Timing of visit

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pkt63
pkt63

I am being tempted more than ever to book a trip due to incredible deals to Dublin on Aer Lingus from my home, San Diego. I have two options: I might (emphasis on the uncertainty) be able to make it for a week or two in August. A possibly more realistic option is mid Ooctober. Can you tell me more about considerations of traveling to Ireland in October (inividually and as compared to August). Obviously, it won't be as warm, gets dark earlier, somewhat less tourists. Is there a lot more rain in Oct than Aug? And I saw reference to a lot of "attractions" closing in October. Not sure what the reference is to specifically, but does anyone have a sense of that? Also, if we stay for two weeks, we may have the chance to see many diverse areas of the country. Are there areas where the weather might be more agreeable in October than in other places? I'd appreciate any thoughts and advice...

Thanks!

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djpkemp
djpkemp

Travelled late September-October last year on the West Coast, chucked it down in an horrendous fashion (even for west coast Ireland). The first week of October things change - three quarters of the BnBs close down, some restaurants close on Mon and Tues, and some/many attractions begin to change their schedules followng three months of seven days a week (for example, the Skibberreen Heritage centre goes from being open 7 days a week to closing on Sunday and Monday).

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ambarush
ambarush

August last year was also very wet,. There's just no telling these days.I'd go for the cheaper flight/ longer time and be prepared for a variety of weathers

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alan1972
alan1972

Rainfall in Ireland is spread throughout the year and regardless of when you come you need to be prepared for it. The monthly pattern varies from place to place - in Dublin the average rainfall in August is actually slightly higher than October. See the 30-year averages for various locations here:
http://www.met.ie/climate/30year-averages.asp

As #1 and #2 said, August and October last year both happen to have been very wet - the Met Office report for August also mentions that total sunshine hours for the month were typical of what would normally be expected in October. Of course that doesn't tell us anything about what this year will be like, it's just an example of the kind of variations that are possible.

There is certainly quite a difference in daylight hours, but the evenings in October are not too dark up to the end of daylight savings time on the last weekend of the month (sunset in the middle of the month is around 6.30 p.m).

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chuckie_arlaw
chuckie_arlaw

august would be better, october can be very dark....could get v good (or bad!!) weather either month...

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