With our extremely lengthy list of Dublin things mostly crossed off, we spent our last Friday afternoon in Howth. The DART train goes from Dublin to Howth about twice an hour, so it’s an easy train ride for the day.
We bought our round trip tickets at the station and headed to the train. You need to scan your ticket in and back out when you arrive, so keep it handy. The train was a little worn and old feeling, but it was on time and quick, about 30 minutes.
Howth is on the water and known for it’s fish and chips, birding, and cliff walk. I was most excited about the first two, undecided on the latter. ‘They’ all said that Beshoff Bros fish and chips are the best, so that’s where we went. We went to the takeaway, not the restaurant, to get the full feel of getting a box of fish and chips and sitting on a bench eating it. The North Atlantic cod was so fresh, the batter was just the right amount, and they use grapeseed oil so it wasn’t greasy at all. It wins for my favorite fish and chips this trip.
After lunch, we headed down the Howth Harbour pier and found a boat tour that goes around Ireland’ Eye. This small island off the coast of Howth is known for it’s birds. Although I just missed the Puffins (they leave in July) I did see hundreds of Northern Gannets and Black-legged Kitiwakes, both new birds for me! The scenery was gorgeous and at around 40 minutes, the perfect amount of time on the small boat.
As we walked back down the pier after the tour, we saw two seals, just bobbing in the water, hanging out. Some locals feed them so they stay in the harbour and they were so cute.
We decided to skip the cliff walk, because we don’t like heights and I felt like I saw enough from the boat. It looks really gorgeous and if you don’t mind heights, it came highly recommended by locals. Pro tip: if it’s windy in Dublin, it’s too windy for the cliff walk.
On the train back, we started talking to the couple who sat across from us. They’re locals and told us to stop by Mulligan’s, around the corner from the train station. It was the perfect Irish pub, a locals place, not a tourist spot.
At only €5 each round trip for the train, €14 for the fish and chips, and €20 each for the boat tour, it was a great and relatively cheap way to spend the afternoon!
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