Where to visit for a week in Ireland in summer?

[Mollytohiding]

You can tell i'm avoiding all Xmas festivities by posting twice about holidays in a row!

We'd like to come to Ireland in the Summer for a week (us, DS15).

I have only ever been to Dublin. Any thoughts on nice places to visit? Lovely natural beauty, but also nice places to eat/stay etc.

Donegal is one of my favourites

www.ireland.com/en-gb/plan-your-trip/trip-ideas/donegals-northern-headlands/

Dingle Kerry. Stunning go every year and their airport is tiny 2 gates so very stress free

We did 9 days maximising weekends. Into Belfast, a few days there then onto Donegal and back along the giants causeway.

Just go to Westport!! Town is beautiful and it's such an easy drive to wonderful beaches, Connemara croagh Patrick!! Restaurants in Westport are fabulous.
Happy to give any other info if needed!!

We went to West Kerry a couple of years ago, absolutely beautiful beaches and scenery (Dingle
area).

Cork city, Cobh, Kinsale and West Cork.

Westport is a great base for exploring the West Coast. Fly into Knock, hire a car and there is loads to see - Achill Island, Downpatrick Head, Doolagh Valley, Clifton, Galway city. Westport is great for hanging out in and of itself - loads of live music in the pubs and good food.

Donegal!

The North? A couple of days in Belfast. Lots of things to do. The Titanic museum is surprisingly good. Then both up the coast and along the causeway coast. Brilliant if you are a Games of Thrones fan, but regardless it is beautiful with castle ruins, giants causeway, beaches and the odd golf course. Derry is a compact walled city with some very good restaurants and craft shops, so worth a stop. I love Donegal. The coast is great but also the emptiness of the interior. Places like Glenveagh. Then drive back.

If you don’t mind a bit of traveling check out Wild Atlantic Way. Like the U.K, weather can really make or break your trip. Enjoy.

Doolin in Clare. Go to the Homestead for dinner. Then tour the Burren.

Westport and then down to Connemara and finish up with a day/night in Galway city. Book hotels early though - those areas are incredibly busy during the summer. My favourite part of the world!

County Clare is lovely, you can learn to surf in Lahinch.

As others have said, Dingle and the surrounding area is lovely. Lots of bars and pubs where you’ll hear traditional music and hopefully native speakers of Irish. Fabulous beaches.
I’d also recommend Sligo/ Donegal in the north west. Sligo in particular, I love. There are many places to visit associated with Ireland’s poet: WB Yeats, Drumcliffe, Innisfree, Glencar, Benbulben. The area is breathtakingly beautiful, especially if you’re lucky enough to get good weather.

We used to spend many holidays in Ireland, mainly Kerry but also the North and Donegal, all wonderful places to visit.

Remember to expect it to rain, pretty well everyday.

Pack umbrellas and lots of waterproofs

Thanks everyone! This is brill.

Is rain an issue everywhere in the summer? Sorry, I sound ignorant

Yes. If rain is going to be a dealbreaker for you, or you won’t be able to enjoy exploring in the rain, then you need to book a different holiday. We had an incredibly dry summer last year, but that was very unusual.

Here to second (third?) Dingle. My favourite place in Ireland. Yes rain is an issue, that is why we have so many snug pubs! You can have all the seasons in one week. Both times I've been to Dingle in the last few years I have been really lucky with sun and no rain, but it is absolutely no indication of what kind of weather you'll get, especially on the Atlantic coast.

Dingle has scenery to take your breath away, amazing food, aforementioned pubs with live music or not if not your thing. Arts, friendly people, boat trips to see whales, dolphins in the bay, sea swimming in the freezing ocean! It is a proper treat for the senses.

There is a stunning drive around the headland called Slea Head drive with all manner of weird and wonderful stop offs along the way. My teens were charmed by the baby lambs, crazy goats and sheep you can feed for a couple of euro.

You can do all the above in any weather - just bring a good raincoat!

Rain in Ireland is pretty much always an issue. It has potential to be a lovely holiday place but… every bloody time over costed family y(always In the summer, it’s rained). I’d find it so depressing to live there (mind you I’m a soft southerner and always leave blazing sun whenever I’m head to Ireland for a visit)

No it’s a matter of luck but if it comes down it’s torrential.

I’ve also been in match when it was so hot we ate lunch outside the pub - then 2 days later it snowed 😂

It is a lovely place. But if you’re the kind of person who needs holidays to be reliably warm and sunny and won’t throw on a raincoat and crack on with whatever you were planning undeterred without feeling disappointed and put out, it’s not a wise holiday destination.

I moved back after two decades overseas, including time in the UK and somewhere invariably hot, dry and sunny, and I realised my pet peeve is unchanging weather, good or bad. I’m as bored after a month of heat and blue skies as I am after a month of rain.

Sort of why I suggested a mix of town and country. Derry and Belfast have enough indoor activities to largely keep you out of the rain. A judicious look at the weather forecast and suitable clothing should get you through the rest. Beautiful beaches, but you won’t find many on them.

I am not a big sun lover, at all, but we'll have to take a family vote! We do go to the sun a lot but it's not a deal breaker. We adore, and go regularly to, Pembrokeshire - and the weather can be awful. I'm a lover of natural beauty in all weathers, just need to get the others on board.