Ireland (Lonely Planet, 9th Edition) - Fionn Davenport [2]
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See Climate Charts for more information.
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Spring (March to May) and autumn (September to November) make good alternatives, although the country’s ever-growing popularity as a tourist destination can often blur the lines between mid- and high-season tourism. Still, you have a better chance of some peace and quiet, and the weather can be surprisingly better in April and September than in mid-July – again, it’s all part of the uncertainty principle. Spring festivities include the ever-popular St Patrick’s Day festival.
Although temperatures will barely venture below freezing, winter (December to February) can be brutal, but huge parts of the country – the west and northwest in particular – are at their savage and beautiful best in the cold winter light. Crowds are at their thinnest, but many of the country’s tourist attractions and services close down in October and don’t reopen until Easter, which paradoxically leaves visitors with a more convincing taste of how Ireland is experienced by most of the Irish: it’s cold, grey and dark by 5pm, but there’s always a pub to escape into when the rain starts sheeting down.
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DON’T LEAVE HOME WITHOUT…
Ireland won’t test your survival skills unless you’re the worse for wear in the middle of nowhere, but there are a few essentials you won’t want to leave behind:
Good walking shoes
Raincoat
UK/Ireland electrical adapter
A finely honed sense of humour
A hollow leg
Decent Irish-themed playlists for your iPod – Click here for our recommendations.
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COSTS & MONEY
The collapse of the economy in the space of six short months over late 2008 and early 2009 has left the country in a state of flux: prices are coming down in many areas, but they’re coming down from such a height that to many visitors Ireland remains a pretty expensive destination. For a decade, Irish wallets were at the mercy of a rip-off culture that stung everybody, including visitors, who felt it most when it came to bed and board.
In Dublin, the bare minimum to survive is about €50 a day: €20 to €25 for a hostel and €20 for sustenance, which leaves just enough for a pint. If your purse strings are a little more relaxed, you can get a decent bed for around €80 in the capital, €60 outside of it. For €120 you can sleep pretty luxuriously most anywhere except those very special places. Outside the capital things are a little better, but not much: if you’re in a tourist hot zone, it’ll be reflected in the prices, which are only marginally better than in Dublin.
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HOW MUCH?
Irish Times €1.80
1km taxi fare €1.60
Cinema ticket €9.50
Admission to Gaelic football match €12-18
Aran sweater €55
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Although restaurants are closing down all over the country, the new economy hasn’t resulted in a marked decrease in the price of food. For less than €10, don’t expect much more than soup and what comes between two slices of bread. Very ordinary meals will cost €20 or more; the better restaurants won’t blink twice when charging €35 for fish in a fancy sauce.
In Northern Ireland, the bite isn’t as deep. The ‘rip-off Republic’ tag that for so long dogged the south isn’t as much of an issue north of the border, but it certainly hurts anyone from Northern Ireland if they go south: exchange rates make the eurozone very expensive for anyone using pounds sterling (as they do in Northern Ireland, which is part of the UK).
Once in the north, though, you can get by on £35 a day without too much bother if you’re on a budget and limit yourself to hostels or self-catering accommodation. Accommodation costs generally mirror the Republic, but you’ll find real savings in food – you can get excellent two-course lunches in lots