Tips Traveling To Ireland – Home » Destinations » Europe » Ireland » 25 Must Know Tips for Traveling to Ireland for Beginners
This site may contain affiliate links. We at EE thank you for supporting our site so the money we make from these links can go towards having enough money to buy a pint of Guinness the next time we’re in Ireland. Please read our full policy and disclosures for more information.
Tips Traveling To Ireland
Ireland has great culture, natural beauty, city life, and some of the most welcoming people in the world to make traveling across the country one of the most enjoyable trips you’ll ever take. However, with so much to do, it’s often difficult to organize it and come up with the best solution (here’s ours).
Traveling To Ireland? Top Travel Tips Before You Visit
Before you start deciding where to go, here are some Tips and Advice for Traveling to Ireland to help you understand a few things you need to know when visiting Ireland.
In our Travel Guide to Ireland, we’ll cover driving, the best way to get to Ireland, how to find restaurants, transportation, and more.
Ireland looks like a small country on the map, but it’s a little deceiving. Don’t get me wrong, you can drive to many tourist spots after hours, making it a great road trip, and you should plan accordingly so that you can ENJOY your destination, not just sit around. in the car all your journey.
Remember, there is Northern Ireland, which is actually a separate country and part of the UK. This includes Belfast. Northern Ireland uses the pound as currency.
Expanded Content: Ireland Travel Tips
The south of Ireland is where most tourists connect with some of Ireland’s most popular tourist destinations (Cliffs of Moher, Dublin, etc.). Southern Ireland uses the Euro.
Getting to Ireland is really easy and now, with many budget airlines, it can be very affordable!
If you want to travel to Ireland on a budget, consider booking a budget airline like WOW Air or Aer Lingus (if you’re already in Europe, Ryan Air is another good choice- Here’s Everything You Need to Know Before Booking Ryan Air). WizzAir will also fly to Belfast
Of course, if you have never flown a budget airline, know that they are bare bones. There are usually no in-flight meals, baggage and baggage charges, etc.
Ireland Travel Tips To Know Before You Go
This probably depends on the prices and what you want to do. We booked a flight in/out of Dublin as jaw-dropping flights are usually quite expensive. We also rented a car in Dublin and it would have been more expensive to have a different place to drop off than to rent a car.
There are airports all over Ireland (Dublin, Shannon, Cork, Kerry, Belfast….just to name a few), so, again, you’ll want to know what you’re looking for on your trip.
One of the things that many people want to know is driving tips in Ireland and tips for renting a car in Ireland.
Although many of these are legal issues, they do not prevent you from driving in Ireland. Take a few minutes on some streets and get used to the other side. After a while, you won’t just use the windshield wipers instead of the turn signal (ask me how I know this), and driving will be difficult.
A First Timer’s Guide To Travel In Ireland
Don’t let this fear stop you from driving. Renting a car in Ireland is one of the best ways to see the country and the small towns that can be missed by plane or bus. GypsyWithDAyJob shows some amazingly beautiful communities here (and all the colors!)
Considering the number of cars that have been returned without glass due to collisions with neighbors due to the narrow roads, most car hire companies in Ireland will require you to pay an insurance fee. Many states use the Collision Damage Waiver as part of their auto insurance policy. However, Ireland is one of the few countries that does not.
To avoid this extra interest fee, ALWAYS check the benefits of your credit card. Many credit cards offer an interesting car rental insurance policy already. All you need to do is get a letter from your credit card company ahead of time to confirm your coverage and take it with you when you rent your car. (
If this applies to you, you may need to be persistent because the loan companies will want you to pay.
Ireland Travel Tips 2
Pro Tip: If your trip takes you to Northern Ireland, be sure to let your car rental company know. You will get extra money, but you can also get into big trouble for not including this.
If you will be staying in Ireland for a short period of time, your valid and current driving license will suffice. Although you don’t need to have an International Driving License in Ireland, it doesn’t hurt to have one when driving abroad. Also, some companies may still ask for one; check with your car rental company before you arrive to avoid confusion and worry.
During our trip, Payless Car Rental was the cheapest way to rent a small car. For a whole week, we paid only 115 dollars (not including fuel). I usually find that using a search engine like Kayak is the best way to compare prices, but Payless always seems to be one of the cheapest car rentals in Ireland.
As with most travels, I love traveling seasons. In Ireland, this would be around May and October (give or take). We went on our own in October and had great weather and less crowds than the peak tourist season of June-September.
Tips For Traveling To Ireland With Kids
Note that the summer months offer the longest daylight hours, which is great for people who want to do as much as possible. Or else, the opposite is what happens in the winter. If you’re going in the winter months, the days are very short and the weather isn’t great (but with that, comes cheaper prices for things like accommodation). However, not all facilities may be open during the winter months if you want to travel to remote, rural areas.
This all comes from you. You can stay in Ireland for three days or do what we did and spend a week in Ireland.
There is so much to do that many people try to pack everything. When I travel, I like to spend a few days in each place. There was so much to do in Ireland that we only spent a day at most places. Although we didn’t feel rushed, I’m sure we could have stayed longer in either town. I also wanted to hit some Northern Ireland, but looking at everything else we wanted to hit, I just knew it would be too much for the time we had. (Some people say Northern Ireland in their 7 days in Ireland, but for me, it would be too fast).
One of my biggest tips for traveling in Ireland is to plan properly and efficiently. Think about your route and when planning which towns to see or how to get to. After all, you don’t want to spend more time in the car or the airport than enjoying what Ireland has to offer.
Visiting Ireland Guide
Although all road signs will be in Gaelic, they will also be in English. You may find that in rural towns and villages Irish Gaelic is the main language as well (they will also speak English). But if you can sit next to someone who speaks Gaelic in the pub, it’s fun to just listen (Don’t worry – you’re not a listener… unless you know how to speak it too!)
So, even if you don’t have to be busy speaking in English, you should know that they still use British words often and use different words than we do in the US sometimes. For example, don’t get excited when you see that you can have breakfast (with sausage) and instead of asking where the nearest ATM is, you’ll want to ask for “Cash Point” and if you’re going back to the packet mode, don’t be offended when someone asks you about your wallet! It can be funny, and confusing if you’re not on your toes!
Unless you’re from the UK, you’ll need a power adapter for your power supply when you’re in Ireland, as they use 230v/50hz (those are three long plugs). Where it gets tricky is if you even need a converter. You don’t need an adapter if your device is “dual-voltage” (if it is, it will say “120/240v, 50/60Hz.”)
I like to use a “Global Adapter” like this one. That way you don’t have to
