Best Time to Visit Dublin: Month by Month

Dublin is mild all year, so the right month depends on what you want most. This guide groups the year into five periods and ends with a table for every month.

1. January and February: the cheapest rooms and the coldest days

January and February are the cheapest time to visit Dublin, and also the coldest. The mean daily high is 8°C in January and 8.5°C in February, and the mean low is about 2°C, according to Met Éireann's 1991–2020 averages for Dublin Airport. January also has the most gale days of the year, at 2.1 on average.

In the 2026 Dublin Travel Cost Study, 4-star rooms priced for one Tuesday and one Saturday a month had a median of €108 a night in January, the cheapest month, and €216 in August, the priciest.

Winter suits indoor days. The Guinness Storehouse entry ticket is from €37 per person, rated 4.6 from 27,015 reviews, with free cancellation. It is run by Guinness Storehouse and includes a pint of Guinness or a soft drink in the Gravity Bar. Most visitors allow 1.5 to 2 hours. It is a self-guided visit, so you can book the ticket and go on your own with no tour. For more on the brewery, see the Guinness Storehouse page.

Prices and ratings as shown on GetYourGuide on 25 October 2026.

You can stay close to the sights on a winter budget. Harding Hotel is on Fishamble Street beside Temple Bar, and Hotel 7, Dublin City Centre is on Gardiner Row near Parnell Square.

Pro Tip Book Dublin Castle only after January 2027. It is closed to the public until then, and no exact reopening day is published, so check its page before you plan around it. See Dublin Castle.

2. March to May: spring, the driest months and St Patrick's Day

March to May is a good time to visit Dublin if you want mild weather and fewer wet days than in winter. March has the lowest monthly rainfall of the year at 51.4 mm, and April and May follow at 55 and 57 mm. Highs climb from 10°C in March to almost 15°C in May.

St Patrick's Day on 17 March is a public holiday in Ireland, as Citizens Information lists it. Easter Monday is also a public holiday and moves each year: it falls on 6 April in 2026 and 29 March in 2027. Expect shops and some sights to keep different hours on those days, and check each sight's page before you go.

Spring is also the time to start booking. The Cliffs of Moher visitor centre opens 8am to 7pm in March and April and 8am to 9pm from May, a longer day than in winter. The Cliffs site does not publish when it is busiest by month, so it gives no figure for crowds. This guide lists public holidays, not festivals or other events, so check each event's own page for dates. The one big festival with dates set is the St. Patrick's Festival, which runs from 13 to 17 March 2027, and its full schedule is due in January 2027. Visit Dublin's what's-on page lists other events by month.

3. June to August: the warmest weather and the best months for day trips

June to August is the best time for day trips from Dublin, because the days are warm, long and open late. July is the warmest month, with a mean high of 19.5°C, and August is close at 19.1°C. June has the fewest rain days of the year, at 14.8.

Summer does not mean dry. Dublin Airport still averages 16.9 rain days in July and 17.1 in August, so a jacket stays in the bag. August is also the priciest month for hotels in the study above.

Summer is when the Cliffs of Moher are at their best, because the visitor centre is open from 8am to 9pm from May to August, according to the Cliffs of Moher Experience. Its site gives 11am to 4pm as the peak time and 8am to 11am as off-peak, and a ticket allows a 2-hour visit. A day trip means 13 hours on the road, so choose a day with a good forecast. A tour is the simpler choice for this trip, because one booking covers the transport and pickup.

In Things to Do in Dublin's count of GetYourGuide listings on 25 October 2026, 37 listings are in GetYourGuide's "Day trip" category, from €33 to €289 per person. One of them is the Cliffs of Moher, Atlantic Edge and Galway day tour. It is run by Wild Rover Tours and costs from €75 per person, rated 4.7 from 6,465 reviews, with free cancellation. It includes pickup, about 2 hours at the Cliffs and a stop in Galway, but not lunch or drinks. It is not suitable for children under 3. The page shows no meeting point, only that pickup is included, and it states no group size.

Prices and ratings as shown on GetYourGuide on 25 October 2026.

For other trips out of town, browse the day trips from Dublin.

Key Takeaway For the Cliffs of Moher, pick May to August, when the visitor centre is open from 8am to 9pm and the highs average 15 to 20°C.

4. September and October: still mild, with shorter days

September is a good month to visit Dublin because it is still mild and wetter weather has not yet set in. The mean high is 16.9°C in September and 13.6°C in October. Rainfall rises from 63.3 mm in September to 78.4 mm in October, and Dublin Airport averages 17 rain days in October.

The Cliffs of Moher centre opens 8am to 7pm in both months, so days out are shorter than in summer. Wind also picks up. Dublin Airport's mean wind speed rises from 9.6 knots in September to 10.5 in October.

Short outings fit this season well, because you can book one for a dry spell. The River Liffey sightseeing cruise lasts 45 minutes and is run by Dublin Discovered. It starts at Seán O'Casey Bridge, takes up to 48 people and costs from €21 per person, rated 4.4 from 5,455 reviews, with free cancellation. Bookings depend on tide conditions, and you are contacted if your time needs to change.

Prices and ratings as shown on GetYourGuide on 25 October 2026.

If it rains, see things to do in Dublin when it's raining.

Every Dublin trip needs a rain plan, whatever the month.

5. November and December: the wettest months and Christmas

November and December are the wettest months to visit Dublin, but they are the time for Christmas. November has the most rain of the year at 82.7 mm, and December has the most rain days at 18.6. Highs fall to 10.3°C in November and 8.3°C in December.

Opening hours shrink as well. The Cliffs of Moher visitor centre opens 9am to 5pm in both months and is closed on 24, 25 and 26 December. Dublin Airport closes only on Christmas Day, according to its own FAQ page. Christmas Day and St Stephen's Day on 26 December are both public holidays, so plan meals and transport ahead. Read more in Christmas markets in Dublin.

December also brings the shortest days of the year, so plan outdoor sights for the middle of the day. Winter is the wrong season for a long coastal day trip if you want clear views. It can suit you if you mainly want pubs, museums and the festive atmosphere.

How to choose the best time to visit Dublin

Choose May to September if weather and long opening hours matter most, and January or February if price matters most. The table shows every month, from Met Éireann's 1991–2020 averages for Dublin Airport.

Met Éireann measures these at Dublin Airport, a few kilometres from the city centre, so central Dublin can differ a little. Met Éireann's page gives no sunshine hours for the airport, so this guide does not state them. It also does not rank months by crowds, because no official source publishes monthly visitor numbers for the city, so the least crowded month is not known.

The main limit of this advice is that no month is reliably dry. Even June, the best month for rain days, averages 14.8 days with some rain. If you hate rain, no month will fix that, and a flexible plan with indoor sights will serve you better than a perfect date.