First time in Ireland: nineteen things worth knowing

Weather and clothes

1. There is no dry season. There are wetter and less wet months. May and June are statistically the driest and have the longest days; July and August are warmest and busiest.
2. Four seasons in an afternoon is not a joke. Carry a waterproof shell every single day, regardless of forecast.
3. It rarely gets very cold — winter lows around 3–7 °C in most of the country — but it is damp, and the wind on the west coast makes 10 °C feel considerably less.
4. In June it is light until well past 10 pm. In December it is dark by 4.30 pm. Plan itineraries accordingly.

Money and payment

5. The Republic uses the euro. Northern Ireland uses pounds sterling. You will cross between them with no border check whatsoever.
6. Cards are accepted essentially everywhere, contactless included. Carry €30–50 in cash for small rural pubs, honesty boxes and the occasional car park.
7. Tipping is modest and not obligatory. Restaurants: 10–15% if service is not already included. Taxis and drivers: rounding up is normal, 10% is generous. Nobody will be offended either way.

Getting around

8. Distances are short; journeys are not. Ireland is smaller than Maine, but a 200-kilometre drive on rural roads takes far longer than the same distance elsewhere.
9. Driving is on the left. If you have never done it, do not begin at 7 am after a transatlantic flight on a road with stone walls on both sides.
10. Rental insurance excess in Ireland is unusually high and many non-EU credit-card policies specifically exclude the country. Check before you decline the extra cover.
11. Motorway tolls are cash- or card-payable at barriers, except the M50 around Dublin, which is barrier-free and must be paid online by 8 pm the following day. Rental companies charge an administration fee if you forget.
12. Trains radiate from Dublin and are good on those lines. Getting from, say, Galway to Killarney by public transport is genuinely difficult. See our comparison of the options.

Practicalities

13. Plugs are Type G, three rectangular pins, same as the UK. 230 V. Bring an adapter.
14. Emergency number is 112 or 999.
15. Tap water is safe everywhere.
16. Mobile coverage is good in towns and patchy in the west. Download offline maps before Connemara, the Burren or the Beara Peninsula.

Manners

17. "How are you?" is a greeting, not a question. "Grand" is the answer, and it means anything from excellent to catastrophic.
18. Pub rounds are a real institution. If you are in a group and someone buys you a drink, you are in the round. Buy one back.
19. Conversation with strangers is normal and expected — in shops, in queues, at bars. It is not an attempt to sell you anything.

If your first day involves a long-haul arrival and a three-hour onward journey, consider not driving it. That is precisely what our fixed-price transfers exist for: someone meets you inside arrivals, takes the bags, and you look out of the window.