Day Trip to Dublin from Manchester: £43 Flights and 8 Hours in the City
A day trip to Dublin from Manchester on Friday 20 November 2026 costs about £89 all in: a £43 Ryanair return, checked on Google Flights on 3 October 2026, plus about £46 on the ground. You land at 07:55 and fly home at 18:35, about 8.2 hours in the city.
An hour on a plane, £43 return, and you're in Dublin before most people are at their desks. Manchester to Dublin is one of the easiest day trips going. Here's how to do it, and three things we'd skip.
Ryanair from Manchester on Friday 20 November, out at 06:55, landing 07:55, home at 18:35. £43 is the cheapest same-day return on Google Flights for that date, checked on 3 October 2026. Fares move daily, so check the trip page before you book.
Dublin from Manchester on Fri 20 Nov: times, hours and today's price
How long is the flight from Manchester to Dublin?
About an hour. No time difference either, so 06:55 out and 07:55 in is exactly what it looks like.
Getting into town
Aircoach from the airport into the city centre, about £10 there and back on our cost data. Our trip page has you in the city from about 08:30 until 16:35, about 8.2 hours.
What to do in 8 hours
Morning: walk the Liffey and over the Ha'penny Bridge while it's quiet. The National Museum and the National Gallery are both free, and they're the best way to spend a wet hour. Lunch, about £12 on our data. Afternoon: Phoenix Park, free and massive. Leave the centre by 16:35 for the 18:35 flight. It's dark by about 16:22 anyway, per our trip page.
3 things we'd skip
1. Temple Bar for your pint. Have a look, get the photo, then walk a few minutes off it for the actual pint. Our cost data has a pint at about £6, and you'll want to keep it there.
2. The Book of Kells, if you're only here for the day. About £21 to get in. That's a lot of a short day and a lot of your budget for one stop. Save it for a trip with more time.
3. Dinner. You're leaving town at 16:35, so a sit-down dinner doesn't fit. Have a proper late lunch instead and keep the £19.
Is Dublin expensive for a day trip?
On the ground, yes, compared with the cheap European cities. Our data has the day at about £46, against £28 for Prague and £39 for Kraków. The flight makes up for it. £43, and an hour each way.
What it costs
Flight £43. Aircoach £10, local transport £5, lunch £12, dinner £19. About £89 all in. Skip dinner like we said and it's £70. A pint adds £6.
Travel tips for the day
Ireland uses the euro. Bring a coat, the average high is around 9°C for this date on our trip page. The cheapest Ryanair fare doesn't include a big cabin bag, and on a day trip you don't need one.
Direct flights from Manchester to Dublin
Ryanair and Aer Lingus both fly it. On Friday 20 November the cheapest Ryanair same-day return was £43. The Aer Lingus ones we saw were £66 and £95, at less handy times. For a day trip, the 06:55 Ryanair is the one. It's the reason you get eight hours.
Other days
Saturday 7 November looked good on our trip page too, with over 10 hours in the city, but the cheapest flights on Google that day were afternoon ones. Prices and times change by date, so check the Dublin trip page for other days. Look at the hours in the city as well as the price.
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Photo credits. Top: Chris Morgan, CC BY-SA 2.0. Merchant's Arch: David Kernan, CC BY 4.0. The Temple Bar: Gordon Leggett, CC BY-SA 4.0.
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