Ireland is the twentieth-largest island in the world.
It lies to the north-west of continental Europe.
It is surrounded by hundreds of islands and islets.
To the east of Ireland, separated by the Irish Sea, is the island of Great Britain.
The sovereign state of Ireland covers five-sixths of the island,
With Northern Ireland covering the remaining one-sixth of the island, located in the northeast.
Area Info
Total area is 81,638.1 km2 (31,520.6 sq mi).
Why Visit
Connemara features spectacular scenery with a rugged coastline, mountains, lakes, rivers, woodlands, and a national park.
Guests of Ireland vacation rentals can enjoy a wide variety of outdoor activities.
Including golfing,swimming, snorkeling, deep-sea fishing, and horseback riding.
In the southwestern part of Ireland, County Cork vacation rentals and County Kerry vacation rentals are popular options.
With over 600 miles of coastline rising to mountains scattered with rivers and lakes.
Best Time
May, June or September
Transport
There are five main international airports in Ireland: Dublin Airport, Belfast International Airport (Aldergrove), Cork Airport, Shannon Airport and Ireland West Airport (Knock).
Ferry connections between Britain and Ireland via the Irish Sea include the routes from Swansea to Cork, Fishguard and Pembroke to Rosslare, Holyhead to Dún Laoghaire, Stranraer to Belfast and Larne, and Cairnryan to Larne.
Ireland has ports in the towns of Arklow, Belfast (Port of Belfast), Cork (Cork Harbour), Derry (Londonderry Port), Drogheda, Dublin (Dublin Port), Dundalk, Dún Laoghaire, Foynes, Galway, Larne, Limerick, New Ross, Rosslare Europort, Sligo, Warrenpoint, Waterford (Port of Waterford), and Wicklow.
The broad gauge of 1,600 mm (5 ft 3 in) was eventually settled upon throughout the island, although there were also hundreds of kilometres of 914 mm (3 ft) narrow gauge railways.
Motorists must drive on the left in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
There is an extensive road network, with a (developing) motorway network fanning out from Belfast, Cork and Dublin.
Precautions
You might be lucky enough to encounter a warm dry spell in summer, but showers and bright intervals are far more likely.
Take raincoats and umbrellas and be prepared for what the locals call \'soft\' days, which are warm with fine misty rain that goes on for hours, keeping the Emerald Isle green.
