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Our First Airbnb Stays: A Wonderful Week in Dublin and LondonĀ 

4/11/2014

2 Comments

 
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By John Roberts

We stayed at Airbnb residences for the first time during our trips last month to Dublin and London. I had always kept Airbnb in mind as way to travel to help keep costs down. Using the private rental system will especially come in handy when we are less gainfully employed, meaning when we retire or simply drop everything to further satisfy our travel cravings (that day is fast approaching, I sense).

Being that we were making last-minute arrangements for our trip to Europe last month, it seemed wise to consider an alternative to the high-priced hotels in those two busy cities. So we popped over to Airbnb.com to check out what was available.

Our experience with our two accommodations was mostly positive for our first Airbnb stays.

The Breakdown
We stayed in a bedroom of an apartment owned by two nice fellas in Dublin. They allowed us full access to the kitchen and living room, if needed, and were very friendly people, who were willing to give us all the details about what was happening in the city that weekend and how to get around. It was great to essentially have our own personal concierges at hand.

The price was about $100 a night over the St. Patrick's Festival weekend, a nice discount from some of the name-brand hotels in the region.

In London, we had a flat in Soho all to ourselves for about $200 a night. This was not a significant discount, if any, compared with other places nearby. But we had a full kitchen, laundry, and more space than at a hotel, plus we were integrated right within a bustling neighborhood full of bars, restaurants and theaters as if we were true residents of London. I did shopping at the local Tesco for groceries for the week, which saved us a nice chunk, too.

The best part of using Airbnb was that communication and assistance was excellent from the owners at both locations. The Airbnb website has a thorough review and rating system that helps you select your residence and offers insight into just the type of experience to expect. This feedback is invaluable in guiding your choice of where to stay. The owners also can review their guests, meaning you should be considerate of a place where you are staying if you want to remain eligible to be invited into other homes that participate in the service. It provides an efficient, transparent and democratic feedback loop.

Considerations
Some people might not like sharing space. We had no problem with it for a short stay, but on a longer stay in Dublin, we probably would have preferred a little "private time" for our extracurricular activities.

You can select places that give you full privacy or choose spots with shared spaces. Prices will vary, and it's up to you how you want to travel. Some of you are more social than others, of course.

There are a wide range of properties available in the service. In exotic locations, you'll find pools and beaches. Or, you can plop in a room for the night on a futon or air mattress. Some offer meals with the hosts or simple continental breakfasts.

Now, that we've tried it, we probably will be scoping out some more Airbnb locations for our travels, especially when the price and amenities make an attractive combination. 


Thanks for reading. Hope this review helps in your happy travels.

JR
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2 Comments

We Loved Dublin But Not the Guinness Brewery Tour

3/18/2014

0 Comments

 
By John Roberts

My wife is a McDaniel, so it was high time we finally made it to Ireland.
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The residents of Dublin seemed to always be smiling. I think they're on to something.
We decided to tack on a side trip to Dublin ahead of Colleen's work visit to London. It was a perfect opportunity to check out the capital of the Emerald Isle. St. Patrick's festival was under way, and it was my 47th birthday. However, we weren't sure what to expect. We usually do tons of planning before traveling to any place, but this was a last-minute decision, so we hoped to hit a few highlights and get familiar with Ireland while planning to return again someday (of course). 
Being there for just two days, we aimed to make the most of our time. 

The city has just over a half-million residents and is much smaller than I expected. We found the people to be especially friendly and helpful. Our Airbnb hosts were great and helped us plan our public transportation use and recommended spots we might like to see and bars we should check out. Taking the tram into the city center on our first day, a lady actually completed the transaction at the ticket kiosk for us when we asked what stop to get off. Dublin is very walkable, compact and with great public transportation options. 

So, during our limited time in town, we were able to cover all the highlights and actually passed by many of them several times. 

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We were excited for the Guinness brewery tour. It was disappointing, however. In my estimation, it's nothing but a tourist trap -- expensive with massive lines everywhere. What you get for about 16 euros is a trip through a crowded, barely interesting museum, not a working brewery, and one pint of Guinness. I suppose we're used to the tours in the United States -- most let you in free and give you up to three beers (I'm looking lovingly at you Coors Brewery in Golden, Colorado).

Dublin's Luas tram system very efficient and easy to navigate. Our trip, which ran along almost a full length of the route cost 4.60 euro per person one way. Surprisingly, the city and bar scene shuts down early (last call at 11 p.m. on weeknights and midnight on weekends). Our favorite, the Temple Bar area, was loaded with pubs and was especially festive during the St. Patrick's Festival, which runs March 14-17. Live street music and dancing spread throughout the city, and the locals and tourists were filled with spirit and adorned in green.

We got to hit many of our top sights using the Dublin Bus hop-on hop-off city tour, which covers the complete area. We hit a museum, Trinity College, Dublin Castle and went past the zoo, war memorial. The cost is 16 euro per person and gives yours two days of bus use -- service runs 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Now that we know our way around, we are looking forward to visiting again and using Dublin as our home base while we take a couple day trips to the countryside.

Thanks for reading.

Happy travels, 

JR
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