How To Get From Dublin Airport To The City Centre

Getting from Dublin Airport to the City Centre is very straightforward when you plan ahead.

There’s nothing worse than landing in one of the airports in Ireland or elsewhere and then realising you’ve no idea how to get where you need to go.

It’s around 11km from Dublin Airport to the City Centre – roughly a 30-minute drive (potentially longer with traffic).

There are 4 options:

• Option 1: Public bus routes 16 and 41
• Option 2: Dublin Express and Aircoach
• Option 3: Taxi/Uber/Free Now
• Option 4: Private driver/chauffeur

Some quick need-to-knows about getting from Dublin Airport to the City Centre

Right, let’s get you up-to-speed very quickly with some need-to-knows:

1. There are 4 main options

The main transportation from Dublin Airport to downtown Dublin is bus, taxi, private transfer and car. You can of course also walk (just over 2 hours) or cycle (around 35 minutes).

2. There’s no train or tram

Yep, by all accounts Dublin Airport is one of the only airports in Europe with no direct tram/train link into the city centre. This is due to change with the arrival of Metro North, but it’ll be a long time before that’s here.

3. The cheapest option

The cheapest mode of transport is to take the public bus from Dublin Airport to the City Centre. It costs €3. Do note that the one major drawback of the public bus is that there is very limited luggage storage.

4. It’s worth getting a Leap Card or the DoDublin Card

• Visitor Leap Card: A travel card that gives you unlimited journeys for 24 hours (€8), 72 hours (€16) or 7 days (€32)
• DoDublin Card: A travel card that gets you on BOTH the hop on/hop off bus AND all forms of public transport (€49 gets you 48 hours for the hop on/off bus and 72 hours on public transport)

Getting the bus from Dublin Airport to the City Centre

There are three different options if you’d like to get the bus from Dublin Airport to the City Centre – Dublin Express, Aircoach and Dublin Bus.

Here’s an overview of each along with how much the far costs (prices may change):

1. Dublin Bus

Dublin Bus offers several services from Dublin Airport to the City. The number 16 bus (towards Ballinteer) will drop you at O’Connell St. right in the heart of the city centre.

You can also get the 41 (towards Lower Abbey St.) which will take you into the city, too.

• Cost €3: I’d recommend the Leap Card or the DoDublin card for best value
• Leaves from: Dublin Airport Bus Park in Zone 15
• Advance booking available: No

2. Dublin Express

Dublin Express (affiliate link) is another handy bus from Dublin Airport to the City Centre and it operates throughout the day.

The main disadvantage of this one is that they don’t except the Leap Card. So you’ll pay €9.32 for the trip and that’s it. At least with the Leap Card you can use it throughout the day.

• Cost: €9.32 one way
• Leaves from: Zone 21 (outside T2). Outside T1 on the left
• Advance booking available: Yes

3. Aircoach

The last of the bus options is the Aircoach. It runs every 15 minutes and you can take the 700 (towards Leopardstown).

You can use the Leap Card on the Aircoach, but our understanding is you can only use it to pay for a fare, and that the €8 all-day deal doesn’t apply.

• Cost: €10 one way
• Leaves from: Zone 2 at T1 and Zone 20 at T2
• Advance booking available: Yes

Getting an Uber or Taxi from Dublin Airport to the City Centre

Getting a taxi from Dublin Airport to the City Centre is arguably the most convenient option, but you’ll pay for the pleasure.

The taxis leave from outside Terminal 1 and 2 (you can’t miss them) and there’s generally a fairly fast-moving queue.

You can also use Uber and/or Free Now for getting around Dublin, if you like.

• Cost: €25-€35 (use this estimator tool)
• Leaves from: Outside both terminals
• Tickets available to book: No

Driving and/or renting a car to get to the city

If you’re spending 24 hours in Dublin or 2 days in Dublin, you don’t need a car. While public transport in Ireland is a pain, Dublin is well connected.

However, if you plan on getting around Ireland in a car, you might end up renting a car in Dublin Airport.

If that’s the case, you’ll find everything you need-to-know right here.

FAQs about how to get from Dublin Airport to downtown Dublin

We get questions about how to get from Dublin Airport to downtown Dublin – firstly, you’ll rarely hear ‘downtown’ mentioned and, if you do, it’ll only be from tourist.

Below, we’ll answer the most FAQs about the different transportation options.