Travels

One Day in Dublin: How to Explore Dublin in 24 hours

October 3, 2019 by Meg 3 Comments

How to get the most out of 24 hours in Dublin

Short on time? Get the most out of 24 hours in Dublin by reading this post of the best way to explore Dublin city in one day! I get it, most people arrive in Dublin and then head out to the country to spend most of their holiday – and I still think that the best parts of Ireland are best found out in the country, away from the big city. But Dublin should not be skipped over entirely. There is loads to see and do in Dublin – in fact I have written several posts about all the things you should see and do if you are ever in Dublin, because there is ALOT to see and do (scroll to the bottom of this post for links to some of my other top Dublin posts!). To be able to see absolutely everything, you would need more than one day, but if you are only here for a short time, here are some of my top things you should do if you have a day or 24 hours in Dublin:

1. Keep it Central and Walk

Traffic in the city center can be a bit of nightmare and may actually slow you down, especially if you are short on time. If you can make your way to the center of town, then a short walk along the Liffey River between the Ha’Penny Bridge and the Samuel Beckett Bridge gives you a good sense of what Dublin is about. You could also choose to walk from the Spire to Trinity College. Once at Trinity, then Grafton street is not too far away. Grafton Street is a big pedestrianised street with some high end shops (like Brown Thomas etc), it also has a lot of buskers playing music. At the top of Grafton Street is St Stephens Green Shopping Center which is a bit of a small mall, but it is beautiful on the inside and highly insta-worthy architecture 🙂

2. Walk through Temple Bar – but do not to have a pint there!

Temple Bar is not just a bar, it is an area in Dublin with loads of pubs and tourist spots – it really has become a mecca for tourists, which means if you stop and have a pint in this area – guaranteed you will pay more than an arm and a leg for it! Still it is nice to walk the cobble streets and the vibe is always festive because Temple Bar as an area is always filled with happy tourists, take a few insta-worthy snaps and move onto a proper Irish pub to have a pint!

3. Have a pint in a proper Irish pub

There is definitely a post on the best pubs to visit in Dublin in the making – if only we could limit the selection – because there are loads! In city center area, our faves would be Mary’s Hardware (Just off Grafton Street and has a wow burger restaurant in the basement!); McDaid’s (just off Grafton Street; make sure to look out for the Phil Lynott Statue just outside!); O’Donoghue’s (close to Merrion Square and serves a great pint of Guinness and trad music!)

4. Picnic in a Park

At the top of Grafton street is St Stephens Park – which is the perfect spot for a picnic lunch! Another fave park of ours is Merrion Square (which has an Oscar Wilde statue and is also close to a few free museums!)

5. Be selective on the Tourist Attractions

Realistically, if you want to really get the most out of the 24 hours in Dublin, you would need to choose one or two tourist attractions to do (and depending on where they are, you might only be able to have time to do one). Most people would say Guinness Storehouse is not to be missed, but i honestly find it a bit overrated and for 20 bucks, you could have more than one pint in an actual pub. My top tourist attraction to do in Dublin has to be Kilmainham Gaol – but you have to book a time slot in advance. You can catch a local bus to Kilmainham (Busses 13 / 40 / 123 from College Green get you pretty close); alternatively you could get a hop-on-off bus which most definitely stops there. Kilmainham Gaol goes through Irish History and shares some great stories about the people who fought for Irish Independence. It has a similar vibe to how you would feel going to Robben Island in South Africa – I have done the tour twice since living in Ireland and I have cried both times.

Got more time in Dublin? Read these posts:

IF YOU ONLY HAD 24 HOURS IN DUBLIN, WHAT WOULD YOU EXPLORE FIRST?

Live Simply & Travel Slow,

~Meg~

p.s. If social media is your thing (snap! It’s my fave too!), you should totally follow me on Instagram.

PIN FOR LATER:

All you need to know about renting a houseboat in Ireland

May 13, 2019 by Meg 2 Comments

Renting a houseboat in Ireland has been on our wish list for a while, and I am so happy that this was the year we finally got to do it! I decided to write a post all about houseboating in Ireland because a lot of followers on Instagram reached out with questions – and honestly, it was one of the best holidays we have done. When most people think of visiting Ireland, they often think of the popular spots along the coast; Wild Atlantic Way, Ring of Kerry, Cliffs of Moher, Dublin – what most people don’t consider is the midlands of Ireland. The midlands is the heart of Ireland, and it has many rivers and mountains, and there are truly magical places to explore within the middle of Ireland.

Firstly, where can you hire the house boat?

There are various marinas along the Shannon river. The Shannon is the longest river in Ireland and runs from from Limerick, all the way up to Northern Ireland. We hired the houseboat from Carrick-on-Shannon in county Leitrim. The company we used was called Shannon River Cruises. Once we had our dates sorted, they came back with various rental options through various companies. The one we chose was called Locaboat. The reason we went with Locaboat was for the type of houseboat they offered us (it was a nice size for two people; with a bathroom and kitchen); plus they offered the best rate to allow us to bring Jack (35 euro, where other places charged 100 euro).

How did we get there? Where did we park?

So most of you know that we don’t own a car, so there were a few options for getting to Carrick-on-Shannon. We looked at taking the train there (which is easy enough), however since we went away for 4 nights, and wanted to bring all our food (and Rob’s beer) plus the rest of our gear – taking the train felt like a bit of a hack to be honest. So we opted for renting a car. A nice tip for renting cars in Ireland is the cheapest rental we have found is to rent a small van, so that is what we did. It meant that we could transport all the things we needed and wanted with us, plus there is free parking at Carrick-on-Shannon which was safe for us to leave the rental while we were on the boat. When we rent cars, we always use Enterprise, they just seem to be the most affordable, plus their deposit is on 250 euro, which is the cheapest we have found. You can read more about renting a car in Ireland here.

How long can you hire the boat for?

You can rent a houseboat for 3 nights, or longer. We chose to rent one for 4 nights and it was perfect, possibly could have stayed longer! Remember that the houseboat doesn’t go very fast, so depending on where you want to travel along the Shannon river you will need a few days to get there and then some time to get back to drop off the boat afterwards. *Just a note that we could only pick up the boat after 2pm; and you need to drop off the boat at 9am the final day.

How much does it cost?

To be honest, it is a bit more than what we would usually budget for a weekend away in an airbnb, but you are paying a bit extra for the unique experience. Remember that it is not only the cost of the rental, and the deposit you will need to account for. You will also need to pay for the fuel you use (we spent 100 euro for 4 nights but this was because we travelled quite far in the end), cost for bring a pet (35 euro), your food and drinks (a lot of the places we stopped along the way were small towns and not a lot of stores or restaurants were open over Easter weekend so it was handy we brought our own food), plus locks and showers etc. Locks cost 1,50 each, and the number of locks you go through will depends on your route. There were shower facilities at some of the stops, and for these you can use a ‘smart card’ which we bought when we got the houseboat, it is loaded with credits and each access to the shower costs 2 credits.

What time of year can you rent a houseboat?

Houseboat renting season is from March to October. We rented over Easter weekend in April, and it was a bit of a gamble in terms of the weather that time of year. The rental company said the weekend before us had ice on the boat in the mornings, however we were blessed with unusually sunny weather. I can imagine that in the middle of Summer it might actually be too hot, because the houseboats don’t have very large windows or aircon.

Do you get training or need a license to drive the houseboat?

This was a hot question most people asked on Instagram – and the answer is, we did a short training on the boat with an instructor where they showed us how to drive the boat, and follow the markings. We had to drive the boat out of the marina, under a bridge and back – and that was it. No license is needed to drive the houseboat! To be honest it was a bit nerve wracking at first, when you are out there on your own, but the houseboat doesn’t move very fast and as long as you follow the guidelines they give you – it is relatively fool-proof.

What about locks?

As I said before, it costs 1.50 to open the lock. Some locks further north of Carrick-on-Shannon are automatic locks where you use your smart card to open them. Others are manned locks, and you have to call the lock keeper in some cases when you arrive at a lock to open up. Once the lock is open and the traffic light is green, you drive the boat through. The lock opens on the one side and is closed on the other side. Once you are in the lock, you hand your ropes to the lock keeper. They have a hook where you give some of the rope to them, whilst you hold the end of the rope – the lock keeper then ties the rope to the side to secure the boat. Once the ropes are secure, they will close the open side so now you are in the middle of the lock – they then raise or lower the water depending on the side you are planning to exit. It is such a cool experience! The first few times there were soggy wet ropes, and awkward clumsy passing to the lock keeper but they were all so helpful and patient with us and by the end of it, we were pros! *Note there maybe bridges you might need to get lifted (at a cost) but that was the other handy thing about our boat, it was small enough to fit under all the bridges we travelled under.

How do you park the boat?

One of the rules about houseboating is that the boat needs to be moored (parked) before sunset. You cannot travel on the rivers after dark. So you will need to plan your route carefully so that you are not stuck between marinas at sunset. Also some stops are small, so they fill up pretty quickly, On our first stop, we arrived just before sunset to find the dock was full. This was when we learnt that you are allowed to tie up to another boat if the dock is full – we met a seasoned couple who let us attach to their boat and that was incredibly helpful for us to know! Most of the mooring stations are parallel making it easy to drive the boat into a spot. Once you find a spot, you will need one person to drive, and one person to handle getting off the boat and securing the ropes to secure the boat to the side – usually a rope at the front and back on the one side. We also learnt to travel during the morning, and park in the afternoon instead of the evening, it meant we got a good spot, and could relax on the boat or explore the town before sunset each evening.

What are the facilities like on the boat and at the marinas?

Think of it like glamping. You have a bathroom on the boat, and a basic kitchen, but for the most part, it is a little like camping, just you get a proper bed to sleep in. The shower facilities on the boat were somewhat lacking, so we used the facilities at the stops – however these were sometimes a bit of a a hit and miss. At some stops the water was cold, or the facilities were out of order. The toilets were public and free, and surprisingly well looked after. If you prefer luxury holidays, this might not be the kind of holiday for you, however if you are a regular camper – this will be like luxury for you!

What should you bring?

Lifejackets, linen and towels are provided, along with basic kitchen equipment (plus oven/stove and fridge). It is a good idea to bring sunglasses and caps for the glare – it might not be super hot but can still be sunny. Try pack all the food, water and drinks you may need as some of the stops don’t have stores along the way. We brought our kindles and books to read plus our bluetooth speaker for music, but we should have also brought a pack of cards or games to play in the evening.

So, what was our route?

We headed south from carrick on shannon for a few days, our furthest stop was just before Athlone, and then we turned back and traveled a bit North on the last day before returning the houseboat. We stopped at Dromod our first night. There is a great pub which we enjoyed a few sunset drinks but the food menu looked good too. Then we stopped at Lecarrow the second night, which I found to be such a beautiful spot. There is a dolmen which you can walk to from the dock, as well as a small grocery store and pub. On day three we started travelling back, but took a detour along the Camlin river and stopped at Richmond which is the start of the Royal Canal. There was a nice pub, which I am told does a great sunday lunch, we unfortunately thought they did dinner too but the kitchen closed at 3pm. On our last day we travelled past Carrick-on-Shannon and headed north on the Boyle river stopping at Cootehall. It was a 45 minute drive back to Carrick-on-Shannon early in the morning to drop the boat off by 9am.

HAVE YOU RENTED A HOUSEBOAT? WHAT WAS YOUR EXPERIENCE?

Live Simply & Travel Slow,

~Meg~

p.s. If social media is your thing (snap! It’s my fave too!), you should totally follow me on Instagram.

PIN FOR LATER:

8 of the Best Day Trips around Dublin

October 16, 2018 by Meg 4 Comments

Dublin is filled with tons of things to see and do – you could literally stay here for a full year and still not explore everything this city has to offer. I have written a few posts about all the things you should see if you only have a weekend in Dublin, 20 free things to do in Dublin, a handy list of the free museums to explore, as well as the top 5 tourist spots most people go to. Most people when they arrive in Dublin, tick off Temple Bar, possibly Guinness Storehouse or a whiskey tasting, and then head off to explore the rest of Ireland. What people might not realise is that Dublin is a great place to base yourself, and head out on a few day trips around Dublin.

We have done a few day trips that have involved heading to Cliffs of Moher or heading up to Northern Ireland, but this is a list of our fave day trips around the Dublin area that would take under an hour to get to:

Heading North of Dublin:

Malahide: a 30 minute train ride on the DART heading north of Dublin. A visit to Malahide Castle and Gardens, most people choose to grab a lunch at Avoca which is at Malahide Castle however there are some great food spots in the town of Malahide. Malahide is a quaint town, and it is quick to walk through to explore it from the train station (you do not need to pay for the mini train tour – its a bit of rip off, but the tourists love it. Another great walk is from Malahide harbour towards Portmarnock beach. Portmarnock beach is really beautiful, and it was the first beach that kind of reminded me of home with the sand dunes. It is a rated as a blue flag beach, so the water quality is good for swimming, if you are feeling brave!
Howth: a 30 minute train ride on the DART heading north of Dublin. Howth is technically east of Dublin, as it is a peninsula that juts out. It is a lovely seaside irish village, and one of the most recommended spots to grab some fish and chips and eat it along the harbour front, or on the pier – just be careful of the seagulls. My mother in law last a huge chunk of her fish to an attacking seagull! After lunch, you can walk through town, and along the cliffs. There is a great path that takes you around Howth Head, and up to a parking lot at the top. You have to have a pint at the Summit Inn (well earned after the walk!) and then it is a downhill walk back to the train station, or you can catch a bus that starts its route right outside the Summit Inn.
Skerries: Slightly further North from Dublin is Skerries, about a 40 minute train ride from Connolly Station (note: this is not on the DART line, you would need to take the train going to Drogheda/Dundalk). Skerries has a great sea front, which you will often find people going for a summer or picnic in Summer. You can also grab a bite to eat at some of the little restaurants. Another popular thing to do is to visit the Skerries windmills. We didn’t pay to go in, since we took Jack along with us, but the walk around the windmills is easily accessible and free to do.

Heading West of Dublin:

Powerscourt Estate: The simplest way to get there if you are relying on public transport is taking the 44 bus to Enniskerry village, and then it is 25 minute walk to Powerscourt Estate. If you are driving, then it is about a 50 minute drive from the city center. The estate and gardens are simply beautiful to explore. The garden foliage changes with the seasons, and a highlight is to visit in spring to see the flowers in bloom. You honestly could spend a full day walking around the gardens, stopping for lunch at the estate or walking back to Enniskerry village. There is a hike to the waterfalls which we are yet to explore, I think this is probably a bit too much if you are walking/bussing. We plan to go back and hike to the Powerscourt waterfalls when we have a car as the waterfall is 6km walk from the main estate.
Glendalough: Glendalough is in part of the Wicklow way, so technically you are travelling to another county, it is still just an hour drive from Dublin. You can take a bus tour there if you don’t have a car (which is what we did) or drive there yourself. There is a great walk you can do around the loughs, bring a picnic lunch or stop at the restaurant for lunch while you are there.
Dublin Mountains: less than a 30 minute drive from Dublin, or you can take a bus out to various spots along the Dublin Mountains. We took the bus but in hindsight, I wouldn’t recommend it. It is about a 3-4 km walk from where the bus drops you off, along narrow country roads which is often quite busy with cars travelling up and down – several times whilst we were walking we had to jump out the way of passing traffic. It is a bit high risk, plus if you drive up you can save your energy for doing a longer walk in the Mountains! There are several walks you can do. This is a great website which has several walks and maps you can download and use. Some of the ones we have done are:
- Hellfire Club
- Kilmashogue (which leads through to Fairy Castle past Three Rock and then through Ticknock forest)
- Ticknock Forest
- Massy’s Estate

Heading South of Dublin:

Dun Laoghaire: a 30 minute train ride from city center. Dun Laoghaire is a great seaside town, I wrote a blog post about all the things you can do in Dun Laoghaire. We love to grab an ice cream and scroll along the promenade – we do this all year round, in fact, our favourite time to eat ice cream is in the middle of winter.
Bray/Greystones: an hour train ride from city center. Bray is a little further south from Dun Laoghaire, and another great seaside town. There is loads to do here, but probably the most popular thing to do is to do the walk from Bray to Greystones. I think the prettiest view is taking the train to Greystones and walking towards Bray. That way when you arrive in Bray you can stay for a pint at the Harbour bar, and grab a pizza at Pizza ‘n Cream (which does great pizza and pretty good ice cream too!). If you are feeling super athletic and fit, after walking the Greystones to Bray cliff walk, you could walk up Bray’s Head. The walk up Bray’s Head is steep but it is totally doable if you take it slow, plus the views of Bray and Dublin in the distance makes it really worth it. You can read more about Bray in this blog post.

GOT ANY OTHER GREAT DAY TRIPS AROUND DUBLIN? SHARE IN THE COMMENTS!

Live Simply & Travel Slow,

~Meg~

p.s. If social media is your thing (snap! It’s my fave too!), you should totally follow me on Instagram.

p.p.s. I try post varied content once or twice a month, to be sure you don’t miss out on the new post you should sign up and get all the news straight in your inbox – Sign up now!

PIN FOR LATER:

The Best way to Explore Edinburgh Scotland on a Budget

August 1, 2018 by Meg 2 Comments

We visited Edinburgh between Christmas and New Year’s Eve. I have always wanted to see Scotland in winter, especially to experience a real Christmas market, plus I loved the idea of being in Scotland for Hogmanay, which is the Scots word for the last day of the year. Hogmanay is known to be a huge celebration to bring in the New Year. When we planned this trip, we were going through some personal strains and money was a bit tight. As much as we really wanted to see and do everything, we also had to be mindful of our spending, so these tips are how to explore Edinburgh on a budget. I am sure there are tons of other things you can see and do if money was no object, but really, we love finding a bargain and free things to do really are sometimes the best ways to really see a new place.

How to get around:

Edinburgh has a great public transport system with buses, trains and trams you can get around the city really easily. We caught the Airlink 100 from the airport straight into Waverly. From there we decided to pick up a RidaCard, and loaded a week on the card which cost 22 pounds (with a once off fee for the card). It allowed us to take any form of transport whilst we were in Edinburgh for 5 days. Well worth it, and it meant we didn’t have to search for cash or buy tickets at every stop. If you are not planning on travelling around a lot then skip the RidaCard. If you base yourself centrally in Edinburgh, it is a city that is easy enough to walk around (but be warned there are a few serious hills!) We had planned to get out of of the city center to explore other suburbs and areas around Edinburgh so for us the RidaCard made sense, because we certainly made full use of it. Plus it was winter, so some days we just really prefered to be in a warm bus than trekking in the snow!

Things to do for FREE:

Calton Hill, and the Scottish National Monument

Trekking up Calton Hill and admiring the views of Edinburgh was one of our first stops, and I highly recommend you go up there – any time of year. We went in the middle of winter, with some snow and ice on the ground, and it was worth the steep walk to the top. The National Monument is a partial replica of the Parthenon in Greece, however it has been left unfinished in 1829 due to lack of funds.

Scott monument

Scott monument was the first bit of Edinburgh we really saw. Over the Christmas market it is at the heart of the market, so it almost is a bit hidden amongst the Christmas market festivities, but it is a tall monument so you really can’t miss it. It is also the second largest monument built in honour of a writer in the world. You can pay to go up the monument to see the view, but for me the joy was in looking at the monument (plus it doesn’t cost anything to look at it).

Victoria street

This is possibly the most visited street in Edinburgh, and the inspiration for Diagon Alley in Harry Potter. It is filled with little cafés and shops – a lot of which are marketed towards Harry Potter fans, however there are a few art gallery shops which we quite enjoyed browsing.

A Free Harry Potter Walking Tour

If you are a Harry Potter fan then Edinburgh is definitely going to be on your list. You can visit the coffee shop that JK Rowling wrote the Harry Potter series (we tried but it was packed, and we tend to avoid high tourist areas). If you are on a tight budget, you can meet at the George IV Bridge for a free Harry Potter walking tour. The tour starts near Greyfriars Bobby statue (tourist tip: don’t be an obvious tourist and rub the statue’s nose – the rubbing is wearing down the metal of the statue and actually damaging it.) The tour starts at various times every afternoon, time is dependent on the time of year, so check out their website for times. You are not required to pay anything for the tour, however if you enjoy it, leave the tour guide a tip

National Museum of Scotland

This museum is free to enter, and is open all year round. It is massive, and you would need a full day to truly explore all of it. If you are short on time, the one tip I have to recommend is going up to the rooftop terrace in the museum. You will get a pretty awesome view of Edinburgh, and it is completely free to access. On the day we went, it was closed due to snow, so it is weather dependent.

St Giles Cathedral

In the heart of old town Edinburgh, is a gothic style church also known as the high kirk of Edinburgh. It is the principal place of worship for the Church of Scotland, although not technically a cathedral as there is no bishop. A lot of tours meet outside the cathedral, so it is often a busy square, but still beautiful to look at.

The Royal mile

The Royal mile starts at Edinburgh Castle goes all the way to Holyrood Palace. It’s an easy walk to do, and only a mile long. A friend recently visited Edinburgh and had a great tip, when walking the royal mile she listened to an audio guide which share landmarks and stories as you walk.

Arthur’s seat in Holyrood Park

There are several walks you can do in Holyrood Park; one of the popular walks to do is to hike up to Arthur’s seat. We tried to walk up to Arthur’s seat ourselves but there was a lot of ice on the path. We got halfway and started to slipping and sliding along the path that we opted to walk another route – the view was still incredible, and at least we stopped falling on ice! I think when the weather is good, the hike up to Arthur’s Seat would take about 2 hours and is a must for anyone who loves the outdoors and enjoys taking in a good view.

Explore Leith and the Shore area.

We chose to explore Leith for personal reasons, but really it is such a pretty part of town, that I would recommend people try get out there and see it themselves. The reason we wanted to get there was because that was where Rob’s grandfather grew up. He played football for the Hibernians, which is a professional football club in Leith, in the north of Edinburgh. Whilst we were visiting the area, we realised that the Hibs were playing against the Hearts (Heart of Midlothian, a Scottish football team in the west of Edinburgh). The two teams are local rivals, so it was special that we got to sit in a local Hibs supporter pub and watch the game.

Stockbridge

Stockbridge is a bit of vibey town, filled with thrift stores, quaint cafes and gastro pubs. A tip for foodies looking to explore this part of Edinburgh – book a restaurant in advance, we battled to walk in to most restaurants the night we visited, however we did stumble across a place that was pet friendly and served good food, called Hector’s. The service was slow, but seeing dogs in a restaurant was a real treat, plus the food was tasty.

Things worth paying for:

Edinburgh Castle

Edinburgh Castle is a popular tourist spot, and it is well worth a visit. Some tips before you go are to book your tickets/time slot online to avoid the queues. Also try book for the morning slot, because once you are in the castle, you can stay as long as you need to. There is quite a bit to see and do in the castle, it is self-guided however there is a small guided portion where you can get a sense of where everything is. Try doing the walking tour as soon as you enter, because it helps to orientate yourself for exploring the rest of the castle on your own. There is also a lovely café at the castle, and it is great to stop and grab a tea and cake there. You can buy your tickets to online here: https://www.edinburghcastle.scot/

South Bridge Vaults

This was another tip recommended to us by a friend. There are lots of different types of underground tours you can take – some spooky and some factual. We decided to take the more factual tour and although we didn’t have the best tour guide, I really recommend taking this tour, especially if you love history and learning how people lived underground in the vaults in Edinburgh was truly fascinating. This was the tour company we used: https://www.mercattours.com/

Take a bus tour out of Edinburgh

If you are staying for a few days, and have the time, then definitely consider taking a bus tour out of Edinburgh to explore more of Scotland. We chose a bus tour that offered a nice mixture of things to do: whiskey tasting, Glencoe Mountains and a boat cruise on Loch Ness. Although we didn’t end up finding Nessie, we loved the tour we did. This was largely because our tour guide Graham was amazing; we also got to see more of Scotland in the snow which was as enchanting as you could imagine. You can read more about out day trip here. This was the tour company we used: https://www.nessbus.com/

Where to eat:

One of the best tips to budget travel is to try and not eat and drink out too much. Alcohol and restaurant food is where a large portion of the budget often goes when you are travelling and away from home. We always try to get accommodation that is either self-catering or serves a big breakfast as part of the rate. When we went to Edinburgh, we staying in a guest house that offered a really tasty, home cooked breakfast each morning and this really helped get a good breakfast in before we went off and explored the city. There were a few times where we ate out, and I feel some places are worth a mention. Since we tended to eat a small meal during the day, we did try a few coffee places for light snacks. Zebra’s had some great coffee; along with Pep and Fodder, which served good coffee with amazing treats. I already mentioned Hector’s in Stockbridge, the food was good (except the service was slow) – we actually had intended on trying Scran and Scallie, but they were fully booked the night we went there. I think if you book in advance, it might be a good restaurant to try – it looked very cool from the outside, and a fully booked restaurant is always a good sign of good food. The last place I need to mention is the bakery we went to TWICE while we were there, Mimi’s, it is award winning with three locations in Edinburgh (we visited the one in Leith twice) – recently rated best bakery café 2018. Highly recommend the cake as well as their brunch; we also saw they do a high-tea which looked delicious!

So those are our budget friendly tips to seeing the most of Edinburgh. I also recommend you read my post on budget travel for some tips on how we save money while exploring new places. Edinburgh definitely stole our hearts, but it also started this great love affair for all of Scotland. We have since been back again on a road trip through Scotland in the summer. Visiting Scotland in two seasons has left us even more sure we that we absolutely love Scotland. Even though we have so much more of the world to see, I would be happy going back to Scotland again and again.

HAVE YOU BEEN TO EDINBURGH? ANYTHING WE NEED TO SEE NEXT TIME?

Live Simply & Travel Slow,

~Meg~

p.s. If social media is your thing (snap! It’s my fave too!), you should totally follow me on Instagram.

p.p.s. I try post varied content once or twice a month, to be sure you don’t miss out on the new post you should sign up and get all the news straight in your inbox – Sign up now!

PIN FOR LATER:

Travels

How to get the most out of 24 hours in Dublin

1. Keep it Central and Walk

2. Walk through Temple Bar – but do not to have a pint there!

3. Have a pint in a proper Irish pub

4. Picnic in a Park

5. Be selective on the Tourist Attractions

Got more time in Dublin? Read these posts:

Heading North of Dublin:

Heading West of Dublin:

Heading South of Dublin:

How to get around:

Things to do for FREE:

Things worth paying for:

Where to eat:

Footer

Follow Me on Social

Sign up to the monthly newsletter!