Ireland, Dublin and everything a train ride away.

Why Ireland from Spain?

Because it is two and a half hours away by plane, and almost everything people come looking for fits into a week based in Dublin. The capital is small and easy to explore on foot: Trinity College with the Book of Kells, Kilmainham Gaol, the Guinness factory and pubs with live music. And within two hours, by train, bus or day tour, you have the postcard Ireland: 5,000-year-old tombs in the Boyne Valley, a monastery among lakes in the Wicklow Mountains, a medieval town with a castle and, on the Atlantic coast, the Cliffs of Moher.

Ireland here means the Republic of Ireland, with Dublin as its capital and the euro as its currency. Northern Ireland, with Belfast and the Giant's Causeway, is a different country: it is part of the United Kingdom and has its own entry rules. This guide starts with the Republic.

How do you get there?

By plane, to Dublin (DUB). Aer Lingus flies from Madrid, Barcelona, Málaga, Bilbao, Alicante, Seville, Santiago, Asturias, Palma, Tenerife South, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote and Fuerteventura; Ryanair, Iberia and Vueling cover many of those routes. From Madrid or Barcelona it takes about two and a half hours. The airport is about ten kilometres from the centre, and the Dublin Express and Aircoach coaches drop you in the city centre in around thirty minutes.

Documents. A valid national ID card (DNI) or passport is enough. Ireland is in the European Union but not in Schengen, so there is passport control on arrival. Bring your European Health Insurance Card. If you plan to cross into Northern Ireland, check that your insurance covers the UK.

How do you get around?

Without a car you can do almost everything we suggest. In Dublin, the Leap Visitor card gives unlimited travel on buses, trams (Luas) and commuter trains (DART) for one, three or seven days. Irish Rail trains leave from Heuston for Kilkenny (a good hour and a half) and Galway (about two hours and a quarter). For Glendalough there is a daily bus from St Stephen's Green, and for Newgrange and the cliffs, day tours by coach leave from the city centre every morning.

By car, remember that you drive on the left, with the steering wheel on the right, and that a Spanish driving licence is valid. Motorways are good; minor roads are narrow and lined with stone walls. Hiring a car is worthwhile for the west, not for Dublin.

What to see and how to combine it

• Dublin, three or four days, with half a day in Howth or at Malahide Castle, both reached by commuter train.
• Malahide, 25 minutes by DART: the Talbot family's castle, its gardens and Portmarnock beach. Ten minutes from the airport, it makes a good first or last night.
• Powerscourt and Enniskerry, about 20 km to the south: terraced gardens, Ireland's highest waterfall and a whiskey distillery. Easy to combine with Glendalough by car.
• Newgrange and the Boyne Valley, an hour to the north: the Newgrange tomb, Knowth and the Hill of Tara.
• Glendalough and the Wicklow Mountains, an hour to the south: St Kevin's monastery and trails among the lakes.
• Kilkenny, an hour and a half away: castle, cathedral with a round tower and the Medieval Mile. Combine it with Glendalough in one day.
• Galway and the Cliffs of Moher, on the west coast, two hours and a quarter by train: best with one or two nights.
• The Rock of Cashel, in Tipperary, under two hours by car or on the 245X bus: the hill of the kings of Munster, with Hore Abbey at its foot.
• Cobh and Cork, in the south, two and a half hours by train to Cork and 25 minutes more to the harbour: the Titanic Experience and Spike Island, best with one or two nights.

When to go

The climate is mild and damp all year round: never very cold or very hot, with rain on and off. May, June and September are the best months: long days, green countryside and fewer people than in July and August. In June it does not get dark until after ten. In winter the days are short, some sights shorten their hours and the tours at Newgrange change, but Dublin works well and the pubs are at their best. Always bring a waterproof jacket and shoes that can take the wet.