Tours of the castle would have to be set up by reaching by out to the castle directly, but cannot be done Friday-Sunday as they are exclusively booked for our wedding. If you're interested in touring the distillery, you can book a tour online at https://www.slaneirishwhiskey.com/ and these can be done any time during the weekend or week.

We highly suggest flying into the Dublin airport. It is only a 30-45 minute drive or taxi ride to Slane and the nearby towns of Navan & Drogheda from the airport, or you can catch public transit which can take about 2 hours.

The below website has links that you can select for step by step instructions to renew a passport or apply for your first passport. https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports.html

We suggest starting your application process ASAP. It is typically quoted at 6-8 weeks to receive your passport once all is submitted but can take longer based on certain demand. If you have a passport, please be sure to check the expiration date - many European countries require your expiration date to be no less than 6 months out from your entry date.

There are a few options to stay near or in the town of Slane, unfortunately all of those locations IN Slane are fully booked already. We added some other suggestions in the Travel section of our website for options in the nearby towns of Navan (10 minutes outside Slane), Drogheda (20 minutes outside Slane) & a few other towns between those and Dublin. Ireland does not do hotel blocking, we suggest when you know the hotel you would like to stay in to call or go online ASAP and book. Airbnb or Vrbo are also options if you would like to look into those.

A car might be helpful for some, especially if you plan to travel around more of Ireland after or before the wedding, please see the next Q&A for more tips on renting a car. If your only plan is to go to Slane (or surrounding towns) and Dublin, you can get by without renting a car very easily. Taxis are not hard to find, and most hotels can assist in calling one for you, or setting a time for pickup. If you end up staying in Slane, the castle is within walking distance to the town if you'd prefer not to call a taxi. The taxi price from Dublin airport to Slane and surrounding areas is anywhere from 60-120 euro (dependent upon traffic).

If you plan to get a rental car while in Ireland, we have a few tips/warnings we wanted to share. Be sure to shop around for the best deal and keep in mind when you see the 30 euro per day charge online you’ll typically be offered an insurance policy that can be 100+ euro more. We would highly suggest getting the insurance if this your first time driving in a foreign country. Irish roads are narrow and they drive on the opposite side of the road which can be difficult to remember. Be sure to take a look at the type of car you are booking (especially if you don't know how to drive a manual). Dublin is a VERY difficult place to drive in with the taxis, bikes, pedestrians, buses and everyone else driving. If you only need a car to get from the airport to Slane and back to spend more time in Dublin, we would suggest returning the car before heading into Dublin so you don't have to worry about driving or parking.

When Gail spent the summer in Dublin, she stayed in Rathmines which is on the southside of Dublin. Rathmines has great cheap hotel options and is a short walk or bus ride into the city center. There are plenty of hotel options within the city center as well (we enjoying staying near temple bar and trinity college), just be sure to research the area to make sure it is safe or see the other Q&A about safe areas in Dublin. See the travel section for Dublin Hotel suggestions.

If you stick with the basic areas of Dublin you will be fine, generally speaking Ireland is a very safe country to travel in and most people are very friendly. The biggest areas to avoid in Dublin are certain sections of Pearse Street, as well as the area around the Temple Bar. Pearse Street has a higher than average crime rate which makes it best to just avoid all together - there is nothing to see there either. The Temple Bar area is a highly congested tourist area making it a prime pickpocketing spot. Most other areas they say to avoid are neighborhoods just outside of the Dublin city center - be sure to do some research if you plan to go out to any residential areas of Ireland.

Our suggestion would be to fly in on either Wednesday the 8th or Thursday the 9th. The wedding is on Saturday, however, having an extra day or two to get on Irish time and catch up on any sleep lost during travel works best for us. There is a pub crawl on Thursday the 9th for anyone interested and a day after barbecue at the castle on Sunday the 12th that everyone is invited to join.