Top 5 Tips for Dublin on a Budget

Before I left for Dublin I had everyone telling me just how expensive it is, but being a poor student it meant that I didn’t have a lot of dosh to blow. At the same time I wanted to really enjoy my time there and I did so with only £50 spending money. These are my top 5 tips for doing as I did.

   1.  Utilize your hostel

Hostels always have tonnes of great (free or cheap) activities to do that will keep those Euros in your pocket. From the kitchen to book swap, free meals and walking tours, try it all. In general hostels are a great place for meeting new people and don’t be afraid to ask the staff what great cheap things there are to do. Chances are they know them all off by heart.

    2.  Prioritise

A lot of life is about compromise. READ MORE>>

Hostel Review - Times Hostel College Street - Dublin

I have stayed in a lot of hostels in my time, from the scammers (Dar Warda, Fez) to the downright disgusting (Hostel 63, London) to the ridiculous friendly (Oporto Invinctus, Porto) and by now I’ve got a taste for what I like in a hostel. I like it fun and friendly with a community sort of vibe. When travelling is a priority sadly you have to keep things cheap, but with the right hostel that’s always an option.

Toilet doors are normally a must.

Times Hostel College Street was warm and welcoming from the beginning. READ MORE>>

Slags and Statistics - 3 days in Dublin

Last weekend I spent my time in Dublin with 200 other students from the World @ Warwick society. I’m not sure if it was the sleep deprivation or the copious amounts of Guinness but I don’t think I’ve laughed so much in a long long time (A particular half an hour stint of laughter caused by Silkie buying a 4€ cheese sandwich comes to mind, you probably had to be there).

Cheese sandwiches aren't actually funny are they.

My preconceptions of Dublin I must say were completely blown out of the water. I heard Dublin is expensive (it’s not too bad), that the only thing you can afford to buy is Guinness (Carling is cheaper) and that all Irish people are drunks (we met an Irish girl who doesn’t drink, just doesn’t like to).

What surprised me most about Ireland? For lack of a better term: the slags. Now I’m not saying that all Irish girls are slags, far from it, most Irish girls are pretty classy and respectable, but when an Irish girl decides to slag out they go all out! I thought England was the nation of inappropriately dressed ladies with short dresses and heels even in the snow but Ireland goes one step further.

Sorry didn't get any pics of slags but I got this at the Guinness factory.

Asides from the nations aversion to tights even in driving rain and it being only 5 degrees outside: one particular girl comes to mind; bright orange, make up an inch thick, hair that hadn’t been brushed in maybe forever, stumbling up the stairs in her 6 inch heels, her bum cheeks poking out the bottom, nips out the top and in case that wasn’t enough flesh on show the whole ensemble had two holes in the side to let her stomach protrude outwards.

And it’s not just the girls, I saw many a boy greased back hair trying desperately to get his hands into a girls knickers at the bar. READ MORE>>