The Viking Splash Tour is great for families and stressed out people who just want an excuse to shout at strangers.
Many of us have seen the yellow bus full to the brim with people wearing tacky Viking helmets and giving unexpected warrior-like roars. We’ve gotten so used to them that we usually ignore them. However, after being Vikings for a day, we might look up from our busy walk and smile fondly at those horned helmets.
Our tour started at 4pm on Stephen’s Green when our tour guide, a man dressed in a tunic and leather wristbands, came on board with a dramatic flair. He told us to forget all about which part of Ireland (or the world) we came from - we were to be Vikings for the day.
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The great thing about the tour is that there is absolutely no way you can take yourself seriously while wearing a plastic horned helmet. Roaring and scaring busy-looking people on the street is also quite therapeutic, especially when you have an excuse to do it.
As Vikings, we noticed that many people actually noticed us right back, some even took photos of us like we were animals at a zoo, which was fair enough. We yelled at people and some yelled right back at us. It was a weird experience.
We learned a lot – although, to be honest, most of it was forgotten soon after. The tour guide was cracking jokes, giving little-known facts about the city's history, and overall trying to keep us all engaged while the bus was moving through busy City Centre roads.
The one highlight we were all looking forward to was the bus turning into a boat and making a round tour around the Grand Canal. We were all given bright orange buoyancy vests, a few other safety measures were added on the bus and before we knew it, we were sailing on the Canal.
There was no splashing though. Understandable, since it’s not like the Grand Canal has any waterfalls or overfalls. The bus-boat, actually called a 'duwk' – an amphibious truck built during World War II – probably wouldn’t have survived that anyway.
We did a full circle around the Grand Canal and roared for a group of kids who wanted to hear us ("Give us a roar!"). The duwk then finished its trip and was transformed into a bus once more. The tour ended not too long after, with a last-minute ‘sight-seeing’ around the poshest parts of South Dublin.
Overall, it was a fun experience and it’s definitely worth doing if you’re with children or with people visiting outside of Dublin. And you’ll get to shout and roar to your heart’s content without people batting an eye.
Tickets for adults start from €33, and it’s €6 euro cheaper for children. To check out family ticket prices and learn more about the tour, go to Viking Splash Tour's official website.
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