13.5EUR each). Rates based on either a Double or King size at Hotels.com.
Getting Around / Transfers
Transfers to/from Dublin Airport into the city centre should put you back 10EUR, but if you think you will want to do a fair bit of travelling – it’s worth your while upgrading to a Visitor Leap Card. The Leap Visitor Card is a pre-paid ticket that allows you unlimited travel for 72 hours after first use on:
- Airlink 747 airport bus service
- All Dublin Bus scheduled services (not valid on tours)
- All Luas (tram) services
- DART and Commuter Rail in the Short Hop Zone (all of Dublin city and county)
You can buy a Leap Visitor Card for €19.50 at the Spar shop in the arrivals hall in T1 or T2, or at the Travel Information desk in Terminal 1.
Enjoy Dublin!
ScouseTraveller 