Ya know, it's not everyday that you review a railway station on Yelp. However, sometimes you just…read morewake up and know you should do something special today. Ya know, really get out of your comfort zone. Here goes: centrally located station, electronic payment options, WiFi on the trains, clean, station worker available for info. They're doing a good job here. If you're reading this though, it's a railway station, don't really sure what you're here to discover.

Like many small train stations in Ireland, it is sort of difficult to figure out which of the two…read moreplatforms you need to be at. There are some small electronic signs that tell you which way the train is going, but you need to suss it out.

Probably because I'm sick and tired of the urine-caked seats and the often-foul odors that…read morecontaminate my city's most famous metro system (BART), I am genuinely envious of other cities' public transit systems, especially those I've experienced in Europe, because they are usually a marked improvement over what we have in San Francisco. Case in point: Dublin has an excellent light rail tram called the Luas, a public transit system that worked really well for me when I was staying in a hotel down south near Sandyford in October. Now BART has been around since 1972, so I would begrudgingly expect the sadly frequent breakdowns that occur at the most inopportune times. However, the Luas has been open only since 2004, and I immediately noticed how clean the cars look and how smoothly they operated (see photos). I took the Green Line from Kilmacud, and my journey would take about fifteen minutes to the terminus at St. Stephen's Green right near Grafton Street. No breakdowns, no inordinate waiting at subsequent stations. Tickets cost € 4.50 round trip from my zone (Green Zone 3). Like most of Europe, payment works on the honor system in which a conductor may periodically show up and validate that you are indeed a paying passenger. There's an abundance of standing poles and folding seats to accommodate the rush hour traffic, a smart design move which I wish they would replicate in San Francisco. Currently the Red and Green Lines don't intersect, but that's part of the long-term plan. For now, Dublin can stand alongside Copenhagen, Lisbon, Barcelona and the other European transit systems that make me want to kick the collective derrieres of the BART Board of Directors.

As a regular visitor from NY, I enjoy using Luas (a tram system), both Red and Green lines. When…read morecombined with a short walk, great alternative to taxis. Regularly use it to get around Dublin. Abundant windows provide great views of the city at street level (pic uploaded). Station signage tells you wait time, usually measured in minutes (pic uploaded). Youths can be loud at times, but I feel safe using it. If I lived there...I'd feel frustrated. Luas is slow. Operates at street level (though traffic lights are synced with Luan). Concept of an express train would not work since tram must stop at every station. The two lines don't connect with each other. And Luas fails to connect with the airport. As a modern city, Dublin needs a rapid transit below ground. Tip: Luas operates on the honor system. Buy your ticket before boarding. Pay attention to the zones you will be traveling. During my 6 Dublin visits, I have been subject to two random inspections for proof of payment. Did not see anyone removed and taken to the gallows :)

Arrived at the Dublin Airport in Ireland after more than 24 hours of travel, missed connections…read moreand missing bags. To say that we were already unhappy would be an understatement, but in an effort to get our vacation off to a happier restart, we opted to travel with Irish CityLink to make our way from the Dublin Airport to Limerick where our hotel was waiting. We met a lovely airport employee who helped us find the correct Zone (Zone 10 for those of you who will be coming this way and need to get from Dublin Airport to Limerick) and managed to find the right bus stop, but unfortunately had just missed the 8PM bus. Although we were told by numerous people in the airport that we could just pay the bus driver and travel, with the 10PM being the last bus heading to Limerick and it being a Friday night, we decided to book fares for myself and my husband just to be sure we had seats. That's where the trouble began: the site wasn't working and reservations weren't possible (verified by several people we talked to that were all having challenges trying to make reservations), asked one of the drivers for Zone 9 for some help who didn't seem to be very knowledgeable or didn't want to take the time to assist (weren't sure which is was), and was chastised by a baggage handler who to told us to make a reservation and then and wished us good luck and told us to we should be better organized when we told them their site wasn't working. I'm guessing customer service isn't their strong suit since their offices were closed and their people are empowered to help. We ended up taking Flight-Link to a town pretty close to Limerick and then took a an Uber to our hotel. So far, not impressed with the customer service or food in Ireland yet! Will keep you posted.

This was the second cheapest option for getting from Dublin to Galway and back, and the fastest…read moreoption (2.5 hours). And, it was easy to find and on time. Plus, there's free wifi. Granted, the seats are a bit small, and using a laptop isn't really possible (the seat desk is more iPad friendly), but it does the job. Bottom line: I made it to Galway with no hassles.

"Ding Ding, Next stop Balally, alight for Dundrum Town Centre" says the Luas announcer lady!…read more Thats right, THIS is the stop you get off at for Dundrum Town centre, its the closest one to it, well, dundrum is not far off but if its raining you will appreciate a shorter walk from this stop. Like Aoife pointed out below though,this is the first stop inside zone three meaning you have to pay more than you would if you got off in Dundrum, is this all some clever ploy by the Luas people to get us to spend our money? If its a nice day I recommend saving some pennies and getting off in Dundrum, this way you will get to walkdown Dundrum main street and see what it looks like before the old shopping centre is knocked down and you get to see all the pretty houses that line the main street!

Despite it's name not being 'Dundrum', this is the stop you get off at if you are heading to…read moreDundrum City Centre. Even the announcer on the Luas concurs when she affirms, 'Next stop Balally. Please alight for Dundrum Town Centre'. Balally is a far closer and more straightforward walk to the shopping centre, hence this zealous piece of advice coming from all sides. For the privilege of a shorter trip on foot you pay an extra 40c as Dundrum Luas Station is situated inside Zone 2, so to reach it from the city centre costs €1.90. Balally Luas Station however is the first stop inside Zone 3 and thus costs more at €2.30. There are no ceremonial means of having your ticket checked. What happens is that you board the tram, say with a ticket bought from the freestanding machines at each stop and unless an inspector in a fluorescent orange jacket suddenly boards at one of the stops to check tickets you will not have your ticket inspected. The inspectors, in my experience of living in Dublin are rarely seen and so it is customary behaviour by numerous people, especially students who have limited money to spend, not to buy a ticket at all. At a hefty €2.30 it is hard to justify paying this price for such a short journey out to Dundrum then back in again, maybe if the local transport company did not charge such a bold price people would be more keen to pay, even if it was just to get rid of some loose change and ensure that if an inspector did board you were safe. If you do get caught ticketless the fine is an excruciating €45. The gamble is yours to either take or, well, not to take. Balally Luas Station is a pleasant station with a Mace on-site so as to provide the modern commuter with a speedy means in which to pick up some provisions.

CityScape buses, are more of a hop on, hop off tour and one of three similar businesses in Dublin…read more We chose the 3 day ticket for €25, see photo. For the most part, it was fast and easy. The drivers are knowledgeable, offering bits of history as you go from stop to stop. Whether it was century old speculation on Charles Parnell's love life, or the very real and sad, yet also heroic ones of the Easter Rising of 1916, we couldn't get enough. One of the best recommendations we received, was on local Trinity Prof Micheál Ó Siochrú's book on Olive Cromwell in Ireland. I would highly recommend "God's Executioner". As our guide pointed out, Cromwell spent only nine months in Ireland, so it's hard to blame him for everything. For us the only down side to CityScape was the apparent lack of buses, compared to it's competition. We too, sat outside the Guinness Storehouse, as other Yelp'ers have noted, while buses went by. And yes, our driver went inside to, er, pickup additional passengers. LOL. It's all part of the charm of Dublin. Enjoy!

Do not waste your money. The bus did not pull in and stop at Houston Station the morning I waited…read moreto be picked up. I watched it go by. It also did not follow the route to to the Zoo the next morning and rather went down the Quay towards the City Center while my husband and I waited on Parkgate. (it was supposed to hit parkgate after the zoo) I was stuck on the bus for 30 minutes while they changed shifts. Another 10 minutes sitting at another stop because he apparently was driving too fast to the next stop. His monologue consisted of snarky comments about big businesses in Ireland avoiding taxes and the waste of taxpayer money on the millennial tower. Finally, and maybe it's because I am a 'new' tourist, there are, I think THREE hop on and hop off services. They do NOT accept each other's fares. When we bought this at the KIOSK there was NO warning that not all Hop ons and Hop offs are alike. Buyer beware!

If you don't want to pay 40 Euros to get to your hotel, just walk over to Terminal 1, the departure…read morearea. You can purchase your pass and wait for the Airlink bus (ours was the 747 - easy to remember, I know). You get a nice scenic ride along the expressway and eventually alongside the Liffey river. The bus dropped us off just a half block from our hotel!!! You can't beat that!!! Friendly, prompt and timely service on a new double decker bus - this sure beats the Blue line coming from Ohare to downtown Chicago.

There has to be an easy way of getting from the airport to the city and while Dublin's rail lines…read moredon't come very close to the airport, the bus certainly does. The 747 and 757 lines (great names) take different routes through the city and to the big train stations. While it took me a bit to figure out which was the right bus and which stop was the right one for me, I got there. €6 for a single or €10 for a return, the bus ride was quick and stopped two blocks from my hotel. Super easy. Lots of space for luggage downstairs and I decided that it was a good idea to stay with the luggage. There was enough room to stand nearby. Yes, the bus offers a free wifi signal. Bonus! And then... the return. The bus blew right past the stop. Yes, we flagged it. Yes, the driver looked right at us. No, it did not stop.

Used this DART station for the first time today after starting a new job on the southside. Couldn't…read morebe handier! Only took 7 years of me living in the area to get a relatively near station too. Situated in a convenient place not too far from my house. Looks nice, modern and the trains are frequent enough but honestly how do you review a DART station?

One of the reasons we moved into the city was to cut that slog into town on the 69…read more As a lifeline, it was an essential part of a very VERY long commute -all the way from it's departure stage in far-flung Rathcoole to the terminus somewhere around College Green. Along the way it gave a bus-top tour of the linking towns between Red Cow and Inchicore. As the route skipped a lot of the rougher areas, most of the trouble came from truancy cases smoking a few John Players down the back of the second level. Since the bus' route to town takes it across the South Circular road and down Conyngham road through Parkgate Street, it still makes sense now and again to jump on and experience a bit of nostalgia from my first days as a Dubliner.