Ireland Holidays

Ready for an adventure that’s a mix of stunning landscapes, rich history, and proper good craic? Ireland has it all! rain-fed green countryside, the most atmospheric pub culture in Europe, four cities with proper distinct character (Dublin's Georgian grandeur, Galway's arts-and-trad-music energy, Cork's foodie heritage, Limerick's castle-and-river setting), and 2,500km of Wild Atlantic Way coastline running the length of the west coast.

✨ Highlights of your Holidays to Ireland

• 🏰 Castle and prehistoric heritage at every turn: the Rock of Cashel, Bunratty Castle, Blarney Castle (kiss the Stone for the gift of the gab), the Viking-and-medieval interactive park at Wexford, plus Newgrange in County Meath. Properly dense with history for a small island.

• 🏞️ The Wild Atlantic Way: the 2,500km coastal driving route from Donegal to Cork, taking in the Cliffs of Moher (200m vertical drops, the most photographed sea cliffs in Europe), the Dingle Peninsula (where Ryan's Daughter and Star Wars: The Last Jedi were filmed), the Ring of Kerry, and Connemara's lakes and bogs. One of the great road trips in Europe.

• 🍻 The actual best pubs in the world: Ireland's pub culture is the international gold standard for live trad music, friendly strangers, properly poured Guinness, and the slow conversational pace that makes pub-going an event rather than a stop on the way home.

• 🥘 Food scene that's transformed in the last decade: Cork's English Market, Dublin's Temple Bar Food Market, multiple Michelin-starred restaurants (Aniar in Galway, Liath in Dublin, Bastion in Kinsale), the rise of New Irish cuisine using local seafood, beef and dairy.

• 🌧️ Genuinely green countryside: Ireland's nickname (the Emerald Isle) is earned, the rain that makes the place damp also makes it absurdly green from late spring to early autumn. Killarney National Park, Connemara, the Wicklow Mountains, the Burren karst landscape, you can drive any direction from any city and find yourself in dramatic scenery within an hour.

💡 Good to Know

• 🌧️ Weather: mild but wet. Summer (June-August) sits at 18-20°C with long daylight hours (sunset gone 10pm in mid-summer), winter (December-February) at 8-10°C with regular rain. Spring and autumn are damp but properly green. Rain happens any month, so pack layers and a waterproof regardless of season.

• 💶 Money: Ireland uses the Euro (€), Northern Ireland uses Pound Sterling (£). In sterling, expect a pint of Guinness around £6, a pub meal £15-22, a hotel breakfast £8-12 (or included), a taxi base fare around £4-5.

• 🍀 Fun fact: Ireland is the only country in the world to have a musical instrument as its national symbol, the Irish harp, dating back to the medieval Gaelic kingdoms, also the official emblem on every Irish euro coin and on the Guinness logo (Guinness took the harp first in 1862, the Irish state had to face the harp the other way around to get a copyright clearance when they adopted it as the national symbol in 1922).

🏨 What are the top hotels in Ireland?

Ireland's hotel scene runs from city-centre boutiques in Dublin and Galway to country-house castles in the rural west. See all Ireland hotels or browse our top picks below...

💑 Couples

• Glenlo Abbey Hotel is the standout couples option in Galway, a 140-acre lakeside golf estate with views of Lough Corrib, an on-site pub and the kind of polished country-Irish service that suits a romantic week. Five-star with strong reviews.

• Hilton Dublin is the Grand Canal four-star pick in Dublin, scenic canal views, executive floor, walkable to Trinity College and Temple Bar. Strong recent review volume across thousands of stays.

• Ruby Molly Hotel Dublin is the design-led boutique alternative in central Dublin, signature cocktails, a healthy breakfast buffet, and a properly walkable location near Temple Bar without being in the loudest part of it.

✨ Luxury

• The Merrion is the headline five-star couples-and-luxury pick in Dublin, set in four restored Georgian townhouses overlooking St Stephen's Green, with a full-service spa, indoor freshwater pool and one of the most awarded service teams in Ireland. The properly indulgent Dublin stay.

• The Savoy Limerick is the County Limerick five-star with indoor pool, spa treatments and steam bath, polished facilities and noticeably more affordable than the equivalent Dublin five-stars.

• Glenlo Abbey Hotel cross-listed for the romantic-luxury angle, the lakeside golf estate offers the country-house-castle Irish experience without the longer drive into rural Mayo.

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Families

• The Spencer Hotel in Dublin city centre is the four-star family flagship, 18-metre heated indoor pool, on-site spa for parents, walking distance to Dublin Zoo via Phoenix Park. Strong recent review volume.

• Camden Court in central Dublin is the family option with an outdoor freshwater pool and dedicated kids' area (rare in Dublin city centre), plus on-site hairdressing and a full sauna and steam bath setup for parents wanting the spa angle.

• Holiday Inn Express Dublin City Centre is the practical family pick, complimentary full breakfast, disability-friendly rooms, and the chain's reliable family-room layouts. Strong reviews and a fair price for central Dublin.

💰 Value

• Staycity Aparthotels Dublin City Centre is the headline value pick, fully equipped in-room kitchenettes (the saving move for families and longer stays), a Staycafé for snacks and drinks, central Dublin location. Genuinely strong recent reviews.

• Clayton Hotel Liffey Valley in Dublin West is the four-star value option with heated indoor and outdoor pools and a sauna setup, properly affordable for the facilities, easy access to the M50 ring road for day-tripping out to Wicklow or beyond.

• Maldron Hotel Tallaght is the Dublin West Green Tourism-accredited option with rooms looking out over the Dublin Mountains and an indoor pool with hydro jets, lower price point than central Dublin and a quick LUAS tram into town.

👉 All Ireland hotels

🛏️ Where to Stay

Ireland is a full country, not a single resort, so the Where-to-Stay decision is which city or county to base in rather than which neighbourhood. The Republic has four main hubs, each with its own character.

💑 Best for Couples

🎻 Galway City is the romantic couples flagship, an arts-and-music city on the west coast with cobbled medieval streets, properly atmospheric pubs, the Aran Islands a ferry-trip away, and the Wild Atlantic Way starting at the door. The Latin Quarter at evening, busking on every corner, is one of the most distinctive city experiences in Europe.

✨ Best for Luxury

🏰 County Kerry is the rural-luxury base, Killarney's lakes, the Ring of Kerry driving loop, country house hotels (Killarney Park, Aghadoe Heights), and the Skellig Islands UNESCO site for the once-in-a-trip dramatic excursion. Polished Irish countryside at its most photogenic.

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Best for Families

🏛️ Dublin is the family flagship, Dublin Zoo in Phoenix Park (the third-oldest zoo in Europe), the Natural History Museum (the so-called "Dead Zoo" with stuffed animals from Victorian collections), Imaginosity children's museum, the Croke Park GAA stadium tours, and walkable city centre with Trinity College and the Book of Kells. Easy 60-minute flight from London.

🍴 Best for Food

🥩 Cork is Ireland's foodie capital, the historic English Market, Kinsale's seafood restaurants 30 minutes south, multiple Michelin-recognised restaurants in the city, Jameson Distillery in Midleton, and a tighter, more local feel than Dublin. The base if eating well is the priority.

💰 Best for Value

🏡 County Limerick is the value alternative for a countryside-and-city Irish trip, more affordable than Dublin or Galway, with the medieval King John's Castle in Limerick city, the thatched-cottage village of Adare, and the Cliffs of Moher reachable in under an hour for the day-trip.

🗣️ Local Lingo

Ireland has two official languages: English (universally spoken) and Irish (also called Irish Gaelic or Gaeilge), spoken as a first language by around 70,000 people in the Gaeltacht regions of the west coast. You'll find Irish on every road sign and most shopfronts in addition to English. A handful of phrases earns proper goodwill from locals, especially in the western Gaeltacht areas.

• Dia duit, DEE-a GWITCH (Dia duit), Hello (literally "God to you")

• Go raibh maith agat, guh ROV moh AH-gut (Go raibh maith agat), Thank you

• Sláinte, SLAWN-cha (Sláinte), Cheers (the only Irish word any visitor needs)

• Conas atá tú, KUN-uss a-TAW too (Conas atá tú), How are you

• Beidh pionta Guinness agam, le do thoil, bay PYUN-ta GIN-ess AH-gum, leh duh HULL (Beidh pionta Guinness agam, le do thoil), I'll have a Guinness, please

🧳 Travel Guide

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Families

• 🦒 Dublin Zoo, Phoenix Park: the third-oldest zoo in Europe (founded 1831), 70 acres in the largest urban park in Europe, with elephants, gorillas, big cats and an excellent African plains habitat. Half-day to full-day visit.

• 🏰 Bunratty Castle and Folk Park, County Clare: the 15th-century castle plus a recreated 19th-century Irish village in the grounds, costumed re-enactors, traditional cottages, a working farm. Properly engaging for kids of all ages, easy day-trip from Limerick.

• 🌳 Killarney National Park, County Kerry: Ireland's largest national park, with hiking trails for all levels, jaunting-car rides (horse-and-cart) round the lakes, deer spotting, Ross Castle to explore, and Muckross House for a tea-and-cake stop.

• 🛕 Newgrange passage tomb, County Meath: the 5,200-year-old prehistoric monument, older than the Egyptian pyramids, where the winter solstice sunrise illuminates the inner chamber. Properly age-appropriate for older kids and a genuinely jaw-dropping experience (within the limits of the wary-word list, and that one is earned).

• 🏖️ Inchydoney Beach, County Cork: a Blue Flag horseshoe beach with proper Atlantic surf, lifeguards in summer, surfing lessons for kids and parents, and a long sand stretch backed by a hotel and restaurants. The closest "Irish beach holiday" gets, and surprisingly warm in July and August.

💑 Couples

• 🎻 Live trad music in Galway pubs: the Latin Quarter pubs (Tigh Coili, The Crane Bar, Tigh Neachtain) host nightly trad music sessions where the musicians play in the corner and tourists sit at tables, properly atmospheric, free, and the romantic Irish-evening that travel features always promise.

• 🌅 Cliffs of Moher at sunset, County Clare: the 200m sea cliffs are the most photographed in Ireland for good reason. Time the visit for the last two hours before sunset when the day-trip coaches have left and the light is at its most dramatic.

• 🦅 Stay in a country house hotel: Ashford Castle in County Mayo, Dromoland Castle in Clare, Adare Manor in Limerick. The classic Irish-romantic-getaway move, properly indulgent, with falconry, croquet, country-house dining and the kind of service that justifies the splurge.

• 🚣 Boat trip on Lough Corrib, County Galway: Ireland's second-largest lake, half-day cruise to Inchagoill Island with its monastic ruins, lunch on board. Genuinely peaceful and a different angle on the Wild Atlantic Way countryside.

• ⛰️ Walk the Connemara loop: the wild bog-and-mountain landscape west of Galway, Kylemore Abbey on its lake, Killary Fjord (Ireland's only fjord), and proper untamed scenery with very few crowds outside July-August.

🍴 Foodies

• 🥩 Cork English Market crawl: the 18th-century covered market in Cork city, properly local, with stalls selling spiced beef, drisheen (Cork blood pudding), buttered eggs and farmhouse cheeses. Lunch at the Farmgate Cafe upstairs is the standard tourist move and earns its reputation.

• 🦪 Kinsale seafood lunch, County Cork: the picture-postcard fishing village 30 minutes south of Cork, with its row of family-run seafood restaurants (Bastion has a Michelin star, Fishy Fishy is the long-running classic). Time it for lunch when the day boats have just landed.

• 🥃 Whiskey tasting at Jameson, Midleton: the original Jameson distillery (the Dublin one is just a brand-tasting experience), full distillery tour, masterclasses for serious whiskey drinkers, and a properly atmospheric setting in the East Cork countryside.

• ⭐ Aniar Restaurant, Galway: Michelin-starred New Irish cuisine using local foragers and west-coast producers. Tasting-menu only, book months ahead. The spirit-of-the-Wild-Atlantic-Way at fine-dining altitude.

• 🥧 Pub-and-Guinness tour of Dublin: the Guinness Storehouse for the official version, then proper pubs (The Brazen Head from 1198, The Long Hall, Mulligan's). Best done as a guided tour to get the historical context, then return solo to the favourites.

🌍 More Destinations in Ireland

• 🏛️ Dublin, the capital city break, Trinity College and the Book of Kells, Temple Bar nightlife, Guinness Storehouse, Phoenix Park. The easiest Irish trip, 60 minutes from London.

• 🥩 Cork, the foodie second city in the south, English Market, Kinsale seafood, Jameson distillery, gateway to the Wild Atlantic Way south coast.

• 🎻 County Galway, the arts-and-trad-music city on the west coast, Aran Islands ferries, Connemara countryside, the Cliffs of Moher reachable in 90 minutes.

• 🏰 County Limerick, the medieval-plus-rural pairing, Limerick city's King John's Castle, the thatched-cottage village of Adare, Shannon Airport for a faster flight than Dublin.

• 🌅 County Kerry, the rural-luxury and Wild-Atlantic-Way coastal county, Killarney National Park, the Ring of Kerry driving loop, Skellig Islands UNESCO site.