Travel

The top-five ways to see Dublin without touching the ground

ONCE UPON A time, city tours were all about walking around (and generally getting lost while fumbling with a map) or using an…

Thu Jul 28 2011 - 01:00

ONCE UPON A time, city tours were all about walking around (and generally getting lost while fumbling with a map) or using an open-top bus to gain some kind of perspective on the layout of a city. But in recent years there are far more exciting ways to get to grips with our capital. Here are some of our favourites.

SEGWAY TOURS

Want to feel like you’re in The Jetsons while sightseeing? Glide Tours offer jaunts on (deceptively speedy) Segways through the Phoenix Park and Dublin’s Docklands. Both tours last two hours, so you can coast along the Liffey, observing the architectural fruits of the Celtic Tiger all the way into Grand Canal Dock, or intimidate deer as you roll around the pathways of the Phoenix Park. See glidetours.ie

VIKING SPLASH

READ MORE

You can never see a city you’re familiar with from too many angles and maybe that’s why the Viking Splash tours remain popular with locals and visitors alike. An irreverent chugging tour through town and into the canal basin on an amphibious second World War vehicle with great, funny guides. See vikingsplash.ie

SEA SAFARI

If you fancy a bit more splash than the lumbering Viking vehicle, then hop into one of Dublin Bay’s Sea Safari ribs that speed their way around Dalkey Island, Ireland’s Eye and elsewhere for a vigorous tour of the city’s coastline. They also offer a 40-minute tour of the River Liffey. See seasafari.ie

ECOCABS

Feet sore from all that shopping? Spent your last few euro on macaroons in Brown Thomas yet need to get across the city centre quickly? EcoCabs offer short distance, emission-free, pedal-powered trips from A to B around the city centre for up to three people. So if you’re weighed down by shopping bags or have just hit your lazy switch, you know who to flag down. Oh, and they’re free. See ecocabs.ie

DUBLIN BY BIKE

Run by two friendly fellows called Ciaran and Ronan, Dublin By Bike offers a daily three-hour tour every morning, or a twilight tour for 90 minutes for a minimum of six people. Along with city centre cycling, they run a 14km Dublin coastal tour if you need some sea air. See dublinbybike.ie