- Currency
- Euro (€, EUR) — the same currency you'll find across most of the Eurozone. Note that Northern Ireland, just across the border, uses the British pound instead, so if a road trip takes you north you'll need to switch currencies.
- Language
- English is what you'll speak and hear everywhere, though Irish (Gaelic) is the official first language and you'll see it on road signs, in place names, and spoken daily in the Gaeltacht regions along the west coast. Don't worry about a language barrier here — it's effectively none.
- Visa
- As Swedish and EU/EEA citizens, you can enter Ireland with just a valid passport (or national ID card) and stay, live, or work with no visa required at all — freedom of movement covers you fully, with no day-count to track like non-EU visitors face. One quirk worth knowing: Ireland is not part of Schengen, so it sits outside that zone's rules and won't require an ETIAS either, even once that system is fully rolled out. Rules can shift, so it's always worth a quick check of the Irish immigration service or embassy site before you fly.
- Power
- Type G — the same three flat, rectangular pins in a triangular layout used in the UK. Swedish plugs (Type C/F) won't fit, so pack an adapter; you'll find them cheaply at any airport or pharmacy if you forget. · 230V at 50Hz, which matches Sweden's standard exactly — so no voltage converter needed, just the plug adapter mentioned above. Your phone, laptop, and camera chargers will all work without a second thought.
- Best time
- Late spring (May–June) and early autumn (September) are the sweet spot — mild temperatures, noticeably fewer coach tours than peak summer, and a decent shot at dry, sunny stretches. Summer (July–August) brings the longest daylight hours, which is glorious for road trips, but also the biggest crowds and priciest lodging, especially around Dublin and the west coast. Whenever you go, pack for rain — Ireland's weather changes by the hour, and a good waterproof layer matters more than the calendar.
- Safety
- Ireland is genuinely one of the safer countries you'll visit, with low rates of violent crime and a relaxed, welcoming culture. The main things to watch for are petty and opportunistic: pickpockets in busy pub queues and crowded markets in Dublin and Galway, and a couple of well-known street scams around Temple Bar (a stranger claiming a cover charge for a "free" gig, or someone pushing a rose into your hand and then demanding payment) — a polite, firm no is all you need. Stick to licensed taxis (or an app like FreeNow) rather than flagging cars late at night, and you'll have an easy, uneventful trip.
Tipping isn't obligatory but is appreciated: around 10% at sit-down restaurants and pubs if service wasn't already added to the bill, and rounding up the fare for taxis. At card terminals and ATMs, always choose to pay in euros rather than accepting "conversion" to Swedish kronor — the machine's exchange rate is reliably worse than your bank's. Rural pubs and small shops can still be cash-preferring even as the cities go increasingly card-only, so it's worth carrying a little cash outside Dublin and Cork, and a friendly "cheers" or "thanks a million" goes a long way with the locals.
