My family and I went to Ireland! We were there during the last week of April, and as expected, temperatures were still pretty cold. I think the highest temp we saw was mid-50s, but the wind made it feel much colder than that. My favorite sights were Giant’s Causeway, Slieve League, Dunluce Castle (all on the Northern Coast) and the Kilmainham Jail in Dublin. Read below for some tips I learned along the way!
- Most, if not all, restaurants in small Irish towns stop serving food at 9pm on Monday and Tuesdays (though they may still serve drinks.) If you are on a ‘travel day’ and won’t arrive to your destination until the evening, just know that you may not get a real dinner. But Apache Pizza’s are open late… I might speak from experience. 😉
- Related: Pubs typically stop serving any food at either 4 or 5pm and only serve drinks. Also Related: Try to eat dinner between 4 and 7! Most restaurants have an ‘early bird’ special, so dinner will be cheaper.
- We did ALL of our trip via public transportation. It was a little limiting at times, due to our schedule revolving around the public transportation schedule. BUT if you aren’t really keen on driving on the opposite side, or would rather someone else drive you around, then it’s worth it. Just gotta be flexible.
- We quickly learned that everything in Ireland is all word of mouth – so just ask! About anything! Especially in the countryside. It seemed like everyone knew everyone, even if they weren’t in the same town, and they are more than happy to give you suggestions and tips.
- PRO TIP: Paddy Byrne‘s boat tours of Slieve League cliffs is a must-do. It was the BEST experience of our whole trip.
- Utilize the people who work at the tourist centers – they know things and they know people. We basically planned the second half of our trip with the help of Jane, in the Derry tourist center. You might not want to look like a tourist, but really, just ask for their help.
- We got this pro-tip right from a bartender himself: Ask the hotel bartenders for recommendations! They know lots of cabbies and local info, probably more than the hotel receptionist. Plus, bartenders will lead you to the cheapest option. (seriously, our bartender promised us that!)
- Pack small spray bottle of a refreshing essential oil/water mix that you can spray over your suitcase to keep things fresh. I brought lavender and it worked great. (This is a good tip for traveling anywhere, tbh)
- Dublin tip: Stay in the Trinity College area. Everything that we found worth doing was in that area, but unfortunately our AirBnb was not. Lucky for us, the bus system is pretty simple to figure out, but it would have been nice to be able to walk out our doorstep and be in the action, instead of taking a 25 minute bus ride.
- The weather in mid-late April is NUTSO. It could be sunny one moment and sleeting the next. I’m not kidding! One constant, though, was wind! All. the. wind. Especially along the Northern coast. Bring a rain jacket/wind breaker combo and layer with a sweater underneath, and you should be all set.
Are you going to Ireland soon? Refer back to this list when you start to plan! And comment below with any questions you might have!
~~~~
find me on all the things
As a 9 time – minimum 3 weeks each – visitor to Ireland, my advice is to B & B and drive. B & B’s are the best source of information. However, many is the time we’ve gone to breakfast at 7:30 and got up from the table around 11.:00 . The Irish are talkers and a whole lot of fun. It’s one of the main reasons we keep going back. I realize this is a detriment to those on limited time but we found so many things to see and do that weren’t in the tourist books. Sometimes a one night stay over ended up being 3. We only ever booked the first and our last night is Ireland.. We never really had a schedule but we did have and idea of what we wanted to see and got to see most of it but after the first trip we knew we’d be back. The car thing ended up being no big deal but a navigator is essential as are ordinance maps. There is no bad place to go in Ireland . May is our best month to travel and Kilkenny is our favourite city and Dunromin our favourite B & B. Conor Pass is our favourite drive . The north is more English than the south which is not English at all. Don’t talk about the troubles with anyone.. Eat in pubs, drink Guinness (one a day will do) and seek out trad music in the evenings. That’s our outline of a grand holiday. Every day is a great one. Remember no one ever goes to Ireland to get a tan. Dress accordingly
Next time I go to Ireland, I DEFINITELY want to rent a car. It would have been much more convenient than waiting for buses. We were there in mid-April and it was still very cold, so I’d love to go in May someday!
Have you been to Ireland in October
This is great!
My sister and I are planning a trip for next may and I’m trying to make lists and hotspots and the route we want to take. I love seeing things like this with a real review and real advice. The boat tour has been added as a must for us! But I didn’t see (or it wasn’t showing up j. The browser on my phone) how much the boat tour was. Do you happen to remember?
Thank you!
I’m not sure how much the boat tour was, as my parents bought my ticket! Sorry I can’t help with that!
I hope you have an amazing trip!