There are many ways to get to Dublin, the city is the capital of Ireland and also the island's primate city. Looking at a map, the road and rail network radiate out from Dublin like spokes on a wheel, the country's biggest airport is here and two of the busiest ports give direct access to the urban area.

Since Ireland is an island, the two obvious ways of getting here are by plane and by ferry.

The slow, stress-free approach is by ferry, although this is only possible if travelling from Britain and France. 1.3 million passengers arrived in Dublin by ferry last year. Ferries from Dublin Port and Dun Laoghaire serve Holyhead in Wales, Douglas on the Isle of Man and Liverpool in England. With a mixture of ferry and fastcraft crossings from Irish Ferries, Stenaline, Norfolkline, P&O and Isle of Man Steam Packet Company there is an alternative to air travel for crossing the Irish Sea. Ferries from Rosslare, 2 hours drive south of Dublin, serve several ports in France via crossings that take approximately 17 hours.

Air travel is important since Ireland is an island far from the European landmass. Carriers such as Aer Lingus and Ryanair fly to North American and European destinations carrying an average of 60,000 passengeres daily, approx. 23.5 million in 2008. Top destinations include: London, Paris, Frankfurt, Manchester, Edinburgh and Amsterdam.

The airport can be reached by taxi, Airlink bus or by Aircoach along several routes in the city and beyond. The Aircoach service is very efficient and costs €8 single to Dublin City Centre, there are many routes serving the main locations. They also have several routes to Cork and Belfast. Best option is to look at aircoach.ie for more details. Drivers will check you are on the correct bus, load and unload your bags for you and will announce the stops in good time. They are knowledgeable and courteous, a great service and cheaper than the taxi. The coaches also have free wifi, which after a short registration page, leaves you free to browse the internet.

The slower option is to use bus Dublin Bus Airlink services 747 and 748 which costs €6 single, and run to Busaras and Heuston Train Station respectively, via O'Connell Street. Dublin Bus routes 16a and 41 also serve Dublin Airport and cost €2.20. These tickets are valid for onward travel on Dublin Bus routes for up to 90 minutes from first use. These are standard urban buses, in that they have many stops and have more local users rather than tourists. The budget option.

Traffic can be nightmarish in Dublin. Average daytime speeds are 12km/h and as in any capital city, driving can be confusing, frustrating and can even ruin your holiday. Far better then to relax and use public transport, or even your feet and leave the car at your hotel.

Dublin is a perfect city for walking around, there are no major hills, the footpaths are wide and the city centre is a low rise building zone with many avenues and vistas of the Dublin Mountains.

The main public transport network is bus. Buses generally operate in a suburb-to-city centre direction so moving across the city east-west can be difficult and may mean going into O'Connell Street and back out again on a different bus route. Buses take coins only and if you don't have exact change, inform the driver so that he can print a refund receipt that you can redeem on O'Connell Street.

The DART [Dublin Area Rapid Transit] runs along the coast giving marvellous views over the broad sweep of Dublin Bay and makes getting to Bray and Howth so much more enjoyable.

Luas- a light rail tram runs in two lines. The Red line runs from The Point to Tallaght, and now Saggart, via Connolly Station and Abbey Street. The Green line operates from Bride's Glen (near Loughlinstown) to St. Stephen's Green via Ranelagh. The two lines don't interconnect and there is a 15-20 minute walk between both at their closest points. Fares start at €1.50.

I recently used the Luas park and ride from the Red Cow which costs €2 for up to four hours or €4 for 24 hours parking. The ticket to the city centre cost €2.10 single or €4 return making it a lot cheaper than driving in and paying a lot more for parking which is extortionate in Dublin.

Cycling around Dublin can be very enjoyable particularly on Sunday when there is little traffic. However, at all times it can still be enjoyable and a quick way to get to the coast or to the outlying attractions. Again because Dublin is a relatively flat city, cycling is easy and with 40 new 'dublinbikes' rental stations located in the city centre, getting your hands on a bike in Dublin has never been easier.

I often get asked about good places to stay in Dublin. It makes sense to strike a balance between budget, location and service so I usually recommend the Sandymount Hotel which is located right beside Lansdowne Road The Aviva stadium, home to Ireland's rugby and soccer teams.

If I am leading a photo tour in the city centre, it is possible to start the route direct from the hotel taking in the highlights of Dublin's south side first. For a Howth or Dun Laoghaire photo workshop it is just a short stroll to the DART line.

With free wifi access and free car parking away from the busy streets of the city centre, the hotel provides a perfect location for relaxing after your photography tour and updating your blog.

If desired, we can have a short image review session at the hotel after the photography tour or workshop.