Which Guinness Storehouse ticket should I buy?

For most visitors, the standard self-guided ticket (from ~€26 online) is the right pick — it covers all seven floors and includes one pint in the Gravity Bar. Book it online to save money and avoid the ticket-queue. Only upgrade to the Connoisseur Experience (~€55) if you are a genuine beer enthusiast who wants a tutored tasting of four Guinness variants.

Guinness Storehouse tickets explained: every tier, price and what's included

Every ticket tier, stripped of the marketing

The Guinness Storehouse has a reputation for confusing visitors with multiple overlapping packages. This page unpicks every current ticket type, lists what each one actually includes, and tells you when it is — and is not — worth upgrading.

Before we get into it: whatever ticket you buy, book online rather than at the door. Online tickets are cheaper, and they include a timed entry slot that lets you skip the ticket-office queue — which regularly stretches 30–45 minutes on summer afternoons. No other single action will improve your visit as much.

Standard self-guided ticket

The standard entry ticket (from ~€26 when booked in advance) is the core product. It gives you:

Unrestricted access to all seven floors, including the ingredient rooms, brewing history, advertising archive, cooperage display, and tasting rooms
One complimentary drink — a pint of Guinness, a Guinness 0.0, or a soft drink — redeemable in the Gravity Bar on the seventh floor or in the lower-floor bars
No time limit once you are inside (the whole experience runs around 90 minutes to 2 hours for most people)

The Guinness Storehouse entry ticket with free pint is all most first-time visitors need. Do not pay door-price (which is noticeably higher) if you have any internet access before arriving.

Skip-the-line signature package

The signature skip-the-line package (~€40) is the same experience as the standard ticket, but with:

Priority access that shortcuts the entrance-security queue at peak times
A better-looking souvenir admission card

Honest verdict: on a quiet weekday morning, this upgrade is wasted money. In July or August on a Saturday afternoon, it is worth every cent. If you are visiting in peak summer, book the skip-the-line Guinness Storehouse signature package. Off-peak, save the extra €14.

Connoisseur Experience

At ~€55, the Connoisseur Experience is the Storehouse’s premium single-visit option. It replaces the standard self-guided tour with:

A guided, tutored tasting of four distinct Guinness variants in a dedicated private bar — usually Guinness Draught, Guinness Foreign Extra Stout, Guinness Over the Moon Nitro IPA, and one rotating specialist
A host who walks you through the flavour differences and brewing process in detail
A more intimate group size (typically 10–15 people)

This is the right choice if you are genuinely interested in stout rather than just ticking off the famous name. The flavour differences between the Guinness variants are more significant than most people expect, and the guided format is far more educational than the standard self-paced floors. If you are pairing the Storehouse with the Dublin whiskey trail, doing the Connoisseur version here adds genuine depth. The Guinness Storehouse Connoisseur experience is bookable directly via GetYourGuide and sells out earlier than the standard tickets.

Perfect pint and pub tour combo

The perfect pint and pub tour (~€55) bundles standard Storehouse entry with a guided walk through nearby pubs in the Liberties and a tutored pour at one of them. This is an excellent option if you want the brewery context and the living pub culture in a single afternoon. It pairs neatly with the best pubs in Dublin guide if you want to continue on your own afterwards.

Book the Guinness Storehouse entry and perfect pint pub tour if this sounds appealing — the combination is better value than doing each separately.

Guinness Academy add-on

The Guinness Academy — where you pour your own pint and receive a certificate — is not a separate ticket purchase at the time of writing. It is included for those who want to participate when capacity allows. Expect a queue of its own at the Academy counter during peak hours. The certificate is, frankly, not worth framing, but the pour is more technically interesting than it sounds.

House of Guinness experience

There is also a premium House of Guinness package (~€122) that bundles Storehouse admission with a private guided tour of parts of the St James’s Gate brewery and a hosted tasting experience. This is aimed at special occasions and corporate bookings rather than individual travellers; if you are interested, check current availability directly as schedules are limited.

Combo with hop-on hop-off bus

If you also plan to do a bus tour of the city, the hop-on hop-off Dublin bus tour can be bundled with Storehouse entry for around €50. Useful if you want both on the same day — one booking rather than two.

Should you use the Dublin Pass?

The Dublin Pass includes standard Storehouse entry. If you plan to visit three or more major paid attractions in a day, the Pass typically works out cheaper. On the Storehouse alone it does not break even. Check the maths before you commit — our Dublin Pass vs individual tickets comparison does the numbers.

When to visit and how to minimise queues

Even with a timed ticket, the Storehouse gets crowded. The least-visited windows are:

09:30–10:30 (opening slot) on any day
After 16:30 on weekdays, when day-trip groups have largely cleared out
November to February on any day — the tourist volumes are dramatically lower

Avoid Saturday afternoons from June to August if you are in any way queue-averse. The mid-afternoon crowd in high summer is genuinely uncomfortable in the lower floors.

Practical details

The Storehouse is a 20-minute walk from Dame Street, or reachable by the 40, 40A, 40B, 40D, 123 or 151 Dublin Bus routes. There is no useful visitor car park. For the full picture on getting here and what to expect floor by floor, read the Guinness Storehouse guide. To decide whether the visit earns its money, check is the Guinness Storehouse worth it.

After the Storehouse, the rest of the Liberties is worth an hour: Teeling Distillery, Roe & Co, and St Patrick’s Cathedral are all within a ten-minute walk — combine them in a Dublin 3-day itinerary for an efficient afternoon. For tasting Irish whiskey as well as stout, the Dublin whiskey trail is the logical next step.