Why autumn is the best time to visit Ireland

Autumn – or Fall – is a blissful time to visit Ireland. Though famed for greenness, the Emerald Isle shows a new and very appealing side as the island turns red and gold after the flush of summer. Most tourists and staycationers have returned home, leaving country roads and attractions quiet and cities more relaxed.

The autumn season has prolonged sunshine and daylight hours are still long. As evenings start to turn a little chilly in October, you couldn’t wish for a better excuse to nurse a pint or a whiskey in a cosy local pub with trad music for company.

Here are a few of the highlights of exploring Ireland at this time of year.

Goodbye crowds

Some of Ireland’s most well-known scenic touring routes are, unsurprisingly, the most popular. Tour coaches are conspicuous only by their absence in autumn and with children are back in school, now is the time to explore. The Wild Atlantic Way is the longest continual coastal route in the world, dotted with chocolate-box villages and fantastic places to stay – from five-star to boutique B&Bs. The Northern Causeway Coast introduces Game of Thrones stops side-by-side with UNESCO world wonders, such as the Giant’s Causeway.

Shorter routes also wow our clients in this season as it can feel like you have the Ring of Kerry, Connemara’s Sky Road or Slea Head all to yourself.

Taste the island

From premium oysters to Wagyu beef, Ireland’s food producers are amongst the best in the world. An impressive natural larder provides seafood, grass-fed lamb and beef, farmhouse cheeses, artisan breads, vegetables, wild foods and surprising hedgerow and coastal ingredients. Served in fine dining restaurants, local pubs and food markets around the island, Ireland’s culinary experience has a fun, laid-back vibe.

Move over New England

National Parks such as Killarney, Glendalough and the Wicklow Mountains offer stunning backdrops as Red Deer stags strut across the landscape. Forest parks, such as Gougane Barra in Cork, offer peaceful woodland walks. It also the time of the year when many of the landscaped gardens, for which Ireland is famous, come into their own. Many country houses are surrounded by beautifully landscaped gardens open to visit and others, such as Mount Usher in Wicklow, Doneraile Park in Cork and the Japanese Gardens at the Irish National Stud are perfect for blustery strolls followed by warming food in their on-site restaurant.

Hello Aurora Borealis

As the nights draw in, the ribbons of the Aurora Borealis – also known as the Northern Lights – can be spotted dancing across the night sky. Ireland has an abundance clear and unpolluted dark skies where stars shine brightly. There are two internationally recognised dark sky places: Kerry International Dark Sky Reserve and Mayo International Dark Sky Park. To see the neon lights of the Aurora Borealis, a view northwards is best but when geomagnetic activity is high, it is possible to spot the colourful lights hovering directly overhead.

From the end of autumn until spring, the Inishowen Peninsula in Donegal is popular for those chasing the Aurora from the end of autumn until Spring.

Wondrous whale watching

Whales are spotted off the coast of Ireland all-year-round, but autumn is peak whale-watching season of the west coast. Minke whales are basking sharks are the first to appear in the summer months with fin whales and humpbacks following in October and November. Scotland’s resident Orca pod seem to be fond of an autumn break to Irish waters, with occasional visits.

We recommend Whale Watch West Cork (whalewatchwestcork.com), Atlantic Whale and Wildlife Tours (atlanticwhaleandwildlifetours.com) and Cork Whale Watch (corkwhalewatch.com), but the giants of the sea can also be spotted from headlands and islands along the west coast, so pack your binoculars.

Foraging fun

Autumn is traditionally a time of harvesting, preserving, pickling and jam-making. Celebrity chefs worldwide have got us all thinking seasonally and in Ireland provides a natural garden for foraging. We can recommend some of the best foraging walks across the island, whether with a Michelin-star chef followed by dinner at their place or a walk along country lanes with a local, passionate farmer.

This is also a great time to enjoy local, seasonal booking at restaurants, such as The Strawberry Tree Restaurant at Brooklodge in Wicklow. And it’s not just forests and hedgerows that yield a bounty, you can forage for seaweed too!

Tweet all about it

Ireland’s rugged coastlines provide some of the best seabird views in Europe and it is a key hub for migratory birds. According to BirdWatch Ireland, 450 different species of birds, with over half classed as rare – including many rare species – have been recorded on Ireland’s shores. In autumn, there’s a migrant flux as some birds set off in search of warmer climes, while others, including geese and swans, arrive from the Arctic for their own version of warmer weather.

Two of our favourite places to bring twitchers are Cape Clear Bird Observatory (capeclearisland.ie) and Wexford Wildfowl Reserve (wexfordwildfowlreserve.ie).

Sunset over the Atlantic

As common sense would dictate, the best place to see the sunset in Ireland is on the west coast, over the Atlantic Ocean. The sun drops over the horizon a little earlier in autumn, at about 7.30pm in mid-September. There are numerous places along the Wild Atlantic Way to savour the view with a sun-downer before heading to a local pub for dinner, from tourist favourites such as the Cliffs of Moher to less well-known special spots such as Slieve League, Dunluce Castle, the Loop Head cliffs, Mulranny (pictured) or Cape Clear Island.

For a sunset by sea, we recommend a sunset trip around Fastnet Lighthouse in Cork (pictured). If you are in Dublin, take a stroll along Dun Laoghaire pier for a special evening.