racegirl

We are just beginning to plan a trip to Ireland and are considering end of May/Early June... I know this is the start of "high season" and was wondering if anyone can provide me with an idea of what to expect (price/crowds) this time of year.

jent103

Probably depends where you go to some extent, but that's when I went last year (to County Kerry and County Clare). There were definitely visitors around, but things weren't packed, other than the pub on a Saturday night in Dingle. And the weather was gorgeous. The larger cities may be different, but I'd imagine it's about the same.

Where are you thinking about going specifically?

racegirl

Hi jent103 - thanks for the response.

We are just in the very early planning stages (not going until 2009) but looking southern routes/cities..(any suggestions/advice are greatly appreciated)
I'm an instructor so I need to make a decision pretty quickly if I can take a Spring semester class (in 09)... the friends I am traveling with are concerned about the extra cost/crowds as opposed to traveling in early/mid May (which would mean I couldn't teach that semester)

IrishEyes

Extra costs in May/June? What extra costs? There are bank holidays the first Monday in May and June. Those weekends will be crowded in popular areas. Work around the holidays and you will be fine. Just have reservations for those long weekends.

crazychick

I doubt June would be much differnt that than mid May. You might find the last week in May might be more crowded and some put the prices up that week as the 26th May is a the Spring Bank Holiday in the UK and schools have that have that week off.
July and August are the 2 peak months due to the UK school summer holidays. You may also find more and more B&B's have a high rate that goeas from either the first April or easter week through to the end of October and only have a lower rate during the winter months. Apart from Xmas of course if they open during winter.

Padraig

crazychick wrote: "July and August are the 2 peak months due to the UK school summer holidays."

Even more because of Irish school holidays!

janisj

No extra costs, and no crowds to speak of except for the Bank holiday weekend. June is definitely not high season and May is even less so.

(Americans tend to think of Memorial Day being the beginning of the summer season and the start of high season. But European kids are in school much longer - mostly until mid-July-ish. So "high season" is really late July/Aug plus the bank holidays)

kodi

I also don't think June would be much different than May.
And I don't think the cost would be any different.
Have fun planning.

JOHNOD

I go every year in June. Crowds will depend on your itinerary. I avoid larger cities and the big tourist stops (Blarney Castle). Prices will be about the same in the Pubs and B&B's. Some hotels run specials in the off season.
Work up an itinerary and post it here and you will get alot of input. If this your your only trip to Ireland you will want to visit some of the tourist spots but you can also get off the beaten path and enjoy the smaller villages. Have fun

jent103

When I was looking I did notice that some b&bs had higher prices in the summer than in the winter, but I agree that you won't notice much difference between late May and early June. The biggest price that could change would be plane tickets. Have y'all thought about pricing different dates for those and determining your dates based on that?

As far as places, there are tons of Ireland itineraries on these boards. We went to Killarney, Dingle and Ennis and the surrounding areas, and I thought it was a great short introduction to the southwest. We found plenty of B&Bs in those areas for around 35€ per person per night. If your trip is longer, there are plenty of other areas I'd love to see! If it would give you any ideas, here's a link to my trip report. Ireland is toward the end.

http://tinyurl.com/2lmmpy

racegirl

Thanks everyone for your responses....

For those of you that asked the prices I was most concerned about were flights/lodging...

We have a guide book that states that "April/May are good times to because it's not too crowded, expensive (air/lodging) and weather is ok... it say's that June-Aug are more $ ... sounds like most of you have not experienced much difference...

thanks again

chip

both of our trips were in June...we never experienced crowds...except in pubs. we never experienced crowds that you would see in other European tourists spots or the states...so that should not be a concern. Get an early jump on the tour busses and you'll have most sights to yourself.

My favorite towns are Dingle, Kenmare, and Doolin...in that order. all are great spots to tour from because of the surrounding beauty, fun pubs with music, good B&B's in town so you can walk everywhere, shopping, and good dining.

book early to get best pick of b&b's and keep an eye on air price deals.