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I went to Dublin back in 2014 on a spur of the moment trip with my little sister. I was in my first year at university and as my sister was not yet 18 I had to claim responsibility for her whilst going through customs. Dublin is supposed to be a fairly expensive city however there are lots of ways to cut the cost of your trip and these tips can often be used when visiting other cities too, although, the biggest thing I learnt was to be very careful with personal details on flights. I bought these myself and put Jess instead of Jessica, as my sister never uses her full name, and was charged to change the details despite it obviously being the same person so be warned a stupid mistake can end up costing you big.
 For this trip we stayed in an Airbnb just outside of Dublin which helped save a lot of money and was a wonderful experience overall, although we did have to share a bed. Airbnb isn’t always the cheapest option depending on where you go but it’s always worth looking into because it is possible to find somewhere that can save you money in more ways than one. Firstly, Airbnb can often be cheaper than a hotel and even hostels since people are often just trying to make a little extra money for the spare rooms they already have rather than trying to make a large profit. We stayed with a lovely couple who were renting out their spare room to save money for their wedding and since then they have got married and had a baby and it’s wonderful that we could of helped that happen. They also came and picked us up from the airport and dropped us off at the end of the trip (free of charge) which allowed us to save money on often expensive airport transfers. Not all Airbnb hosts will offer this service but it is always an added bonus if they do. On top of this many Airbnb accommodations will offer use of a kitchen or some food facilities. This means you can avoid eating out at expensive restaurants and instead buy some food from supermarkets to make yourself. Jess and I opted to get a few sandwich bits to make packed lunches and were able to use the fridge to store these. Sign up for Airbnb and get £25 off your first adventure. Here’s my invitation link: https://abnb.me/e/bOMU8liubL
 My second tip from Dublin is not to be afraid of budget airlines. I realise at the time of writing this there’s been a lot of problems with Ryanair due to them cancelling flights and going on strike, however, under normal circumstances budget airlines are not as bad as you might think. They do make their money through other means such as charging for luggage and for picking seats but there are ways around this. Baggage can cost quite a bit but it is possible to go on a trip with just hand luggage especially if you’re just going for a few days. Ryanair offers a large hand luggage allowance of one bag plus one personal item including small handbags or laptop bags and they often don’t weigh these so as long as the bags fit the dimensions you can essentially pack as much as you like. This is fairly similar with other airlines but remember to check the restrictions before you go. There’s a few things to remember if you are going to do this however. Firstly it’s much cheaper to buy a set of reusable bottles to pour your liquids into than buying small bottles of shampoo etc. that are advertised in the holiday section. This also allows you to be in control of what brands you take with you as often there’s a much more limited selection of products that are less than 100 ml. Consider buying inexpensive items once over there that you can use for your trip then throw away to avoid taking up unnecessary space in your hand luggage although this could end up more expensive depending on where you are going. Also remember that if you’re staying in a hotel there might be items such as hair dryers shampoo and towels so you don’t need to bring your own but check with where you are staying first so you don’t forget something vital. Always wear your heaviest/bulkiest clothes on the flight as they can’t weigh you but may weigh your baggage. However, if you do need to take luggage it’s worth looking into airlines which include this in the price as once you’ve taken the price of baggage into account, budget airlines could end up being more expensive than other flights. Alternatively, if you are going in a group you could buy one lot of luggage between you to split the price whilst still having room for extras. But always buy extra luggage before your flight rather than at the airport as it’s much more expensive last minute. Don’t be tempted to pay extra to book specific seats unless you really want to sit next to a window or something. Paying for seats is a waste of money especially if you think that doing this is the only way to guarantee your group can sit together. Airlines use computer algorithms to fit different groups of people around each other and you will usually find you’re sat next to at least some of your group and probably will all be relatively close together. In my experience you can often end up with better seats on planes that do not allow you to book seats free of charge as if you book late the seats you want may already be taken, whereas if you do not get to pick you’re allocated a seat on the day of the flight once they know how many people are flying and in what size groups. You can also get free upgrades to the extra leg room seats, which happened to myself and my sister on this trip, as they need to fill these seats since these are the people who would operate the doors in an emergency situation.
 Finally, in Dublin, like many other major cities price comes down to where you are. We stayed outside of the city center as even after you’ve factored in the price of buses it was much cheaper than staying somewhere in the city. Restaurants were also slightly cheaper and we did eat around where we stayed a couple of times rather than in the city. There was a very nice Italian restaurant in the village we stayed in. If you’re worried about money stay away from the temple bar area. This is a very popular area full of bars and restaurants however it is very overpriced and largely caters to tourists so you’ll get the stereotypical Irish culture but see no locals in sight. The establishments here can basically charge what they want as they know tourists will always pay it since it is a famous area and they don’t know how much food and drink over there normally is. It is much better to go to a smaller local pub for a more realistic view of Ireland and a cheaper eat.
 Overall Dublin was wonderful and we had a lot of fun. Our Airbnb hosts were wonderful and we learnt a lot about Irish history and culture although one day I wish to see more of the Irish countryside as we only really got to see the city. If you visit, I recommend going to the leprechaun museum, which is a folklore and storytelling experience and was great fun. I also enjoyed the Kilmainham Gaol which shows how prisons in several different periods would of looked and been used plus gives some information about the history of Ireland especially their independence. Another must see is the Jeanie Johnston, a replica 19th century immigrant boat which is moored along the river. It shows the fascinating history of the potato famine and Irish immigrants looking to start a new life in america. That and I really like tall ships. There was also a wonderful zoo, a castle and many different things to see in the city such as statues, churches and parks. I’d definitely recommend Dublin for anyone looking for a short city break.
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