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Squad in Dublin – Guinness, Jameson and Traditional Pubs
Pubs in Dublin
We had grand plans for Dublin. Seeing castles, parks, botanical gardens and even making a trip out to the Cliffs of Moher. We also should have known realistically we’d be staying within a 2-mile radius consuming at as many traditional pubs as possible. This is how things naturally progress – this was Dublin with squad personnel!
Sure, the plans may have changed… slightly. Especially when Ramie’s fiancé had a Smirnoff Ice delivered to our hotel. But I thought it was a great introduction to the city of Dublin! There are certain things that must be done on a first trip, such as the Guinness Storehouse, the Jameson Distillery and a plethora of historical and traditional Irish pubs. Everything was walking or stumbling distance with guidance of our dedicated map guide, Kolbe.
Travel Logistics
For 5 days, this was an easy small backpack trip. Cheap flights directly into Dublin or London pop up frequently, making getting there a cinch.
Logisticals included:
- RT Norse flight into London with RT Ryanair to Dublin for $520 total. Personally, this could have been less by a hundred or so.
- A central-Dublin hotel for 3 nights in was $300 per person
- Went a little more luxurious last night in London before returning: $150 per person.
Total was $970 for 5 days on the ground. Guinness and Jameson tours were reasonably priced. Will not disclose pub crawl damage.
The Brewery and Distillery
Before getting into the pubs and the nightlife, we thought it was best to get a proper history lesson and sampling of the finest beer and whiskey through the Guinness Brewery / Storehouse and the Jameson Distillery tours. Both were really fun in their own rights, with different add-on options and premium experiences for the diehard fans. Obviously, with the multi-floor storehouse and Guinness being quite popular, the self-guided tour we did offered more than enough for our brains. I found the history of their advertising to be very unique, to say the least.
Personally, I enjoyed the Jameson experience more. Much of it probably had to do with our tour guide and intimate setting for whiskey tastings. We could not pull ourselves away from those damn Jameson, ginger and limes and ended up purchasing a cask draw to sample a more potent batch straight from the barrel. That definitely kicked it into high gear for pub crawl.
Pubs on Pubs on Pubs
With a million guides out there about the best, traditional and historic pubs, there’s no point going through all the abundant information that’s already out there. Instead, we circled an area between Temple Bar and St. Stephen’s Green park, went through Google Maps and collaborated on a shared pub crawl list. We were bound to hit awesome pubs, and that we did.
Irish Pubs are superior in a few ways. First, there is live music normally with a fiddler who goes IN. And trust me, this absolutely sets the energy levels in the right direction. Secondly, it’s a melting pot for socializing. We met people of all ages, from many places, and BS’d over a few pints. We sang, we joked and we laughed. Our biggest revelation was the introduction to the Guinness drinking game “splitting the G,” or cleverly named by others as the “g-spot.” This meant to drink your Guinness to the point where the bottom of the head falls in the middle of the letter “G” in the Guinness logo on the glass with your first sip.
Hurting
Rightfully so, we were hurting to some degree following the festivities. I’m beginning to think Kolbe is not fully human, by his questionable recovery methods. Overall, the Guinness grew on me. It may just become a regular supply in my mini fridge now that I have some glassware from the Storehouse, similar to the Stella Artois tour! In all seriousness, I was glad to lock in a squad trip in 2023, as getting older can make planning trips together a little more challenging. Looking forward to our next location, hopefully in 2024!
-ML
Recap of Places
Check out the MAP for links!
- Guinness Storehouse – the souvis were quality!
- Jameson Distillery – one of the better tastings we’ve done
- Pubs – follow your heart
Michael Lakus
IT professional, athlete, musician, ponderer of many things... Born and raised in Florida, I began traveling internationally after college. I created this site primarily to remind myself of where I've been and to share my experiences on traveling with a quirky, stress-free, travel attitude.
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