Holiday rentals and lettings in Dublin

Table of Contents

• At a glance: What should you know about renting a holiday letting in Dublin?
• Holiday lettings in Dublin: find your perfect retreat
• Exploring Dublin: our top recommendations
• Activities: What are the top things to do and see in Dublin?

• City-wide choice of homes: Self-catering flats, Georgian townhouses and mews cottages spread across the canals, the quays and the coastal suburbs, most within walking distance of a Luas or DART stop.
• Neighbourhoods with character: Temple Bar for nightlife, Portobello for galleries and food, the Docklands for modern living, Smithfield for markets and Dún Laoghaire for sea air.
• Guest-rated favourites: Our best-reviewed Dublin homes score 9.6+, praised for quiet streets, easy parking and a short walk into the city centre.
• Seasons that suit everyone: Spring brings blossom in Phoenix Park, summer the long evenings and festivals, and autumn quieter museums and lower prices.
• Landmarks and green space: Trinity College, the Guinness Storehouse, Kilmainham Gaol, the cliff path at Howth and 707 hectares of Phoenix Park.

Dublin's holiday lettings mirror the city itself: red-brick Victorian terraces in Rathmines, converted mews houses behind the Georgian squares, and bright modern apartments in Dublin along the Grand Canal Dock. Coastal suburbs such as Sandymount and Clontarf add family houses with gardens, while a handful of bed and breakfasts sit closer to the airport road. Most sleep four to six guests. Whichever part of the city you choose, the following features come up again and again:

• Fully fitted kitchens for cooking with market produce
• Wi-Fi fast enough for remote working
• Private gardens, terraces or balconies
• Washing machines and dryers for longer stays
• Parking spaces or permits, rare in the centre

Book early for the summer and rugby weekends, when the best-located homes go quickly.

What are the best areas to stay in Dublin?

Dublin is often described as a collection of villages, and Portobello strikes the best balance of quiet streets, canal walks and independent restaurants. The table below details regions for specific interests:

What do our guests say?

Guests staying in Dublin consistently mention the same three things: how walkable the centre is, how welcome a garden or balcony feels after a day of sightseeing, and how much easier a self-catering kitchen makes breakfast before an early tour. Homes rated 9.6+ tend to combine a quiet residential street with a bus or DART stop just around the corner, which matters more here than square metres.

Here are our top-rated holiday lettings from the past year:

1. Guestready - Quiet Apartment in Central Dublin - 10.0+: A calm central flat with a balcony, praised for its location within walking distance of Grafton Street and Trinity College.
2. Guestready - Amazing house in Sandymount - 9.7+: A five-guest house in leafy Sandymount with a balcony, close to the strand and a short DART ride from the centre.
3. Guestready - Modern stay by Phoenix Park - 9.6+: A modern flat with a balcony beside Phoenix Park, valued for quiet nights and morning walks among the deer.

Dublin sits on Ireland's east coast where the River Liffey meets the Irish Sea, backed by the Wicklow Mountains and framed by two headlands.

✈️What is the best way to get to Dublin?

For most British travellers a direct flight is the fastest option, though the ferry makes sense if you want a car. Here are the most common ways to get to the city:

• Plane: Dublin Airport lies about 10 kilometres north of the centre and receives direct flights from most UK cities, including London, Manchester, Birmingham, Edinburgh, Bristol and Newcastle. The journey takes roughly an hour from the north of England. Airlink and Dublin Express coaches run into the city centre in around 30 minutes, and taxis take a similar time outside rush hour.
• Ferry: Sailings from Holyhead in Wales reach Dublin Port in about three and a quarter hours, docking a short drive from the quays; a slower route runs from Liverpool. Bringing your own car is the easiest way to reach coastal lettings and the Wicklow valleys. From the port the M50 orbital motorway loops around the city and connects to the M1, M7 and N11 for onward driving.
• Train and coach: Irish Rail links Dublin Heuston and Connolly stations with Cork, Galway, Belfast and Sligo, while the DART commuter line runs along the coast from Howth to Greystones. Coaches from across the island terminate at Busáras beside Connolly.

🥗Where to eat in Dublin?

According to Google Maps data and reviews, Chapter One Restaurant is the best rated restaurant in Dublin. Below is a table showing the top 5 highly-rated restaurants hand-picked by our travel experts.

⭐Our guests' recommendation: Our guest traveller Charlotte recommends the PHX Bistro in Dublin: a neighbourhood bistro in Smithfield, handy after a morning in Phoenix Park and far calmer than the restaurants around Temple Bar.

☀️When is the best time to visit?

Dublin is a year-round city, but May to September gives you the longest days and the fullest calendar, with daylight stretching past ten o'clock at midsummer. Spring and autumn are the value seasons, when museums are quiet and holiday lettings cost noticeably less; winter is short on daylight but full of pubs and Christmas markets.

Spring

• Best for: Walkers, garden lovers and anyone travelling on a budget.
• Weather: Mild days of 10-15°C with frequent showers and blossom in the squares.
• Atmosphere: Lively around St Patrick's Day, then noticeably calmer through April and May.

Summer

• Best for: Families, festival-goers and coastal swimmers.
• Weather: Warmest of the year at 18-20°C, with very long evenings.
• Atmosphere: Busy and outdoors, with concerts, street theatre and full beer gardens.

Autumn

• Best for: Culture, food festivals and quieter sightseeing.
• Weather: Cooling to 10-14°C, windier on the coast and often bright between showers.
• Atmosphere: Relaxed, with students back in town and rates dropping from October.

⭐Our Hosts' recommendation: Our Dublin local expert, the GuestReady team of Guestready - Modern stay by Phoenix Park recommends coming to visit the park gates first thing in the morning, when the fallow deer graze near the Fifteen Acres and the Papal Cross stands almost empty. From there it is a level walk to Farmleigh House and the Victorian tea rooms, then down through Islandbridge to the quays. You can read more about local tips on the GuestReady team's page.

1. See the Book of Kells at Trinity College
2. Pour a pint at the Guinness Storehouse
3. Walk the cliff path at Howth
4. Roam Phoenix Park
5. Trace history at Kilmainham Gaol and Glasnevin

1. See the Book of Kells at Trinity College

   Ireland's oldest university hides its greatest treasure behind cobbled squares off Grafton Street. The ninth-century Book of Kells is displayed in the Old Library, and the barrel-vaulted Long Room above it holds some 200,000 volumes beneath marble busts. Book a timed ticket online, arrive early and allow an hour. Afterwards the campus itself rewards a slow wander, and the pedestrianised streets around Dawson Street and South William Street are minutes away for lunch.

2. Pour a pint at the Guinness Storehouse

   The seven-storey brewery at St James's Gate is the most visited attraction in the country, and deservedly so. Exhibits follow the barley, water and hops through the brewing process, a tasting room trains your palate, and the Guinness Academy teaches the two-part pour. Finish in the Gravity Bar, a glass drum with a 360-degree view over the rooftops to the Wicklow Mountains. Tickets are cheaper booked in advance and quietest first thing.

3. Walk the cliff path at Howth

   A 25-minute DART ride north brings you to Howth, a working fishing village on a rocky headland. Four looped cliff walks start at the harbour, the longest circling past the Baily Lighthouse with views to the Mourne Mountains on a clear day. Seals patrol the pier, the Sunday market sells hot crab claws, and the village pubs serve chowder to walkers. Bring boots: the paths are exposed and often wet.

4. Roam Phoenix Park

   Known in Irish as Páirc an Fhionnuisce, this vast walled park sits just west of the centre and holds the presidential residence, Dublin Zoo, Victorian gardens and the wild deer herd. Hire a bike at the Parkgate Street entrance to cover the tree-lined avenues, picnic near the Papal Cross, or walk out to Farmleigh House for its food market. It is the easiest place in the city to lose the crowds entirely.

5. Trace history at Kilmainham Gaol and Glasnevin

   For the story behind modern Ireland, pair the guided tour of Kilmainham Gaol, where the leaders of the 1916 Rising were held, with the cemetery museum at Glasnevin, resting place of O'Connell, Parnell and Collins. Both run excellent guided tours and both need booking. If the history bug takes hold, the mountain monasteries and gardens of County Wicklow lie an hour south, while Galway makes an easy train day trip west.