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Published: 29 Oct 2008 08:06:25 PST

Ireland

Traveling

Entry requirements

Passport and visa service: Department of Foreign Affairs, VISA
Diplomatic representations: Department of Foreign Affairs

Organizing your trip

Means of transport recommended in town

Recommendation: Ireland has an extensive road, rail, bus and air infrastructure. But no subway.
Click here to get the details of the Dublin Transportation Office.
Maps of urban networks: LUAS, Dublin
Maps of Dublin and area

Means of transport recommended in the rest of the country

Recommendation: The Irish railway network is quite old. Schedules are not always respected. Travellers often have difficulties for booking tickets.
Rail companies: Larnród Éireann, reservation, schedule.
NIR (Northern Ireland Railways)

Airlines

Name	Type	Domestic flights	International flights
Aer Lingus	traditional	yes	yes
City Jet	traditional	no	yes
Ryanair	low cost	yes	yes
Aer Arann	low cost	yes	yes

Traveling by yourself

Recommendation: The road network links all parts of Ireland. Be careful of the narrow country roads where the bends in the road are often very sharp and windy. The road network is extensive but the quality of road surfacing is often poor. Upgrading is in progress.

Road signs:
Freeways/Motorways = Blue
National Primary & Secondary routes = Green
Regional and local routes = White
Road maps: Road network
Road network
Find an itinerary: Maporama
RAC

Visiting

Different forms of tourism

Historical

Blarney Stone - Brownshill Dolmen - Bunratty Castle - Delvin Castle - Dublin Castle - Rock of Cashel.
For all tourism spots click here.

Cultural

Several sites are protected by the Unesco World Heritage.
Many festivals and cultural events also take place.

Nature

Ireland is wellknown for its wildlide and its National Parks.

Religious

Ireland is a jewels of megalitic monuments. A lot of sacred sites let enter the celtic legend.

Thermal

Lisdoonvarna is a spa town in north County Clare.

Beach

As an island, Ireland is surrounded by beaches. Click here to get more information.

Winter sports

Skiing, snowboarding, surfing, canoeing, walking...

Outdoor activities

Walking, hiking, cycling... For further information, see the Island Ireland website.

Shopping

Special purchases include hand-woven tweed, hand-crocheted woollens and cottons, sheepskin goods, gold and silver jewellery, Aran knitwear, linen, pottery, Irish crystal and whiskey...

Shopping hours: Mon-Sat 09h00-17h30/18h00.
Many towns have a late night opening on Thursday or Friday until 20h00/21h00.
Sunday: 12h00 - 17h00/18h00 (main shopping centres, larger department stores). Many smaller supermarkets in towns and villages are also open.

Top 10 highlights of the capital city
Guinness Storehouse
Trinity College Dublin and the Book of Kells
Dublinia
Temple Bar
Kilmainham Gaol
The Old Jameson Distillery
Dublin Castle
National Gallery of Ireland
St Stephen's Green
Christchurch Cathedral

Top 10 highlights of the country
Wicklow Mountains
Newgrange
Hill of Tara
Wexford
Curragh Racecourse
Kilkenny
Ring of Kerry
Galway
Croagh Patrick

Tourism organizations: List of Tourism Offices in Ireland
Ireland Guide
Visit Dublin
Northern Ireland Tourist Board

Living conditions

Health and safety

Health precautions: No speficic recommendations.
International hospitals: For all usefull resources concerning Health in Ireland, visit the website of the Mater Misericordiae Hospital (Dublin) and its healthlinks.
For further information on sanitary conditions: Department of Health and Children
For further information on safety conditions: Specific information: US Department of State

Emergency numbers

Police emergency, fire, ambulance

112 or 999

Time difference and climate

Time and time difference: It is %T:%M %A in Dublin (GMT in winter, GMT+1 in summer)
Summer time period: From March to October.

Map of the time zone

Fuseau(x) horaire

Type of climate: The temperate climate is due to mild southwesterly winds and the Gulf Stream. Summers are warm, while temperatures during winter are much cooler. Spring and autumn are very mild. Rain falls all year.

For further information: Met Éireann, weather forecast
Ireland climate

Average annual temperatures and rainfall

Climate

Eating

Culinary specialties: Barmbrack (a currant loaf), boxty (potato pancakes), scones.
Dublin Bay prawns, seafood, smoked salmon, trout...
Oysters (served with Guinness and wholemeal bread).
Irish stew ( mutton, lamb or juicy beef, served with potatoes, stock, onions, carrots and garlic).
Crubeens (pigs’ trotters).
Colcannon (a mixture of potatoes and cabbage cooked together).
Soda bread.
Soufflé made with carrageen (a variety of seaweed).
Drinks: Guinness, Kilkenny, whiskey, stout, tea...
Dietary taboos: IThere are no specfic taboos.

Paying

Domestic currency: Euro
ISO Code: EUR
To obtain domestic currency: Currency exchange: available in banks, airports and in bureaux de change. ATMs are widely available, catering for Cirrus and Maestro symbols.
Possible means of payment: Credit / Debit Cards and ATMs: American Express, MasterCard and Visa are all widely accepted.

Travelers Cheque Advice: Accepted throughout Ireland. To avoid additional exchange rate charges, travelers are advised to take traveler’s cheques in Euros, Pounds Sterling or US Dollars.

Speaking

Official language: Irish (Gaelic), spoken as a first language by about 55,000 people (mostly in the west).
Other languages spoken: English. Official documents are printed in both languages.
Business language: English
Getting some knowledge: Click here for some useful phrases in Gaelic.
Free translation tools: Google - Translation
Reverso - Translation
Foreignword - Translation