Have any of you visited Ireland in February? Is it too cold to be enjoyable? What are your favorite places to visit? There are wonderful air fares now for Jan-Feb and we would like to take advantage of them. What are your favorite cities? Thanks.<BR>

Yes, but make sure you have the right clothing - waterproof jacket and boots, hat and gloves, etc. With proper gear you can enjoy everything even the ferry ride to the Aran Islands (my absolute favorite place). The west of Ireland would be my choice; Galway, Connnemara, Cliffs of Moher, Ring of Kerry, Dingle. <BR><BR>If you have more than a week do go east to Dublin, County Wicklow and the garden of Ireland. Stay at Marlfield House in County Wexford as your splurge and ride horses on the beach where they filmed Saving Private Ryan. Again, just bring the correct clothing and you'll enjoy most anywhere. <BR><BR>Let us know. What are these airfares BTW and from where?

Thanks Ericka! I do appreciate your info! Here is info I copied for you:<BR>This is exactly the chronology of a fantastic new offer from Sceptre Tours, one of the best bargain bookers for Ireland. For two people traveling together, you can fly to Dublin or Shannon and share a car rental for a week beginning at just $468 plus tax. That's the base price for two people if you're traveling between January 1 to February 8: $468. Add $59 each in taxes, so the grand total is $586 (or $293 each for the week, including taxes). <BR><BR>If you're interested in how an offer like this comes about, here goes. Aer Lingus announced a special sale for flights to Ireland from Boston or New York for $238 if you stay seven days or less in the period just after New Year's. Sceptre Tours knocked down this rate further, and is offering round-trip fares with the same restrictions for just $198 during the same time period. (So, if you just want airfare alone and are staying under a week, this is a great offer too.) Then Sceptre combined the bargain flight price with a cheap car rental, making for a nice week's vacation on the Emerald Isle. The package comes with a small manual transmission car (Ford Fiesta or similar), but you'll get a free upgrade as long as there is availability the week you're visiting. Sceptre is not accepting reservations without payment on this offer, so try to figure out your days and be ready to book when you call. You'll have to pay for the package by credit card to reserve. This is a limited time offer. All bookings must be made by November 30 at the latest. <BR>Ericka: Out of Chicago, it will be $588 for TWO! plus tax.Sceptre Tours is not listing this special on its Web site (www.sceptreireland.com), so for more information and reservations, call 800/443-0700. Be sure to ask for the "Two for One" promotion. Thanks! <BR>

February has the worst weather of the year in Ireland.The days are short-about 9am to 4pm.It is often quite windy on the west coast and it rains for 9% of the time.Snow is unusual but rarely more than an inch and some years none at all.Some tourist attractions are closed but not the major ones as a rule.<BR>The positive features are many though.The temperature at about 40F is probably the mildest in Northern Europe and you can travel all over the country easily outside the cities.There are relatively few tourists about so getting bed and breakfast is easy at around $25.Hotels can be cheap and if you want a real treat try Dromoland Castle near Shannon where you can get a double room during the week for $170-about half the normal rate.I like the west coast at anytime-Killarney,Connemara and Donegal.On the east coast Dublin is popular with European tourists in the winter and Wicklow nearby is beautiful.

Dottie: One of our trips to Ireland was in Feb three years ago. We arrived in Dublin on Valentine day, stayed for three days and spent the next three weeks in all the small towns between Dublin and Shannon (we departed from Shannon). It rained all three days in Dublin but the further in our travel, the clearer the sky became. Temperature was in the 40s, which was warmer than in Central Italy in the same period. I had silk longjohns as the first layer, light weight cashmere turtleneck and medium weight waterproof parka and I was perfectly fine (and I was a Californian at the time). When the wind blew, I added scarf, gloves and hat. I always wear boots while travel so the rain and dampness never bothered me. I don't think the weather in any time of the year would deter me from coming to Ireland. For over three weeks traveling, we had all of our clothings fit in two carry-ons, a sure proof that you don't need a lot of heavy duty garments to stay warm (we had our laundry done only once).

Erica-I always thought the ferry to the Aran Islands shut down in the winter. Thanks for the tip.<BR><BR>Dottie-Ireland can be cold, wet and windy any time of the year. The only difference in February is that it's much less likely that you'll get lucky and have some of those perfect days, where the sun's shining and it's about 55 degrees.<BR><BR>So I say go. The price sounds really good, particularly given the cost of renting a car in Ireland.<BR><BR>Besides, one of my favorite places in Ireland is any warm pub with a fire going.