Hello all. We are going to be in Ireland from August 25-Sept 29. The first week we will be staying one night in Dublin to hopefully sleep off the jetlag as we arrive at 7 a.m. We pick up our rental car on the 26th and we want to make our way to Ballymoney/Balleycastle from Sept 1 - 22. We will then return to Dublin and probably return the car, opting to tour around Dublin and area with public transport and foot. My question is what sort of meal budget will I need, for that first week and last week in the Republic of Ireland. I eat very small portions, my husband larger...we usually prefer a light breakfast, maybe a soup or sandwich for lunch and love seafood for dinner. Would it be reasonable to suggest we could get by with about 75 Euro per day for food for both of us, or is that too conservative?
Thank you for any help! Getting excited!!!
Irish Linny
Posted by
Rick Steves' Europe
16895 posts
Most hotels and B&Bs in Ireland provide a generous breakfast, similar to England. Or are you renting unstaffed accommodations?
Here are some menus (with prices) for the very well regarded Fishy Fishy Café in Kinsale, Ireland. In the same town, Rick's book lists options such as place where you can get a sandwich or salad lunch for under 10 euros, and a steak and seafood place with 18-25 euro meal specials at dinnertime.
For a variety of budget eating strategies, see https://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/sleeping-eating.
Posted by
Tel Aviv
15781 posts
Are you trying to figure out how much money to put in your bank account for ATM withdrawals or how much cash to take with you? If the latter, don't do it. Do the former - better to have two accounts with separate ATM cards so you have a back-up if one stops working for whatever reason. And make arrangements to be able to transfer funds into the account if you run low - maybe a trusted relative that you can contact by email.
For a cheap pub lunch - €5 - get a bowl of thick vegetable soup (they all make it fresh daily), comes with black soda bread and butter. Very filling and very tasty.
Posted by
OP
9 posts
Thanks for the tips regarding meals, restaurants etc. We have now nailed down 3 nights in Galway at a B&B, so I know breakfast is sorted.
Posted by
Salinas, CA, United States
53 posts
We just returned from Ireland and I think your food budget is very "doable". There are all sorts of dining and pricing options available. Almost every pub or restaurant has the option of a very hearty vegetable soup or seafood chowder including brown bread & butter for five Euros or less. I often chose this for lunch and was satisfied. Most lunches and dinners (such as fish & chips, stew, curry, etc.) were less than twenty Euros (more for steak or lobster, for instance). Mixed drinks or glasses of house wine ran around 6 or 7 Euros. I cannot remember about beer, but I think it was less.
Hope that helps. Have fun on your trip!
Posted by
Martinez, CA, USA
1547 posts
We found that after an Irish breakfast we could not eat lunch. Usually had some fruit or even nothing until dinner, which was usually between 6 and 7pm. If you have a light breakfast and want lunch, we found that most gas station stores as well as grocery stores have delis which serve soup, sandwiches, wraps, and sometimes salad bars and warm food selections.
Posted by
OP
9 posts
Thank you all for your responses regarding meal budget...it is very helpful! I'm pretty confident now that we can make the budget work!