Beyond the obvious “drive on the other side of the road”, here are a bunch of tips on things that you should keep in mind.
If you want the tourist pamphlet, check out Using The Roads In Ireland
They don’t use yellow lines the way the US does
In the US, traffic moving in opposite directions is separated by yellow lines; white lines separate traffic moving in the same direction.
No so in Ireland, it is white lines for everything. Most of the time it is clear, but every so often you’ll find a section of road with 3 lanes where it isn’t clear if the middle lane is for your direction or the other (maybe there’s some subtle clue that I’m missing…)
Lights
The traffic lights tend to have a column per lane, which is usually quite
useful. But not always and sometimes you see this head scratcher. Should I
stay or should I go?
Another one that was a surprise is the flashing amber arrow – treat this as a “yield” and you’ll be grand.
Roundabouts
Roundabouts are great – no such thing as a 4-way stop here. Just remember that traffic on the roundabout has the right of way.
And if you come across a multi-lane roundabout, use the outside lane when you’re taking the 1st or 2nd exit, otherwise use the inner lane and move over after passing an exit or two.
And remember to signal when exiting the roundabout!
Signs
A white arrow on blue circle always points to the lane you should move into. This is especially helpful when making turns when you first get here, your instinct will be to turn into the wrong (oncoming traffic) lane.
Double yellow lines mean no parking
A double yellow line on the side of a road means “no parking”. A cynic might say that it also means there will usually be parking available there (the amount of people parked in no parking is pretty surprising).
Oh, and a solid white line in the center of a road also means no parking on either side (wait, what?)
Beware of street parking in Dublin
They don’t issue parking tickets – they boot (“clamp”) you and the fines are more than €150. They don’t seem to be super aggressive about parking enforcement, but if they do come around it is expensive and a long wait for the service to come remove the boot.
Public transport is your friend when heading into Dublin City Center
Street parking can be very difficult to find and the garages are a crap shoot. They range from reasonably-priced to outrageous. They all seem to have very narrow parking spaces; once I parked in one where each spot seemed to be a converted horse stall.
For public transit directions, I recommend you use the Google Maps, CityMapper or Moovit apps (all are good, take your pick). I prefer directions from Apple Maps, but find the coverage to be better in the others.
Be sure to get a Leap card. They’re available from most small markets (e.g. Centra), they start at €10 (€5 of which is a deposit). You can refill them from the “Leap Top-Up” app. With the card you’ll pay just €2/ride. It is more if you pay cash (€2.60 I think and they don’t make change).
Pro-tip when using the card – hold it for couple seconds until it beeps, it takes longer than you would expect.