Best time to book flights to Ireland?

The best time to book is April 9th at 3:52 PM ET.

Okay, sarcasm out of the way. No one can tell you when is the best time to book. We all have different opinions on that.

Prices change daily, sometimes hourly. Since you have until October, you might want to set up price alerts on Google Flights. This way you will be alerted when the price changes. Could it go down? Yes. Could it go up? Yes.

Most flights to Europe are overnight. They will arrive in the morning. I always go to my hotel and see if I can check in early. Sometimes it's possible. If not, I will leave my bags and go out exploring. Get coffee or even breakfast.

Another alternative would be to book a hotel room for the day before so that it would be ready on arrival for you after the long overnight flight. If you anticipate getting little or no sleep on the flight over it might be an especially attractive option - nothing like a shower and a power nap to get you feeling rested and refreshed. Works well for us.

100% agree with what Robert said. One time we arrived in Dublin from the west coast at 6 am. We went immediately to our hotel to drop off our luggage, asked them for the room as soon as it was available then went off to explore. We were so turned around and exhausted the longer the day went on. Finally we just went back to the hotel and sat in the lobby. We got a room by about 1pm because of their kindness (or embarrassment that the Americans were pretty much sleeping in their lobby) but I will never let that be the way we travel and always book a hotel for the night prior when we travel to Europe with an early morning arrival. (Always let the hotel know that this is your plan so they don’t cancel you as a no show.) It is so much nicer to drop your luggage off in a room, to freshen up, go back out to explore then come back to your room at your convenience.

Great suggestion to book a room for the day before arrival. I think we'll do that. Thanks, Robert and KD.
And, Frank, we'll wait for April 9th to book. LOL! I'll try the flight alerts on Google Flights. Thanks.

Where are you flying from? I live on the west coast and often my preferred flights get me to Europe in the early morning or midday. I've spent many mornings and early afternoons wandering around in a jet lagged daze until my hotel room was ready. Definitely set up a Google flight tracker for your preferred flight and watch prices for a bit. October is a long way off, but if you feel the price and flight itinerary work for you, buy it and don't look back.

If you do book a hotel for the night before, make sure you let them know about your early morning arrival so they don't release your room when you don't check in the afternoon before (some hotels do this, some do not, it's better not to assume and just inform the property of your plans).

I am also on a RS tour in early October. I just bought my tickets a few days ago. The price was high and I kept watching; they finally came down at a reasonable price and I took the plunge. I doubt they will come down much more. My flight arrives into Shannon around 10:30AM. Out of curiosity, what is the date of your tour? Mine starts Oct 6.

Our tour starts Oct. 4, so we'll get there the day before. Guess we'll just miss you. I'll keep checking flights a little longer and then take the plunge. We're really looking forward to it. This will be our first trip to Ireland!