When is the best time to travel to Ireland?
That is a question we are asked extremely often, and it is a hard one to answer. It depends very much on what you are used to and what you expect.
Here is the data the Climate-Change-Program of the World Bank collected about Ireland:
Climate-data Ireland, average 1991-2020. Copyright: World Bank
But that is only the statistical average data. We experienced years in the last decade with villages snowed in for days in winter time, and with beach days at 26 Celsius and blazing sunshine. We had a lovely October 2023 (dry, warm, pleasant), while July was awful (cold and wet). You never know: even short-term weather-forecasts in Ireland are known to be taken with a pinch of salt.
Here are some basic truths:
- Irelands climate is “temperate”. Sounds peaceful and calm, but that is misleading: It only means that you won’t experience notably cold or warm temperatures at any given time of year. You won’t have minus 10 Celsius, and you won’t have 30 Celsius plus either. Normal range of temperature is between -5 and +20 Celsius. Everything else is either “artic” or a “heatwave”.
- That doesn’t mean that weather can’t be moody, windy, stormy, wet or extremely changeable. Anything can happen, any time. Four seasons in one day. There are no seasons, only weather.
- Americans often ask: shall I bring summer clothes in July or rather something warm to put on? The answer is easy: yes. And concerning clothes: think in layers.
- But is there a rule of thumb? Kind of, but it is never one hundred percent reliable. It goes like this: The month before and after the main summer month are often surprisingly pleasant. On top of that they are less booked, flights are cheaper, and so are hired cars. Any time between April and Oktober has enough daylight and a fair chance of a bit of the good weather.
- November to March is for tough visitors only. Or for people seeking solitude. Seriously: the days are short in irish winter, and outside the cities there won’t be a lot on. But that time of year has its upsides as well. I personally love a good breeze walking the beach at 4 degrees on a sunny winter day. There is a very good chance of Northern Lights on dry winter nights. I like the Highlands in winter, with snow-capped mountains right into April or even May. Interesting enough the spring month are LESS wet than our summers, April, May and June normally the “best” month in that respect.
- But, MOST IMPORTANT: Nobody travels to Ireland because of the weather. It is a northern country, the geographic altitude of Donegal is just 300 kilometers south of the southern tip of Greenland. Baring that in mind, the weather is fantastic and warm all year round. In comparison.
So what does all of this mean? Everything and nothing: you might come in April and go home sunburned. Or you might come in July and not see a single day above 12 degrees Celsius. It is a lottery, and nobody knows what will happen. But what most visitors will agree to: whatever the weather was like, they had a great time in Ireland.
