Ireland — where to go and when
1 destination covered
Weather is the first thing anyone mentions about Ireland and the least useful thing to plan around, because the island's appeal has almost nothing to do with sunshine. Dublin is a low-rise Georgian city on a river mouth, with a literary history that is genuinely present rather than merchandised, a university library that predates most European capitals' museums, and a drinking culture built on conversation rather than volume. Costs run above French levels, by getting on for a fifth on our index, and the pressure is concentrated in central accommodation, where demand outstrips a small stock of rooms. Against that, museums and galleries are free, walking the city is the main activity, and the coastal villages reachable on suburban trains cost nothing beyond the fare. Ireland suits travellers who talk to strangers, who accept four seasons in an afternoon, and who would rather sit somewhere for three hours than see three more things.
When to go
Our figures refuse to nominate a comfortable month, and that is the honest answer rather than a gap in the data. The warmest month tops out at 20.9 °C by day, the coldest still manages 8.5 °C, and rain falls on 139 days a year for 761.5 mm in total. In other words the temperature barely moves and the showers never stop, so the decision is really about daylight. May to August gives long evenings; September, the wettest month at 78.7 mm, gives thinner crowds.
No single month clears our comfort threshold everywhere in the country at once. The table below gives each place its own favourable months instead.
The places we cover, side by side
| Place | Favourable months | Warmest month, avg. high (°C) | Coldest month, avg. high (°C) | Rainy days a year (≥ 1 mm) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dublin | none | 20.9 | 8.5 | 139 |
Figures measured at the weather station nearest each place, then averaged over the warmest and the coldest months of the year — not over a fixed calendar season. Each destination page carries its own month-by-month table, its station and its sample size.
Getting around
Dublin is compact enough to walk end to end, with trams, buses and a coastal suburban railway covering the rest; that coastal line is itself one of the better cheap outings, running past harbours and headlands to villages either side of the bay. Intercity trains and coaches reach Galway, Cork and Belfast in a few hours. The airport is 10 km from the centre and connected by frequent buses, since no rail link serves it.
Budget
Country price level compared with France : +18 %
Price index for restaurants and hotels, France = 1000, from European purchasing power parities. It is a country average: it says nothing about one hotel in particular.
Destinations in Ireland
Frequently asked questions
Is Dublin expensive?
It is the dearest of the destinations we list at this latitude, running close to a fifth above France on our index, and hotel rooms drive most of that. Food and drink are costly in the centre and noticeably less so a few streets out. Free national museums and galleries pull the daily total back down, provided you are not eating out twice a day.
Do I need a car in Ireland?
Not for Dublin, where a car is a liability, and not for the coast either, since suburban trains and buses cover it. A car earns its keep only if you leave for the west, where public transport thins out and the landscape starts to justify a steering wheel. Remember that driving is on the left.
Updated on 21 September 2026