Day trips recs from Dublin Ireland

[jinkies]

I will be in Dublin in July for a conference. I want to add on a few days for sightseeing, and would love suggestions of things to see!

I think I would like to stay in Dublin as home base, and just do a couple day trips, as opposed to leaving and staying somewhere else. Any recommendations?

Some relevant info:
1. I have been to Ireland before (20 years ago) and we stuck to central Ireland, from Dublin to Galway. I'd like to see different areas this time.
2. I will have plenty of downtime during the conference itself to see things in Dublin, so want to spend any extra days exploring further out.
3. I had hoped to have a travel buddy, but it's not going to work out. I'm not comfortable driving by myself in Ireland so will need places that I can do on a day tour, or via public transportation.

Is a day trip to Giants Causeway/Northern Ireland doable? I've seen some bus tours but not sure if it's a miserable amount of driving for a very small window there? Or if it's worth it? 

Any closer areas that are a must see? I'd be interested in just nice hiking areas too.

[bbdoll]

This is about an hour outside of Dublin. I found it quite interesting.

www.newgrange.com/

[acr]

Checking with my Dublin colleagues, and these are the recs that have come up.

* Newgrange (as suggested above)
* Glendalough (If doing Glendalough, head there first thing and get a good spot in the car park, doing one of the walking loops - The Spinc is a good one for views.
After do The Sally Gap Drive and stop at Lough Tay and Glenmacnass Waterfall, you can then go to Johnnie Fox’s pub)
* Wicklow Mountains
* Powerscourt
* Skerries

[erbear]

If you can get to Northern Ireland / Giants Causeway, do it. It was the absolute highlight of the whole Ireland / NI trip for me. I cannot overstate how beautiful it was.

[CrazyLucky]

The highlight of the trip for DH and I was going to the Aran Islands. It might be a long day for you, but it's definitely doable.
If you're a sports fan, the tour at Croke Park is really cool.

[sdlaura]

This was 20 years ago when I was in college, and I think it’s more of a suburb of Dublin vs a full day trip, but my friends and I enjoyed checking out Dun Laoghaire (pronounced ‘done Leary’ I think).