montrealvic

We are planning a vacation to Ireland from dec 14 to dec 24. Basing ourselves in Limerick (free hotel) for sidetrips and ending with a few days in Dublin. I know it will be cold and rainy. Do you think its a good idea to go. our other option is spring break in march. first two weeks. thanks.

sparkchaser

If you don't mind the cold, rain, and long dark nights then go for it.

Cathinjoetown

Having lived in Galway for a year, north of Limerick, I don't remember much difference between December and March weather although a bit more daylight in March.

The storms roll in off the Atlantic and ime don't often stall so you can have heavy rain followed by clear skies followed by heavy rain, etc. December will be festive with holiday cheer, open fires in many pubs, etc.

lanejohann

we are going in winter too..in february for a week so we too are facing short days...
i think...if it were me..id opt for more daylight over christmas cheer...our trip has been shorn quite dramatically simply cos we are used to travelling in summer with long hours

in feb we will be lucky to be getting daylight from8am to 4pm

do check to see if theres anything major on..festivals etc
anything that may push the prices up in lodgings...see also if the things you want to see are closed...
round christmas more sights will stay open
good luck with whatever you decide

arent airfares more expensive in december? maybe youre sneaking in just on the shoulder period...not sure
it depends on where youre from
aussies dont mind going over in our christmas holidays just to experience a real christmas but then again many head for Germany etc to get a taste of a white christmas

Gordon_R

>>in feb we will be lucky to be getting daylight from8am to 4pm<<

While that's reasonably accurate for December (near the winter solstice), by mid-February there's daylight from 7:45am through 5:30pm in Dublin.

sparkchaser

A whole 10 hours!

01shortie

Ireland is fantastic in December. Forget about the weather, the fun you will have will be great, you won't mind getting wet! Coming up to Christmas is especially an amazing time! Atmosphere and the 12 pubs of Christmas...Enjoy!

nytraveler

Well - it can;t be really cold - or it would be snowing versus raining.

And you might well get some days that are just cloudy or even bright. I don;t see any reason not to go unless you can deal only with tropical weather.

montrealvic

Being from Canada we are not worried about the cold. It's more the rain, does it rain everyday. We will be basing ourselves in limerick and doing side trips to Galloway, Kerry circle etc..

Cathinjoetown

Here"s some data which states 22 days of rain in December for Galway. But, as mentioned above, from my experience, it rarely rains all day and the heavy rain storms often come through at night. According to this site, March averages 23 days of rain.

http://www.worldweatheronline.com/Ga...Galway/IE.aspx

montrealvic

thanks everyone for your help. I think we will go ahead with this trip for December and take our chances! Also I have a free hotel in Limerick as stated above. Is that a good idea for daytrips to Dingle, Ring of Kerry, cliffs of moher, cork, and Gallaway.

Cathinjoetown

I think you mean Galway not Galloway and yes, you can do day trips from Limerick to the places you list, use www.viamichelin.com or similar to plan trips, but add about 20% to the times shown.

montrealvic

we want to visit the dingle penensila, cliffs of moher, galaway, killarney and Dublin during 9 days.

Cathinjoetown

Did you do some route planning using viamichelin or similar?

Doubling back to Limerick will make for quite a bit of time in the car each day, I estimate around 4-5 hours, but only you can decide whether the trade off of a free hotel is "worth it." Limerick itself has no appeal to me.

Cost out b&bs in your furthest north Galway? and south points. Maybe a combination of the free hotel and two other locations makes sense.

Padraig

How much is the free accommodation in Limerick worth? It involves using 3-4 hours of your limited daylight time to get to Dingle or Killarney and back again. Plus a bit of fuel cost and some consumption of your stamina.

Your weather risk in December is not principally cold weather (except for the possibility of icy roads in the morning) or torrential rain (our rain is fairly evenly-spread over the year): it is the likelihood of overcast or misty conditions. You might not see much. I have driven round Slea Head and not been able to see the sea - and that was not even mid-winter.

You need a Plan B that you can follow if conditions are not suitable for scenic touring.

[And it's Galway!]

montrealvic

Thanks yes I agree with the back tracking not being ideal. Therefore we have decided with 2 days in killarney, and 1 day in gallaway. we will also have 2 children age 6 and 10 with us. We only have 9 days total, were thinking of spending the first 6 in the south and the last 3 in Dublin, before flying back.

Cathinjoetown

Is it your spell-check that keeps messing up GALWAY?

New plan makes sense.

montrealvic

Also I know the days will be short therefore we plan to spend our evenings in pubs. My question is that are children allowed, and if so do they follow the rule they have to be out by 9pm. main places would b limerick, killarney, gallaway, and Dublin.