Ireland Travel Facts & Tips

ATM Availability	Available

Captial City	Dublin

Dialing Code	(00) 353

Emergency Numbers	Ambulance, police & fire: 112 or 999

Weather	Ireland's climate is dominated by the influence of the Atlantic Ocean. Average annual temperature in Ireland is about 9 °C. In the middle as well as in the east of the country, temperatures generally are more extreme than in other parts of the country. Strong winds occur, but they’re more frequent in winter than in summer. The highest duration of sunshine can be found in the southeast of the country. Rainfall is most likely in the northwest, west and southwest of Ireland.

Tourist Board website	http://www.discoverireland.ie

Most Famous For	St Patrick, Guinness, Folk Music

Useful Phrases	Dia duit (hello); go raibh (thank you);

Accommodation	There are plenty of hotels of all standards in Ireland. Good value Bed and Breakfast accommodation is also widely available and is usually run by friendly locals who make excellent hosts. There is an official youth hostel association - An Óige (Irish for The Youth), offering hostels that are often in beautifully remote places. Especially in bigger towns, you can also find independent hostels which are marketed as Independent holiday hostels of Ireland. There are official campsites accross the country although due to the climate, less than in many other countries. Wild camping is generally tolerated, although you should seek permission from the landowner to be on the safe side.

Business Hours	Most shops open from 9am - 6pm Monday to Saturday. Thursday is late shopping day until 9pm. Local stores and many larger supermarkets will have longer opening hours than other shops and many open on Sundays. Banks open 10am - 4pm (5pm on Thursdays). Recent moves to liberalise the licensing laws have spelled longer opening hours for bars. They may now open from 10.30am - 11.30pm on weekdays and until 12.30 at weekends (with an additional 30 minutes 'drinking up time' every day).

Visas	Nationals from many countries will not need a visa to enter Ireland. Even for those who do need a visa there is a new on-line system introduced in 2008 which should help speed up many of these. Check http://www.dfa.ie for latest details.

Tipping	In some restaurants, a service charge is included in the bill- if that is the case then additional tipping is not necessary, unless you feel you received an excellent service. If a service charge was not included, you usually leave a tip of 10% to 15%. If you are not sure if a service charge was included in your bill, simply ask.

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