Dublin Leap Visitor Card

[Willie Bee]

My wife and i are travelling to Dublin in the summer, so we like to get everything sorted before we go.

Leap Visitor card give unlimited travel on buses, trams and trains within the Dublin area, so seem perfect

On the Transport for Ireland (TfI) the prices are shown as €8 (valid for 1 day) €16 (3 days) and €32 (7 days) .. see image

However, when clicking on 'to buy' page, the prices seem to be €8, €18 and €24, which is a bit confusing

I am wondering whether anybody here in the UK has bought such cards recently and had then shipped here .. maybe prices are based upon location.

A while ago, we bought Glasgow Subway 'smart cards' which were posted to us for free

 

[thejuggler]

You don't say how you are travelling to Dublin, but I was there a couple of weeks ago and bought 72 hour Leap cards from the Spar in the arrivals of the airport, they were €17 so who knows the cost!

It was convenient and we used it a lot, including on the bus to and from the airport - local bus 16 or 41. DART to Howth (well worth a visit) and Lansdown Road, trams even for a couple of stops saved walking.

It is a little confusing whether you tap in once to activate or every time. On the first tap the expiry date and time is shown on the machine, but I noticed on day three this expiry time was three days later!

We did tap in each time and were revenue checked a couple of times and no problem. Tap in points for trams are on the platform and you tap before the journey and when alighting. Buses on entry only, some DART stations have barriers so you have to tap to enter and exit, some don't but there will be readers.

 

[richardderby]

i bought a card last year from the website, and it was posted directly no problem. you can use it for 24 hours after activation, and if you use the local bus into Dublin from the airport, rather than the express (which do not accept them), it pays for itself straight away. the local bus is fine, and a double decker.

 

[Willie Bee]

You don't say how you are travelling to Dublin, but I was there a couple of weeks ago and bought 72 hour Leap cards from the Spar in the arrivals of the airport, they were €17 so who knows the cost!

It was convenient and we used it a lot, including on the bus to and from the airport - local bus 16 or 41. DART to Howth (well worth a visit) and Lansdown Road, trams even for a couple of stops saved walking.

It is a little confusing whether you tap in once to activate or every time. On the first tap the expiry date and time is shown on the machine, but I noticed on day three this expiry time was three days later!

We did tap in each time and were revenue checked a couple of times and no problem. Tap in points for trams are on the platform and you tap before the journey and when alighting. Buses on entry only, some DART stations have barriers so you have to tap to enter and exit, some don't but there will be readers.

Thank you for your detailed and helpful reply.

We are actually flying from NCL and will use the 41 bus to get to the city centre and our hotel (P.I North Docklands) hopefully to leave our bags off.

On our way home, we may have to take one of the coach services to the airport. Our flight leaves at 13:10, so with a check-in time of about 2 hours, maybe it would be risky to take the normal bus. We'll see on the day.

It's going to bug me a little having to pay €9 each for a single trip to the airport, when a whole day's worth of travel would be less

Strange that you paid €17

i bought a card last year from the website, and it was posted directly no problem. you can use it for 24 hours after activation, and if you use the local bus into Dublin from the airport, rather than the express (which do not accept them), it pays for itself straight away. the local bus is fine, and a double decker.

Was it posted to you free of charge ?

Maybe the online price of €18 is including a €2 postage fee

 

[richardderby]

Thank you for your detailed and helpful reply.

We are actually flying from NCL and will use the 41 bus to get to the city centre and our hotel (P.I North Docklands) hopefully to leave our bags off.

On our way home, we may have to take one of the coach services to the airport. Our flight leaves at 13:10, so with a check-in time of about 2 hours, maybe it would be risky to take the normal bus. We'll see on the day.

It's going to bug me a little having to pay €9 each for a single trip to the airport, when a whole day's worth of travel would be less

Strange that you paid €17


Was it posted to you free of charge ?

Maybe the online price of €18 is including a €2 postage fee

yes it was posted out free, and was very quick to arrive.. perhaps the price has increased for this year.

 

[thejuggler]

I wouldn't worry about which bus to take. The local bus (16) leaves from the same stop as the airport buses on O Connell Street.

The local bus does take a slightly longer route, but I happened to meet someone I know in the airport, she had taken the 'Express' and it had taken her half an hour, we only took 40 minutes. Transport to and from the airport is the one downside with Dublin visits, it really does need a better solution.

 

[Willie Bee]

I wouldn't worry about which bus to take. The local bus (16) leaves from the same stop as the airport buses on O Connell Street.

The local bus does take a slightly longer route, but I happened to meet someone I know in the airport, she had taken the 'Express' and it had taken her half an hour, we only took 40 minutes. Transport to and from the airport is the one downside with Dublin visits, it really does need a better solution.

Thanks

The 41 bus goes nearer our hotel, but anyway .. I've been thinking (always a worrying sign )

We would probably have taken the Dublin Express coach to the airport on our way home, which is €9, but for only €3 more, we could have the coach both ways. As well as being quicker than the 'normal bus', it is more comfortable and passes close to the hotel too. It's closer to the airport terminal too .. which is another 'plus'

I did read somewhere, that you book a certain time slot for the coach, but you are able to take earlier / later coaches too

Once we leave our bags at the hotel, we'll activate the Leap card and start exploring.

yes it was posted out free, and was very quick to arrive.. perhaps the price has increased for this year.

Tomorrow I'll contact TfI to find out .. one page on their site says €16 and another €18 for the 3-day card

 

[Hornet]

The 41 starts from Lower Abbey Street. See Timetable.

https://www.dublinbus.ie/getmedia/11caa592-4418-4c92-9867-1ad0534ed479/Revised-Route-41.pdf?ext=.pdf

A Bus after 10am will be plenty of time to get you to the Airport, and as it starts from Lower Abbey Street you will not be fighting with the hoards trying to get on the 16 in O'Connell Street. I Live in South West Dublin and fly to the UK around once a month. I use Dublin Bus to get to the Airport and give myself 2 hours to get to the Airport. That includes changing in town to get the 16. It's never taken me more than 2 hours to get to the Airport even in the height of rush hour. You can check in with Ryanair as soon as you get there using their self check in machines. There is loads of them. Debit/Credit CardContactless is available on the Dublin Express coach.

I despair of Dublin Bus, Luas and Dart having no Debit/Credit Card Contactless facility. I've lost count of the number of people who get on the 16/41 that i'm on at the Airport, who do not realise that Debit/Credit Card Contactless are not accepted on the Bus. So they produce Euro Notes which are also not accepted as the cash slot takes exact change only, and the Driver doesn't do change. So off they go to the shop close to the Bus Stand in the hope they may get change or head for the Express Coach and pay the premium fare or even head for the Taxi rank for a hideously expensive taxi. Not a great start to their stay. Ireland is so backwards when it comes to Public Transport. (No dedicated Rail Link or Luas to the Airport, Most Buses to the Suburbs ending at 23:30 and no early morning starts on many routes). It's just not a priority here, and as someone who was inbedded in the RPA working on Luas, I had a pretty good view of the Government's view to Public Transport. (Google Bus Connects, Metro North and Dublin Airport Passenger Cap to see how slow things get done, or where new infrastructure (Dublin Airport's two Runways) is criminally under utilised).

 

[ServerHoster]

You don't say how you are travelling to Dublin, but I was there a couple of weeks ago and bought 72 hour Leap cards from the Spar in the arrivals of the airport, they were €17 so who knows the cost!

I also bought a Leap Visitor card from the same shop and they charged €9 for a one day ticket. As I walked away, I thought "oh, the prices probably went up." But then I looked at the TFI website to see it was still €8 per day... so I have no idea why Spar seems to charge this extra €1.

The time before that, I went to the Wrights shop in Terminal 1 arrivals and they charged me €8 for a day, so no extra fee...

 

[Willie Bee]

The 41 starts from Lower Abbey Street. See Timetable.

https://www.dublinbus.ie/getmedia/11caa592-4418-4c92-9867-1ad0534ed479/Revised-Route-41.pdf?ext=.pdf

A Bus after 10am will be plenty of time to get you to the Airport, and as it starts from Lower Abbey Street you will not be fighting with the hoards trying to get on the 16 in O'Connell Street. I Live in South West Dublin and fly to the UK around once a month. I use Dublin Bus to get to the Airport and give myself 2 hours to get to the Airport. That includes changing in town to get the 16. It's never taken me more than 2 hours to get to the Airport even in the height of rush hour. You can check in with Ryanair as soon as you get there using their self check in machines. There is loads of them. Debit/Credit CardContactless is available on the Dublin Express coach.

Thanks for your very detailed reply, the 41 could be a good choice.

I think there's a 90-minute rule, so you only need to pay once, when taking a bus or tram together

We'll be staying at the North Docklands Premier Inn, so we could catch the Luas (tram) from the nearby stop 'the Point' then catch the 41 from Lower Abbey Street. That'll be a single ticket only, I think at €2.50 each.

Our 3-day Leap card will work on our arrival day (from the airport) then on our next 2 full days in Dublin.

 

[richardderby]

Thanks for your very detailed reply, the 41 could be a good choice.

I think there's a 90-minute rule, so you only need to pay once, when taking a bus or tram together

We'll be staying at the North Docklands Premier Inn, so we could catch the Luas (tram) from the nearby stop 'the Point' then catch the 41 from Lower Abbey Street. That'll be a single ticket only, I think at €2.50 each.

Our 3-day Leap card will work on our arrival day (from the airport) then on our next 2 full days in Dublin.

how funny, I stayed at that premier inn last year on the way to the USA as its cheaper to fly from Eire.. its a nice hotel, and the tram stop (the point) is right behind the hotel, say five minutes walk max.
i took the tram and 41 to and from the airport, no problem at all. not a lot around there though, a supermarket and a couple of chain restaurants, from what I recall..

 

[Flying Snail]

Thanks for your very detailed reply, the 41 could be a good choice.

I think there's a 90-minute rule, so you only need to pay once, when taking a bus or tram together

We'll be staying at the North Docklands Premier Inn, so we could catch the Luas (tram) from the nearby stop 'the Point' then catch the 41 from Lower Abbey Street. That'll be a single ticket only, I think at €2.50 each.

Our 3-day Leap card will work on our arrival day (from the airport) then on our next 2 full days in Dublin.

The 90 minute transfer is €2 and only available using a regular Leap card, paper Luas tickets are singles and not valid for transfers to bus or train.

Regular Leap caps at €6/day.

Visitor Leap is not calendar days, it is 24, 72 or 168 hours from first validation. Cards can be topped up again with any of the 3 period options but (stupidly) time out 1 year from issue.

The Leap top-up app will read the cards and tell you the status and balance.

 

[Willie Bee]

The 90 minute transfer is €2 and only available using a regular Leap card, paper Luas tickets are singles and not valid for transfers to bus or train.

Thanks !

Our Leap Visitors card will have run out the day before we return home, so it seems we'll be paying €2 each Luas fare from 'The Point' to 'Abbey Street' then €2.60 teach o the airport. This isn't bad really.

My wife may think otherwise, so we could just get the Dublin Express bus from Dublin3Arena, probably 6-7 minutes walk from the hotel.

 

[Flying Snail]

Thanks !

Our Leap Visitors card will have run out the day before we return home, so it seems we'll be paying €2 each Luas fare from 'The Point' to 'Abbey Street' then €2.60 teach o the airport. This isn't bad really.

My wife may think otherwise, so we could just get the Dublin Express bus from Dublin3Arena, probably 6-7 minutes walk from the hotel.

You could just get regular Leap cards instead, €5 deposit plus travel credit, with the daily cap you won't be paying any more and you can either hold onto them for future use or refund them, including the deposit, to your bank account online. Unlike the Visitor cards they do not expire and are useful for other regions in Ireland.

 

[Willie Bee]

.. or refund them, including the deposit, to your bank account online.

Thank you for your reply, but I read somewhere that the €5 deposit was not refundable, but of course, I could be wrong

 

[danm14]

Thank you for your reply, but I read somewhere that the €5 deposit was not refundable, but of course, I could be wrong

It cannot be refunded in person, but you can refund it online by declaring the card lost. You need a European bank account to receive the refund - in the UK you can use a free Euro account from Revolut, Starling, etc.

 

[Willie Bee]

Just been on the 'Chat' with TfI, but the chap there was not very helpful at all ..he didn't know why there was a price difference

On their home page, the prices for visitor cards are ..

1 day card €8, 3-day €16 and the 1-week card €32 (see image)

If I was to try and buy these cards, from the link from their home page the prices are €8, €18 and €24

 

[danm14]

The prices for Leap Visitor Cards were announced to be being changed as part of widespread fare changes under the NTA Fares Determination in January 2024. The changes were originally meant to take effect before September 2024, but were heavily delayed and split into phases - the first of which only happened last Monday.

The one-day card was retained at €8.00; the three-day card was increased to triple the regular daily Leap Card cap of €6.00; and the weekly card was reduced to the regular weekly Leap Card cap of €24.00.

I expect the next NTA Fares Determination will phase out the Leap Visitor Card altogether.

 

[Willie Bee]

The prices for Leap Visitor Cards were announced to be being changed as part of widespread fare changes under the NTA Fares Determination in January 2024. The changes were originally meant to take effect before September 2024, but were heavily delayed and split into phases - the first of which only happened last Monday.

The one-day card was retained at €8.00; the three-day card was increased to triple the regular daily Leap Card cap of €6.00; and the weekly card was reduced to the regular weekly Leap Card cap of €24.00.

I expect the next NTA Fares Determination will phase out the Leap Visitor Card altogether.

That's very interesting .. thank you for your very detailed explanation

I assume the normal Leap Card covers everywhere the visitor card covers (and more) and with a cap of €6 there isn't really any point in getting the visitor card, especially the 3-day one.

And .. for our 4th day .. our trip to the airport would be cheaper too, with the 90-minute rule .. Luas, then 41 bus

I understand, living in the UK, if we get a Starling Euro bank, our €5 deposits will be returned too

THAT'S IT THEN ... REGULAR LEAP CARDS FOR WIFE AND I COMING UP !!

Thanks again danm14 for your answer .. it's a pity the chap on TfI chatline didn't know that yesterday

 

[danm14]

I assume the normal Leap Card covers everywhere the visitor card covers (and more) and with a cap of €6 there isn't really any point in getting the visitor card, especially the 3-day one.

The only time it would be advantageous would be for a 5+ day trip that spans two calendar (Monday-Sunday) weeks.

The weekly Visitor Leap Card is simply valid for 168 hours from first use, whereas the regular Leap Card weekly cap is for travel in each calendar week, Monday-Sunday.

The main benefit of a Visitor Leap Card used to be that it covered travel on the Dublin Bus Airlink Express service without paying the premium fare that normally applied to it - however this service ceased operating in 2020. It does not (and without question will never be extended to) cover any of the currently operating premium airport services.

 

[ainsworth74]

My wife may think otherwise, so we could just get the Dublin Express bus from Dublin3Arena, probably 6-7 minutes walk from the hotel.

I stayed in that same hotel and that's exactly what I did to get back to the airport (I arrived by Enterprise from Belfast). Worked very smoothly so whilst it might not be the cheapest method I found the convenience of being able to walk from my hotel to a direct bus being worth the premium of a few extra euros. Just a tip that there's a small supermarket right next to The Point which does well for breakfast (if you want to skip the Premier Inn breakfast or don't want to go deeper into Dublin to find a sit down breakfast) and there's also a well stocked Tesco Express about ten minutes from the hotel (you'll see it from the tram as it's just before Spencer Dock tram stop which is the penultimate stop before The Point) which can be useful for supplies.

If you're feeling energetic it's perfectly possible to walk from Connolly station to the hotel as well in about twenty minutes but I'd follow the tram route, Sheriff Street (one road over) is, er, not very salubrious but the road the tram route follows is perfectly pleasant.

Also, by the by, another vote for a regular leap card. I did get a one day visitor card (as I was planning to bash trams so that seemed the easiest way of doing that) but left it at home before I flew out from Newcastle So I bought a regular one from the main post office on O'Connell street on arrival in Dublin (short walk from Connolly) but haven't bothered trying to refund the deposit as I'll probably be back at some point and that ended up working fine for what I did in the end anyway.

 

[berneyarms]

The regular LEAP card epurse also offers 30% off cash fares on every PSO bus service across the entire country.

 

[craigybagel]

The Visitor Leap Card used to be cheaper than the cap on a regular leap card if you were traveling beyond the city zone into the old short hop zone (roughly what are now zones 1 and 2 respectively). It would appear that now the zone system has changed, it is no longer valid outside of the new zone 1. Granted, not many tourists are likely to want to visit Balbriggan but as a former resident of that town it was a loophole I used to avail of on return visits.

No longer being permitted to use the DART on the very scenic Bray - Greystones section is more disappointing, but at least the bus routes on that section (which are operated by Dublin Bus/Go Ahead and thus still covered by the Visitor card) aren't too painful.

 

[Willie Bee]

No longer being permitted to use the DART on the very scenic Bray - Greystones section is more disappointing, but at least the bus routes on that section (which are operated by Dublin Bus/Go Ahead and thus still covered by the Visitor card) aren't too painful.

Can you still get as far as Bray with either card .. visitor or normal ?

Is there any sort of map online, showing the extent of the visitors card ?

i assume the normal leap 'cap' covers the exact same area

 

[berneyarms]

It’s valid in Dublin City Zone 1

The new Dublin City zone details are here:

New Fare Zones

Four New Fare Zones in Dublin and surrounding areas from April 28th: There are four Leap fare zones for Iarnród Éireann Irish Rail services, which cover an approximate 50km radius […]

www.transportforireland.ie

 

[Willie Bee]

It’s valid in Dublin City Zone 1

The new Dublin City zone details are here:

New Fare Zones

Four New Fare Zones in Dublin and surrounding areas from April 28th: There are four Leap fare zones for Iarnród Éireann Irish Rail services, which cover an approximate 50km radius […]

www.transportforireland.ie

thank you