trip to Ireland end of August

Cynthia,
SW Ireland is my favorite place in the world! The weather changes very quickly. We had sleet once at the end of May and in two weeks, it was warm. I always take a hooded rain jacket and a micro-fleece jacket. Beyond that, whatever you want. I don't know what things you like but I've enjoyed Bunratty Castle, The Muckross House in Killarney, The Burren, Cliffs of Moher and my favorite town is Portmagee, off the ROK. There's the Trad on the Prom in Salthill (Galway), check their website. You'll love it. If you rent a car (suggested) get the smallest you can and an automatic shift. The roads can be narrow. Have a great trip. I check weatherbase.com for temperatures.

Hi Cynthia, Your trip sounds great. It's so much better to take your time in one area of Ireland rather than trying to see the whole Island! I love Kenmare for ROK. Haven't been to Portmagee but that sounds great too. Killarney is great fun just a bit crowded. Dingle is wonderful. Give it 2 nights if you can. Galway is a good size city but great fun. Agree that it's much easier with a car especially Dingle. It's usually nice at the end of August, around 70 degrees or so but can rain at anytime (most days this summer...)Have a great trip!

Also recommend Doolin for a night, good trad and near the cliffs. As previous poster said, get automatic car. It is not for the faint of heart but we really enjoyed driving over Connor Pass to Dingle. Be sure to have some kind of rain gear. This part of Ireland is beyond words great.

Thank you for your suggestions! Its great to get feedback since this is such an unknown to me. I have bought the raincoats and fleeces and waterproof hikers-and am open for suggestions on hikes!

Definitely hike the Burrens, I seem to remember it is not too far from Doolin and Cliffs of Moher. Look up exact info on Google, just type in The Burrens, County Clare, Ireland.

we will do that! Doolin is an excellent choice for my husband, who is a traditional Irish Music fiddeler, amongst other instruments.

we will do that! Doolin is an excellent choice for my husband, who is a traditional Irish Music fiddiler, amongst other instruments.

Hi Cynthia; We just returned yesterday after 8 days doing Dublin, Kilkenny, Dingle & Galway. Loved them all! I was anticipating rain and cooler temperatures, and we got the rain, but it was quite muggy and warm. I ended up in t-shirts and cotton slacks with a rain jacket, and didn't once use my lightweight long-sleeved wool tops or even a sweater. I took a pair of mesh Merrells that were cool and comfy.
Have fun!

Thank you for your input! it looks like rain most of the time we are there, but my husband is a traditional Irish fiddle player, so we can just hang out in the pubs! We booked 1 nite in Doolin, 2 nites in Galway, 3 nites in Dingle and 1 night outside of Kilarney. yes, Rick, we will be outside the tourist trap of Kilarney- but in a nice B&B on our way to ShAnnon airport. I have heeded all advice and will let you all know how it turns out! really excited! Thank you all so much. This is a very helpful website and I have recommended it to several friends.

We just returned from a week in Ireland, we really enjoyed Galway, 2 days there was enough but if you're not a city girl and you're renting a care consider driving up to Connemara Natl. Park. It's about an hour and half from Galway along the coast and it was beautiful as was the drive there. You can also take a different route back through the park. Some roads a bit narrow but that's Ireland once you get away from the city. There are several hikes to choose from, some rather easy and the scenery was spectacular. It wasn't in our original plan but was one of the highlights for sure!! We did have great weather too which definitely helped, we probably wouldn't have done it if rainy and cold. Dingle is also spectacular, one of our favorite places.