With its famously unpredictable weather, it can be tough to decide the best time to visit Ireland.
The good news is that whatever month you decide to go, you'll have lots of things to do. With stunning scenery, cozy pubs and a great food culture, there are plenty of highlights to suit every traveler.
The warmest months from April to August offer endless hours to explore the coastline or lush, rolling green countryside. With a year-round temperate climate that rarely freezes in winter or blisters in summer, however, it’s possible to enjoy daytime outdoor activities in any month.
The end of October marks the year’s passage of mostly day into mostly night, and keeping in tune with the passing of this season is deeply rooted in the Irish DNA. This is the time of year when things slow down as ferries to the islands scale back their service and smaller restaurants and hotels close for the season. Off-season isn’t the worst time to visit Ireland, though, as there are still plenty of things to see and do during wintertime.
And don't forget, while waiting for a pint of Guinness to draw or a train to arrive, talking about weather is always a good conversation starter with locals in Ireland. Here, a week of light rain can appear in July while December can offer bright crisp days.
Here’s our guide to help you decide the perfect time to visit Ireland.
Along with springtime, the months of September and October can be the best time to visit Ireland to avoid crowds and save money as prices plummet. Expect long days with mild temperatures and plenty of dry spells to explore the explosion of color throughout Ireland’s national parks and forests. Even the famous Ring of Kerry, with its dramatic mountainous setting against a vivid ocean backdrop, can be navigated without a convoy of tour buses blocking the views.
Many of Ireland’s best festivals shift into gear at this time. Expect some tasty offerings like the Armagh Food and Cider Weekend or Galway’s International Oyster and Seafood Festival in September. County Cork has the monopoly on October events with the Kinsale Gourmet Festival and Guinness Jazz Festival. A sinister twist brings the month to a close with a spectacular parade at the Galway Aboo Halloween Festival, and if you're in Dublin, the hometown of Dracula’s creator, catch the Bram Stoker Festival.
For some, a ramble to a fireside pub in the local village before turning in for the night in a thatched cottage as an Atlantic gale bellows outside is the ultimate romantic getaway. For others it’s the lantern-lit, cobbled lanes of Ireland’s larger towns like Kilkenny, Limerick or Galway that capture a winter spell in Ireland. They offer good transport links to scenic locations during the day and a wide selection of
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Voices outside the van woke me in the night. I lay still, my mind racing. There had been no one around when I parked at the end of a single track next to a wild beach. Campervanning alone as a woman was going to bring challenges, I knew, and sleeping in remote spots was high on the list of them.
British skies dazzle when the sun sinks, and there are a handful of dark sky reserves and discovery sites where the lack of light pollution can help stargazing enthusiasts feel that bit closer to the universe. Take a winter stomp across freezing moors or a late-night summer drive up to a remote hilltop to find a sky full of stars with distant planets glittering overhead on clear nights. Often, there’s no need for a telescope either — star clusters such as Pleiades and Hyades, the Milky Way, nebulae and shooting stars can often be seen with the naked eye or with the help of a pair of cheap binoculars and stargazing apps such as Stellarium Mobile.
Experiencing the Northern Lights in all their majesty is a dream for most travellers. Caused by solar-charged particles reacting with the Earth’s atmosphere, the mostly green dancing lights of this natural phenomenon are often spectacular. Seeing auroras is a thrill in itself, but getting a great photo might just be the crowning glory. Given their ethereality, this takes patience, the right kit and a fair bit of forward planning. And, with 2024 expected to bring some of the brightest Northern Lights displays in over 20 years, thanks to the approaching ‘solar maximum’ (a peak in the Sun’s activity), there’s never been a better time to try to capture them.
If we adopted a child’s-eye view of the world, how would we choose to have fun? It’s likely to be about more than the usual incentives, such as an ice cream, suggests research from Nature Communications. According to the journal, children as young as four seek experiences that deliver positive results, guide action, answer questions about the world — and are just plain fun. Whether it’s getting up-close with crustaceans on a rockpooling adventure, diving into a good book at a literature festival, learning to surf, taking to the stage or gazing at the stars, these 12 UK-based experiences deliver hands-on learning and creativity.