Practical Information

Travelling to Ireland:

By Plane

Dublin is served by Dublin International Airport, which is located north of Dublin City Centre (roughly 15km from city centre). This is usually the cheapest option. There are frequent connecting buses from the airport to the city centre, including a special shuttle services (Aircoach and Airlink) which bring passengers directly to the city centre (and in the case of Aircoach, directly to UCD as well).

By Ferry

If travelling by car, arriving by ferry either from France or the UK is an option, however it is considerably more expensive and time consuming. Dublin port receives ferries from Liverpool and Holyhead in the UK and from Cherbourg in France. Rosslare port (South-east Ireland) receives ferries from Roscoff and Cherbourg in France. For further information and availability please see here.

Travelling to UCD:

The University College Dublin (UCD) Belfield campus is located roughly 7km south of Dublin City centre. The following are the options for travelling to UCD either if arriving at Dublin Airport or Dublin Port.

From Dublin Airport

Aircoach operates a service 700 from Dublin Airport to Leopardstown / Sandyford / Stillorgan which passes UCD (best option). It is cheaper if you book tickets online 24 hours in advance of travelling, but you can also buy the ticket on the bus. The destination stop will be “UCD slip road” on the aircoach booking website, coming from “Dublin Airport”.  It is imperative that when boarding the bus you ask the driver to "SETDOWN at UCD.” These are important words as otherwise the bus will stop on the N11 and is a long walk to check-in.

Airlink Express connects Dublin Airport with Dublin City centre and a number of popular Dublin locations. It is possible to get the Airlink to O’Connell Street (Dublin city centre) and then get a second bus (Dublin Bus No. 2, 11 or 46A) to UCD. This option costs roughly the same as getting the aircoach directly from Dublin Airport.  

Dublin Bus also has a number of routes which serve Dublin Airport and Dublin City Centre. Bus No’s 16, 33, 41 and 747 arrive at O’Connell street, after which the bus numbers mentioned previously (Dublin Bus No. 2, 11 or 46A) can be taken to UCD. This option may work out slightly cheaper than the previous two, but will take significantly longer.

Taxies are usually available both at Dublin airport and city centre, however are a more expensive option.

From Dublin Port 

Please use this directions to get from Dublin Port to UCD Belfield campus.

Travelling to/from Dublin City Centre and UCD

1. If travelling between Dublin City centre and UCD, the best option is to use Dublin Bus. Dublin Bus no’s 2, 11 and 46A serve both O’Connell Street and UCD. There are two Dublin Bus stops in UCD which are indicated on the campus map. Be warned exact change is needed when purchasing bus tickets on Dublin bus! A more convenient way to pay for public transport is using Leap Card. It saves you carrying change and Leap Card fares are usually 20% cheaper than cash single tickets. You can purchase Leap card on Dublin Airport, UCD campus, or on numerous locations in the city. You can use Leap card for Dublin Bus, Luas, and Dart.
2. It also possible to use the Luas (tram-service) Green Line to travel between the city centre and UCD, however the closest stops to the UCD campus are roughly a half-hour walk from campus (either Milltown or Windy Arbour Luas stops).
3. The Dart is commuter rail system which runs along the coast of the Irish Sea. The closest dart station to the UCD Belfield campus is Booterstown trains station which is also roughly a half-hour walk from the main campus.
4. Taxis between UCD and Dublin city centre will cost roughly €15-€20, however this may vary significantly depending on the city centre location and time of day. There are usually an adequate number of taxis in operation in the city centre at any given time. It is possible to hail a taxi from the street, but convenient taxi ranks are located on O'Connell Street, Middle Abbey Street, Dame Street and St. Stephens Green.
5. For exploring city centre you can also use Dublin bikes. This public bike scheme provides 100 public bike stations around the city centre with 1500 bikes available for general public use. You can also rent bikes at UCD Belfield Bike Shop and use them for commuting to/from Dublin city centre.   

 

Additional Transport Info

Hit the Road shows you how to get to or from UCD Campus using a combination of Dublin Bus, Luas and DART links. You can also change searching options and search how to get from point A to B anywhere in Dublin. If you have any further queries in relation to travelling options please do not hesitate to contact the organising committee!

UCD Belfield campus

UCD Belfield campus provides a lot of services such as Centra supermarket, pharmacy, health service, post office, copy-print, sport centre, bike shop, book shop, and bank. There are two big restaurants, one right next to Lochlann Quinn School of Business, and the other at the UCD O’Brien Centre for Science. You can also grab a snack at UCD James Joyce Library and in Newman Building. A map of UCD Belfield campus with a list of all these services can be downloaded here.

Accommodation

Accommodation will be provided in Ashfield Residences on UCD Belfield campus. Accomodation will be provided for six nights, including the night before the start of the summer school (2nd of July) and the final night of the summer school (7th of July). Ashfield Residence is only couple of minutes walking from UCD Lochlann Quinn School of Business where all the lectures and workshops will take place. Every student will have their own room with private bathroom and will have access to a communal kitchen and living room. Limited cooking utensils and ensuite laundrette will be provided. Bed linen will be provided and changed weekly, however, towels are not provided but they can be purchased very inexpensively at the Centra Supermarket. A 24 hours Central Reception is located at Merville Office which is right next to Centra Supermarket and student should register there as soon as they arrive on campus. The telephone number of Central Reception office is +353 1 716 1008.

General Info about Ireland and Dublin

Although the STEP 2017 will be held in the summer months the weather in Ireland is notoriously unpredictable, therefore it is advisable to prepare for wet weather. For more info about places to visit/activities in Ireland/Dublin please see here.