Europe

Ireland in July

Peak season: coach tours, full B&Bs, top prices. Fine if you book ahead and start your days early.

TradeoffsWarmest of the year, highs near 66F (19C), still changeable

Cliffs of Moher, Ireland — IrelandPhoto: Berthold Werner, CC BY-SA 4.0

The straight answer

July is a month of real tradeoffs in Ireland. Peak season: coach tours, full B&Bs, top prices. Fine if you book ahead and start your days early.

Weather: Warmest of the year, highs near 66F (19C), still changeable
Crowds: 5 of 5
Prices: 5 of 5

What July is like in Ireland

July is the warmest month, with highs near 66F (19C), but the weather is still changeable. This is peak season. Coach tours crowd the Ring of Kerry and Cliffs of Moher, B&Bs fill up and prices hit their high. Galway is the center of the action, with the Galway International Arts Festival and then the Galway Races late in the month.

It works for families tied to school holidays and festival fans, as long as you book ahead and start days early. If you have a choice, June or September gives you most of the same with fewer people.

Make the most of July

What is especially good about Ireland this month.

Galway International Arts Festival

Theatre, music and street spectacle take over Galway for roughly two weeks in mid to late July. It is the city's busiest fortnight.

Galway Races

A week of horse racing starting in late July fills the west. Book Galway beds far ahead or stay outside town.

Island boats running

Skellig Michael landings and other island trips are in full swing, with the best odds of calm seas.

What to pack for July

A light rain jacket
A warm layer for windy coast days
Comfortable walking shoes
Sunscreen and sunglasses

Our timing tip

Book B&Bs on the Dingle Peninsula and around Galway months ahead, because July fills the west coast first.

Book Ireland for July.

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Hotels. Expedia
Hotels in Ireland
Opens a hotel search for Ireland in July, dates filled in. Book early for the best months: the good rooms go first.
Hotels for July
Vacation rentals. Vrbo
Vacation rentals in Ireland
Whole homes, condos and villas. Usually the better deal for families and groups, with a kitchen and room to spread out.
Rentals on Vrbo
Tours and tickets. Expedia
Tours and tickets in Ireland
Timed-entry tickets, day trips and guided tours in Ireland for July. Popular slots sell out in the best months.
Tours and tickets

What's on in July

Galway International Arts Festival

Roughly two weeks in mid to late July

Theatre, music, and spectacle take over Galway. The city's buzziest, most booked-out fortnight.

Galway Races

Late July into early August

A week of horse racing that fills the west of Ireland. Book Galway beds far ahead or stay well outside town.

Things to do in Ireland

Full guide

Cliffs of Moher

Arrive before 10am or after 5pm in season; midday belongs to the coach tours. The cliff walk toward Hags Head escapes most of the crowd.

Tickets and tours →

Ring of Kerry

Drive it counterclockwise like the buses do to avoid meeting them head-on on narrow roads, and start early. Killarney National Park anchors the loop.

Tickets and tours →

Dublin's museum quarter

The National Museum's gold and bog bodies, Trinity's Book of Kells, and the National Gallery, all walkable. Book Kells tickets ahead in summer.

Official site ↗Tickets and tours →

Galway and Connemara

Galway is the base; Connemara's bog-and-mountain emptiness is the point. Kylemore Abbey is the postcard stop.

Tickets and tours →

Newgrange (Bru na Boinne)

A 5,000-year-old passage tomb north of Dublin. Access is by guided tour from the visitor centre and slots cap out in summer, so book ahead.

Official site ↗Tickets and tours →

Dingle Peninsula

Many travelers' favorite corner of Ireland: the Slea Head loop, beehive huts, and a working fishing town full of music.

Official site ↗Tickets and tours →

Beat the crowds

Do the Cliffs of Moher and the Ring of Kerry before 10am; the coach-tour wave runs roughly 10:30am to 4pm and then vanishes.
Base yourself in Dingle or Kenmare instead of Killarney in summer: same scenery, calmer evenings, better tables without a booking.
Book Newgrange, Kilmainham Gaol, and the Book of Kells online well ahead in June through August; all three cap daily numbers and sell out.
Take the Ring of Beara or the Sky Road in Connemara when the Ring of Kerry is heaving; they are just as good and carry a fraction of the traffic.

Know before you go

Skellig Michael landings run only from roughly mid May to late September, and even in season boats cancel frequently for swell. Book early and build in a spare day.
Many rural and heritage attractions run reduced winter hours from roughly November through mid March, and some smaller sites close entirely; city museums and castles stay open year-round.
Good Friday and Christmas (December 24 to 26) close most attractions, and almost everything shuts on Christmas Day itself, including most pubs.
St. Patrick's Day is a national holiday: the party is on but banks, shops, and some sights close, and Dublin accommodation sells out months out.