Someone as me worried. Is Ireland more expensive to see than the U.K.?

I think that it all depends on your spending habits. I’ve traveled to both countries in the last year and I didn’t see any major difference in costs.

We buy fridge magnets, we don’t drink alcohol much and stay in moderate hotels. We will be renting quite a few airbnb’s. I can’t imagine the restaurants ( moderate.....not fast food but family dining places like pubs and such) costing ridiculous amount more than they did in the U.K. it just had me freaked cause he said it was more expensive on Dublin than London but I have a hard time imagining that.

Any comparison on snacks, drinks, petrol and small grocery items? Like bread and milk ?

I looked at the menus of a few restaurants we were interested in ( one in Dublin and a few in other places) and they seemed to run about 15 to 20 euros for dinners and that is what we mostly paid in France. I just can’t see where the major cost difference would be

We actually found Ireland much cheaper than the UK especially London versus Dublin. Only comparing restaurants as we stayed in air b and b in Dublin and hotel in London. This is based on this March in London and last October in Dublin if that helps at all.

It does. Thanks. We are hopefully traveling last 2 weeks of October and the first 2of November.

Since we are 3, we prefer an airBnb to hotels cause it can actually cost less. We were in London for 11 nights and will be in Dublin only 4 so hopefully we will find savings that way.

We were in London in 2017 and will be in Ireland and London of October 2019. I've got a number of B+B's in Ireland in the 80-100E range - similar to the UK. Our B+B in Dublin is close to what we paid in London in 2017. Food - not sure yet, but I think it's similar. We're budget travelers so will be watching closely what we pay for food, etc. Breakfasts are with our b+b, picnic or pub lunches, low to mid range restaurants/pubs for dinner. I expect our costs to be similar to what we paid in London and the UK in 2017. I guess we'll know for sure when we return.

We may have crossed paths in the U.K.
I’m sure whatever it costs it will all be worth it as traveling with my husband and mom is awesome.

That surprises me. I thought that Ireland was less expensive than most but then I'm comparing with London, Paris, Florence. In the past, when I've compared the prices of RS tours, Ireland was always one of the cheapest.

Odd fact - one in eight people who live in the Republic of Ireland regularly cross the border into Northern Ireland for everyday grocery shopping, let alone for more aspirational stuff. All the retail in Newry, Derry/ Londonderry and Enniskillen isn't just to service those that live there.

I’ve traveled in England and Ireland in the past 4 years and haven’t noticed any major differences in spending. The biggest difference is that traveling by train or bus to smaller places is more difficult in Ireland, so you have to rent a car or take a day tour. That could increase the cost a bit versus using public transport in England, but if there are several people sharing a rental, it’s not a significant difference.

I’m not someone who drinks often, but visiting pubs in the evenings to hear traditional music and buying 1 or 2 drinks also provided cheap entertainment and some great conversations with local residents. That was a lot less expensive than the theatre tickets I bought in London (well worth the price, of course, but still I had to budget more for that).

All the best,

Raymond

I was just there in May and included a few days in Northern Ireland and a weekend in Leeds and York. Before my trip friends from England made a similar comment about Ireland being expensive. My impression twenty years ago was that Ireland was cheaper than UK. My impression in May was, yes, today the Republic is more expensive than the UK. Whether London is less expensive than Dublin? I'm not sure I'd go that far. Either way neither is as expensive as Switzerland.

some say as expensive, some articles say more expensive and some more say less expensive.

We are going to go with the idea that it will be as expensive as the UK and hope we bring home some change.

I wonder if Italy (the place we plan to go the following year) will be more expensive.....LOL....Just wondering.

For what its worth Numbeo data for UK vs Ireland cost of living:

https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/compare_countries_result.jsp?country1=United+Kingdom&country2=Ireland

Indices Difference Info

Consumer Prices in Ireland are 14.62% higher than in United Kingdom

Consumer Prices Including Rent in Ireland are 23.35% higher than in
United Kingdom

Rent Prices in Ireland are 44.86% higher than in United Kingdom

Restaurant Prices in Ireland are 13.48% higher than in United Kingdom

Groceries Prices in Ireland are 15.05% higher than in United Kingdom

Local Purchasing Power in Ireland is 7.83% lower than in United
Kingdom

On the other hand, London vs Dublin:

https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/compare_cities.jsp?country1=United+Kingdom&country2=Ireland&city1=London&city2=Dublin

Indices Difference Info

Consumer Prices in Dublin are 4.30% lower than in London

Consumer Prices Including Rent in Dublin are 7.86% lower than in
London

Rent Prices in Dublin are 12.39% lower than in London

Restaurant Prices in Dublin are 2.61% lower than in London

Groceries Prices in Dublin are 3.71% higher than in London

Local Purchasing Power in Dublin is 6.14% higher than in London

The success of the Celtic Tiger?