ireland

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.