What to Pack For Your Vagabond Or Driftwood Tour of Ireland?

You've found Ireland's best small-group tours. You've booked your flights. Next on the list: what to pack? Read Jade's expert packing tips and recommended suitcase sizes.

What To Pack For Ireland At A Glance

Don't Leave Without These Essentials 🚨

The Best Suitcase Size For Ireland 🧳

My Recommended Packing List 😎

Pack These Extras For The Win 🤠

What You WON'T Need 🚫

Hi there! I'm Jade 👋

I'm a born-and-bred local and a travel expert for Vagabond Tours.

So I have the good fortune — you might call it luck of the Irish! — of calling the Emerald Isle home.

With its stunning landscapes, amazing culture and friendly people, Ireland is heaven for travellers.

The climate here — as you may have read elsewhere on our site — is changeable though. Packing for a trip to Ireland can be a bit of a challenge.

But fear not! I'm here to share my insider tips on what to pack for your Irish adventure.

Let's dive in and get you ready for your unforgettable trip to Ireland!

Travel Essentials 🚨

🛂 Passport - 99% of visitors to Ireland need to show a valid passport on arrival. Your passport needs to be valid for the entire duration of your stay.
💶 Cash - We recommend bringing at least a small amount of euros (€) in cash with you to Ireland.
💊 Medication - Make sure you pack adequate supplies of any required medication; written confirmation from a medical professional may also be helpful.
✅ Booking Voucher - We'll send you your Vagabond or Driftwood Tours ticket by email before you depart. You'll need to show us this on a digital device in order to board your tour vehicle Day 1. There's no need to print.
📱 Smartphone. We highly recommend you bring a WiFi-enabled cell / mobile phone with you to Ireland. Keep in touch with home, as well as with your VagaGuide and fellow guests on your tour. The camera will be useful for collecting all those magic memories. Don't forget your charger!

The Best Suitcase Size for Ireland 🧳

Travel light.

That's one travel regret that I hear expressed repeatedly by previous guests who brought along too much stuff.

Don't be that person!

Remember, in general, our guests move their own luggage to their hotel rooms; so it will be less physically demanding if you pack a minimum of items.

We operate a strict limit of one large piece of luggage per person on our tours.

⚠️ IMPORTANT: Your single large piece of luggage should measure no longer than 30” (75cm) along its longest side.

This 30” (75cm) limit includes any wheels that may protrude from the suitcase or bag.

💡 Pro Tip: If you've arrived in Ireland with too large a suitcase, ask at your Dublin hotel if you can leave it there. Remember, this will only be an option if you're returning to the same hotel after your tour.

Learn more about our luggage restrictions in this FAQ.

My Recommended Packing List 😎

After listening to hundreds of our tour guests, suffice to say I know a thing or two about what to pack for Ireland.

Your Ireland trip will run a whole lot smoother if you remember to pack the following items.

Baggage 🎒

1x Fanny pack/Bumbag. Keep your travel documents and valuables close to you while out exploring Ireland. Extremely handy.
1x Small Day back/Backpack. Conveniently keep your daily needs close by while exploring and while travelling in the tour vehicle. Think small and lightweight!
1x Compact Suitcase - Make sure your suitcase is compact in size. Your suitcase should be no longer than 75cm (30'') on its longest side. We can't stress this highly enough. Our tour vehicles have limited luggage capacity.

Clothing 👚

👕 Lightweight Layers. Irish weather can change from hour-to-hour — and sometimes minute-to-minute!
Typically our guests wear lightweight layers of clothing. This gives you the ability to add or remove layers as the sun, rain and wind dictates. Include a warm outer layer like a fleece or lined pullover for cooler evenings.
🧥 1x Quality Waterproof Rain Jacket. Have you heard? It rains in Ireland. Occasionally. A lightweight jacket is ideal. Make sure it's fully waterproof. The best materials to go for are Gore-Tex and/or PVC-coated nylon
👚 1 or 2 Changes of Comfortable Clothes. When you reach your accommodation and want to go explore the area. In Ireland, there's no need for anything too formal in the evenings. Dress codes are casual here in Ireland.
These clothes may include...
👖 2 pairs of Lightweight, Long Pants/Trousers. If you plan on hiking, choose a quick-dry synthetic material such as nylon or polyester.
👕 A Mix of Short and Long-sleeved T-Shirts. A mix of breathable cotton and quick-drying materials works best. Include 1 or 2 long-sleeved T-shirts. These are good for cooler days and to protect against UV rays.
🩳 1 Pair of Shorts. For more intense hikes and sunny days on the beach.
🩱 Swimsuit/Trunks. Take advantage of a refreshing dip in the ocean or try out the spa facilities available at some of the hotels on your tour.

Footwear 👟

🥾 Active Vagabonds. Taking one of our active Vagabond Cultural Adventure tours? Comfortable trainers will be adequate for our hikes. Trail shoes or lightweight hiking boots provide better protection against moisture and improved grip over uneven terrain.
👟 Relaxed-Pace Driftwooders. No adventure activities and a relaxed pace on Driftwood Journeys of Discovery means you won't require any specialised footwear. But make sure you pack shoes that are comfortable and suiitable for light walking. You'll enjoy lots of free time to stroll around towns and take guided tours. Sneakers are absolutely acceptable in 99% of pubs and restaurants.

Toiletries 🧼

It's best to opt for small or travel sizes when packing toiletries. It's easier to stock up while in Ireland when your supply runs out than carry around large amounts of unused toiletries.

🪥 Toothbrush and toothpaste
🌞 Sunscreen. Choose at least SPF 30.
🫧 Washcloth/Facecloth - Irish hotels do not always provide facecloths. Pack one if it's important to you.

Our hotels and guesthouses on tour provide shampoo, soap and shower gel.

My Recommended (But Totally Optional) Extras 🤠

🔋 Battery Pack. Handy to charge up any devices while on the road. Please note there are no USB charger ports on our vehicles.
📒 Notebook or Journal. It's easy to forget the names of all the places you visit as you are whisked around Ireland. Many of our past guests recommend marking down the destinations on your printable itinerary or in a notebook/journal.
🤠 1 Warm Hat. No, not a cowboy hat. Think a cosy beanie. It hardly takes up any space but packs its punch in warmth, if you happen to get chilly at any point.
🕶️ 1 Pair of Sunglasses. No matter which month you visit, Ireland is probably brighter than you'll expect. Convenient for hangovers too.
🦟 Bug Spray. Mosquitoes are rare in Ireland. But you may encounter other biting insects, particularly in humid, windless locations. Bug spray is particularly useful in the late summer months.
⚡ Power Adapter. In Ireland, we use a three-pronged plug with a 230v 50hz electricity supply. You'll need a power adapter if you are coming from outside Ireland or the UK. Find out more about electricity in Ireland here.
⛰️ Retractable Hiking/Walking Poles. For active guests on our Vagabond Adventure tour style only. We do not supply hiking poles on tour vehicles.

What You Won't Need 🚫

🤵 Formal Wear or Suits. Irish restaurants and pubs operate an extremely casual — to the point of non-existent — dress policy. Unless you strongly feel the need, there's no requirement for guests to pack formal wear, such as a dinner jacket for guys.
👩‍🦱 Hairdryers. 100% of our hotels provide hairdryers in your room.
🧖 Towels. You'll find bathroom towels in all of your hotels. There's no need to pack your own towel. You may wish to bring your own travel towel if you're planning to engage in watersport activities on active Vagabond Cultural Adventure tours (like sea kayaking or surfing).
☂️ Umbrella. They don't fit into suitcases. They get blown inside out.

Medication & First Aid

Don't forget any personal medication you may require.

Our highly-trained VagaGuide tour guides are all trained in first aid; all of our tour vehicles carry first aid kits. However, a small personal first aid kit might be more convenient for you.

Things to include in your first aid kit:

Plasters
Anti-histamine
Hand sanitiser
Painkillers

Laundry Facilities

Laundry facilities can be accessed in the towns of Dingle and/or Clifden.

The only tour that visits both Dingle and Clifden is:

11 Day Driftwood Discover Ireland Tour

Tours that visit Dingle are:

If your Vagabond or Driftwood tour does not visit either Dingle or Clifden, your VagaGuide will advise you on where best to access laundry facilities.

For more on planning your trip to Ireland check out out checklist here.

What's Irish Weather Like?

Ireland's climate can be unpredictable.

Beautiful, dazzling sunshine at one moment.

Then, before you know it, misty conditions or wind arrives and leaves again.

We often see four seasons in one hour, let alone one day!

This is equally true in summer as much as spring or autumn.

How Much Does It Rain In Ireland?

While we don't often see prolonged heavy rain in Ireland, rainshowers are common.

To complicate matters, rain showers are are often mixed with periods of warm sunshine.

Our rain comes in a dazzling range of varieties.

Like the Inuit and snow, Irish people boast lots of ways to describe types of rainfall:

Drizzle
Mizzle
Lashing
Pelting
Wet rain
Dry rain
Soft rain
Fat rain
Sideways rain
Upside-down rain

But don't let this put you off!

The best approach is to prepare for the unexpected.

We highly recommend bringing several light layers to adjust to our ever-changing weather.

A good quality, waterproof (but ideally lightweight) rain jacket is also essential.

Average temperatures in Ireland

It's a common misconception that Ireland has a cold climate. Heavy snowfall is rare in Ireland, except on higher ground.

Not too hot nor too cold; average temperatures in Ireland range between 10-21ºC (between 50-70 Fahrenheit) during the day. Things get cooler in the evening: average temperatures can range anywhere between 4-15ºC (approximately 40-60 F).