Dublin has no metro. It has two tram lines, a coastal commuter railway, an extensive bus network and, since 2023, a redesigned bus system that locals are still complaining about. None of it is bad and none of it is joined up in the way a metro would be.
For a visitor the summary is short: walk, and use the trams and the DART when the distance is genuinely long.
Walk
The historic centre is about two kilometres across. Trinity College to St Patrick’s Cathedral is fifteen minutes. Trinity to the Guinness Storehouse is twenty-five. Temple Bar to Kilmainham is forty at a stroll.
Almost every itinerary in this guide is a walking itinerary because the alternative is slower. Dublin traffic in the centre is genuinely bad, and a bus across town at five in the afternoon will lose to a person on foot.
Bring waterproof shoes and a jacket with a hood. It rains most days at some point and it usually stops within the hour, which is why nobody here carries an umbrella.
The Leap Card
The transport card, and the only sensible way to pay. It works on Luas, DART, Dublin Bus, commuter rail and the airport buses, and the fares are substantially lower than cash — cash fares on buses are considerably more expensive and buses do not give change.
Leap Visitor Card gives unlimited travel for 1, 3 or 7 days including the Airlink airport bus, and is sold at the airport, tourist offices and some shops. For a short stay using the airport bus both ways, it usually pays for itself.
A standard Leap Card with credit on it is better value if you are staying longer or not using the airport bus.
Contactless bank cards work on the Luas and DART but not on Dublin Bus at the time of writing, which catches people out constantly. Check before relying on it.
The Luas
Two tram lines, and they are the most useful thing for a visitor.
The Green Line runs north–south through the centre: Broombridge, O’Connell Street, Trinity, St Stephen’s Green, Ranelagh and out to Sandyford.
The Red Line runs east–west: Connolly Station and the Point in the Docklands, through the north quays and Smithfield, out past Heuston Station to Tallaght and Saggart.
They cross at Abbey Street and O’Connell. Frequent, clean, and validate your Leap Card at the pole on the platform before boarding — inspectors are common and the fine is not small.
The DART
The coastal railway, and the best thing in the system. It runs along Dublin Bay from Malahide and Howth in the north to Greystones in the south, and the coastal sections are genuinely scenic.
For visitors it is the way to reach Howth (30 minutes), Dún Laoghaire and the Forty Foot, Sandycove and the Joyce Tower, and Malahide castle.
Frequent, and it uses Connolly, Tara Street and Pearse stations in the centre.
Buses
Extensive, and they reach everywhere the trams do not — including the Phoenix Park, Kilmainham and Glasnevin.
The network was redesigned under BusConnects with new spine routes lettered A to H, which is more legible than the old numbering and confused everybody for a year. Use a journey planner app rather than trying to read the map.
Leap Card or the app — cash is dearer and exact change only.
Flag it down. Dublin bus stops are request stops and the driver will not stop unless somebody signals.
Cycling
Dublinbikes is the city scheme: a three-day ticket is cheap, the first thirty minutes of each hire are free, and the stations cover the centre densely.
The cycle infrastructure has improved considerably and is still patchy — good along the canals and the quays, indifferent elsewhere. The Grand Canal and Royal Canal greenways and the coastal route to Sandymount are the pleasant rides.
Taxis and driving
Taxis are metered, plentiful, and easy to hail on the street or through the apps. They are the sensible option late at night.
Do not hire a car for a city stay. Parking is expensive and scarce, much of the centre is restricted or pedestrianised, and everything is walkable. Hire a car on the day you leave the city if you are going into Wicklow or the west.
If you do drive: on the left, and the M50 orbital motorway has a barrier-free toll at the West-Link that must be paid online or in a shop by 8pm the following day, or the penalties escalate. Rental companies charge an administration fee on top.
Accessibility
The Luas is fully step-free at every stop. The DART has ramps at staffed stations, and staff will meet a train if you call ahead. Buses all kneel and carry ramps.
The obstacle is the pavements: the historic centre has cobbles in Temple Bar and around the castle, narrow footpaths on the older streets, and kerbs that predate any standard.
One local convention
Pedestrian crossings in Dublin are treated as advisory by pedestrians and as binding by drivers, which produces a city where everybody crosses on a red and nobody is hit. Follow the locals rather than the lights, and look right first — traffic drives on the left.