My sister is graduating college in May 2008. My dad wants to plan a trip to Ireland for himself, my sister, my hubby, and myself. We are looking at May, June, or July. Which month would you recommend? Best airfare rates? Best weather?

Of those three months, airfare will generally be the lowest in May. Airfares are the lowest in January and Feb and increase from there. It's always a tough call on weather, but May and June tend to generally be drier months. No guarantee though. Tourism increases dramatically in July and August and sites can get pretty crowded.

B&Bs are a very good choice for lodging. You can get both double and twin rooms. The Irish tourist board offers a large book of B&Bs, most of them without ratings. It can also be viewed at www.townandcountry.ie.

Also consider Michele Erdvig's site, irelandyes.com. She offers a tour book that is kept up to date and suggestions for B&Bs that she has personally stayed in. I've never gone wrong with her suggestions.

That should get you started.

Bill

Thanks Bill!!

I would definitely say that May and early June are your best times. The gardens are in full bloom, the tourists are in short supply, the lodging is cheaper, airfare is still relatively low and auto rental rates should also be low. Most all of the attractions, museums, etc. will be open and the lines will be short. Weather is always a guessing game, no matter the month you go.

Definitely visit Irelandyes.com and pick up Michele's book, it will come in handy.

For auto rental, check autoeurope.com or kemwel.com. Use aaireland for route planning, http://www.aaireland.ie/routes/.

Aer Lingus is running some great rates right now. I would recommend flying in to Shannon, as it is easier to navigate in and around.

Enjoy your experience in Ireland!

Slan Agus Beannacht,

Bit Devine
www.cowboycraic.com

Another good point for May/June/July - the days are much longer. We were there this June/July, and the sky didn't go completely dark until after midnight - lots of siteseeing time!

The fares went up after June 12th in all my research (unfortunately, we were stuck going the 20th). However, the increase wasn't huge. It went up again in July.
Weather was gorgeous - we had two rainy days in two weeks. During the day it was 65-75, and at night around 50-55.