Early August 1 August
66°F
Typical afternoon high
53% historical wet-day frequency
Ireland · Beach
The west of Ireland
in August.
Is August a good time?
Mild days.
More overnight stays than July.
August averages 66°F afternoons and 60°F seas, with about 14 rain days.
- Afternoons
- 66°F
- Sea
- 60°F
- Visitor demand
- 100%of August peak
Historical Northern and Western regional averages, not a forecast or a measure of queues. Overnight demand compares average stays per day. Covers Galway, Connemara and Donegal; conditions vary within the region.
Overall match
4.0/10 · scores & prioritiesWhat matters most?
Weather 50% · Crowds 30% · Cost 20%
#6 of 12 months here · Balanced mix
Weather4.5/10Fair
CrowdsPeak seasonvs its own year; overnight stays do not measure queuesFor its size, busier than most of Europe this month
CostExpensivefor Europe; Ireland-wide price level
Overall combines weather, overnight demand and cost. It does not include sea temperature.
Plan your August
What to expect.
What should I pack?
Afternoons around 66°F (19°C): light layers; nights around 52°F (11°C): a sweater and a light jacket. Bring rain gear: about 14 days with at least 1 mm of rain. About 15 hours of daylight.
Can I swim in August?
The sea averages 60°F. Our swimming guide: cold: short dips, or a wetsuit. Your comfort will vary. This is open water near the coast, not a beach-specific reading.
Monthly coastal averages from NOAA, 2011–2025. Sea temperature is separate from the weather and Overall scores.
A typical day: temperatures & daylightAfternoons, nights, sea temperature & daylight Show detailsHide details
About 15 hours of daylight.
The sun rises about 06:10 and sets about 21:07 (local time, mid-month). Mornings start around 52°F (11°C); afternoons reach about 66°F (19°C). Expect rain on about 14 days in a typical August.
Typical afternoon
66°F (19°C)
average daily high, 15 recent Augusts
Night low
52°F (11°C)
average daily minimum
Sea
60°F (15°C)
cold; open water near the coast, NOAA satellite record 2011–2025
Daylight
14h 57m
on the 15th, computed from latitude
Early, middle or late?
Early or late August?
Early and late August have similar afternoon averages. The afternoon high averages 66°F on the 1st, versus 65°F on the 31st. Historical wet-day frequency falls from 53% to 39% between those dates.
Mid August 15 August
67°F
Typical afternoon high
46% historical wet-day frequency
Late August 31 August
65°F
Typical afternoon high
39% historical wet-day frequency
Historical daily averages from 2011–2025, smoothed over two weeks. A seasonal pattern, not a forecast. This does not establish which week has the lowest prices or fewest visitors.
Public holidays · 2027: 2 Aug August Holiday.
Daily calendar & holiday datesAugust 2027 · historical weather & dated holidays Show calendarHide calendar
August 2027 calendar
Weather shows historical patterns, not a forecast. Holidays and events use the dates shown for 2027.
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 166° | ||||||
| 266° | 366° | 466° | 566° | 666° | 767° | 867° |
| 967° | 1067° | 1167° | 1267° | 1367° | 1467° | 1567° |
| 1667° | 1767° | 1867° | 1966° | 2066° | 2166° | 2266° |
| 2366° | 2465° | 2565° | 2665° | 2765° | 2865° | 2965° |
| 3065° | 3165° |
Afternoon high rain likely (25%+) local school holidays public holiday event
Afternoons hold at about 66°F (19°C) all month. The chance of a wet day runs 39–53%.
School-holiday dates for August 2027 aren't available in our data yet. A day without a school marker doesn't mean schools are open. Public holidays: 2 Aug August Holiday. Elsewhere in August 2027, the share of people living where schools are out on a typical day: Germany 73%, Italy 100%, Spain 100%, Netherlands 90%. (School holidays: OpenHolidays, ODbL.)
Crowds and cost
Visitor season
Will it be busy?
Peak season. August averages 100% of August's overnight stays per day. More overnight stays than July.
Overnight stays across Northern and Western do not measure queues, day visitors or congestion at individual sights. For its size, busier than most of Europe this month.
Hotel price season
Will it be cheaper?
Well above usual. Estimated from national hotel prices and local visitor demand; no measured regional room rate is available.
Fewer overnight stays do not automatically mean cheaper rooms. Check actual quotes for your trip.
Ireland as a whole
Above EU average
2024 restaurants and hotels price level: 129 where the EU average is 100. A relative index, not a room rate.
Year-to-year variation
How much does August vary?
Across the recorded years
In the 15 years from 2011 to 2025, the month's afternoons averaged between 63°F (17°C) and 69°F (20°C); in 13 of them they were within 3°F (1.5°C) of the typical 66°F (19°C). Rain days ranged from 9 to 21; half the years had 12–18.
Rain days in each August
Rain days
14
at least 1 mm, typical year; about 18 in a wet year
Mostly sunny days
1 of 31
cloud cover under 30%
Years with a 95°F+ day
0 of 15
no August in the last 15 years had a day at or above 95°F (35°C)
Good weather days
4 of 31
rated very good or better
See every recorded AugustHistorical monthly averages, year by year Show detailsHide details
| Year | Afternoon high | Rain days |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 63°F | 13 |
| 2012 | 67°F | 18 |
| 2013 | 66°F | 12 |
| 2014 | 64°F | 16 |
| 2015 | 64°F | 14 |
| 2016 | 67°F | 14 |
| 2017 | 65°F | 18 |
| 2018 | 65°F | 14 |
| 2019 | 67°F | 21 |
| 2020 | 67°F | 16 |
| 2021 | 67°F | 12 |
| 2022 | 69°F | 9 |
| 2023 | 67°F | 16 |
| 2024 | 65°F | 18 |
| 2025 | 69°F | 11 |
Checked against 24 local weather stations. How we check
Compare dates
July, August
or September?
| Typical conditions | Jul | Aug | Sep |
|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoons | 67°F | 66°F | 63°F |
| Sea | 59°F | 60°F | 59°F |
| Rain days | 14 | 14 | 13 |
| Overnight demand | 84% | 100% | 67% |
July: Less overnight demand. July guide →
September: Cooler afternoons than August. Less overnight demand. September guide →
Overnight demand measures accommodation stays, not queues. Sea temperatures are monthly coastal averages.
Compare any of the 12 monthsChoose another month and compare it with August Show comparisonHide comparison
Yellow marks the top three months on the Balanced mix. August stays as your reference.
June to July and September have fewer overnight stays than August, with a similar or higher Weather score.
Your comparison
August or July?
Overnight stays are 84% of the busiest month.
National hotel prices and local visitor demand suggest well above usual. No measured regional room rate is available.
Read the July guide →| Typical conditions | August | July |
|---|---|---|
| Afternoons | 66°F | 67°F |
| Nights | 52°F | 51°F |
| Sea | 60°F | 59°F |
| Rain days | 14 | 14 |
| Visitor season | Peak season | Busy season |
| Overall / 10 | 4.0 | 4.5 |
| Month rank | #6 | #1 |
Every month, in detail Show detailsHide details
| Month | Overall | Rank | High | Low | Sea | Rain days | Weather | Visitor season |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 3.0 | #8 | 47°F | 37°F | 49°F | 15 | 1.0 | Low season |
| February | 3.0 | #9 | 48°F | 37°F | 48°F | 15 | 1.0 | Moderate season |
| March | 3.0 | #10 | 51°F | 37°F | 48°F | 13 | 1.0 | Moderate season |
| April | 4.3 | #4 | 56°F | 40°F | 49°F | 12 | 2.3 | Moderate season |
| May | 4.4 | #3 | 61°F | 44°F | 53°F | 10 | 3.4 | Busy season |
| June | 4.2 | #5 | 65°F | 48°F | 56°F | 14 | 4.1 | Busy season |
| July | 4.5 | #1 | 67°F | 51°F | 59°F | 14 | 4.6 | Busy season |
| August | 4.0 | #6 | 66°F | 52°F | 60°F | 14 | 4.5 | Peak season |
| September | 4.4 | #2 | 63°F | 50°F | 59°F | 13 | 3.7 | Busy season |
| October | 3.6 | #7 | 57°F | 46°F | 56°F | 16 | 1.6 | Moderate season |
| November | 3.0 | #11 | 51°F | 41°F | 54°F | 15 | 1.0 | Low season |
| December | 3.0 | #12 | 48°F | 39°F | 51°F | 17 | 1.0 | Low season |
Near here
Nearby places in August
Nearby regions, nearest first. Distances are centre to centre, as the crow flies; they are not road distances or journey times.
Elsewhere in Europe
Better August weather than The west of Ireland
The west of Ireland's weather ranks 77 of 77 beach regions this month. These beach regions outside Ireland have clearly better weather on your dates, nearest first, each compared with The west of Ireland.
BrittanyFrance · about 470 miles
Very good weather (7.9): 8°F warmer afternoons, 7 fewer rain days
Western NormandyFrance · about 490 miles
Very good weather (7.8): 8°F warmer afternoons, 6 fewer rain days, cheaper
Eastern NormandyFrance · about 520 miles
Very good weather (7.8): 9°F warmer afternoons, 7 fewer rain days, cheaper
Bruges & the Belgian coastWest Flanders · Belgium · about 530 miles
Very good weather (7.9): 8°F warmer afternoons, 4 fewer rain days
Lille & the north coastFrance · about 530 miles
Very good weather (7.9): 9°F warmer afternoons, 5 fewer rain days, cheaper
How we knowSources, regional scope & scoring method Show detailsHide details
It's peak season, 100% of the busiest month and 87% above its average month. That means about 61,000 overnight visitors on a typical August night across the region, 49% of them from Ireland itself. Rentals booked through Airbnb, Booking, Expedia and Tripadvisor add up to 16,000 more: 26 for every 100 counted above. Some are the same properties counted twice.
| Climate suitability (HCI:Beach, 0–100) | 57 |
| How our weather was checked | 24 open weather stations in this region, January and July: afternoon highs typically within 1°F (0.3°C), night lows within 1°F (0.4°C). |
| Tourist nights per 1,000 residents per day | 65 |
| Busiest month here | August · 65 |
| Visitors as share of people present | 6.1% |
| Rank among Europe's regions this month | 85th percentile |
| Domestic share of nights | 49% |
| Platform rental nights per 100 counted nights | 26 |
| Visitor share if every platform night were extra | 7.5% |
| National hotel-price season | Ireland historical 2024–2025 index: Well above usual (+11% vs its average month). Not a local room quote. |
| Population used | 959,000 |
| Statistical region | IE04 · Northern and Western |
Crowds: Eurostat nights spent at tourist accommodation, by month and NUTS 2 region, 2024–2025 average. Overnight visitors per night is the month's nights divided by its days; the per-1,000 figure is Eurostat's, against each year's population. Platform rentals: Eurostat nights booked via Airbnb, Booking, Expedia and Tripadvisor, 2024–2025 average, shown separately because some properties are in both counts. Weather: Holiday Climate Index computed from ERA5 reanalysis with daily highs, night lows and rain days corrected from open national weather-service station records, 2011–2025, population-weighted to the region; day-by-day figures are the same data averaged by date. Heat and rain odds are counted across those years. Sunrise and sunset: NOAA solar equations, local time. Prices: Eurostat price level index and HICP, national. Full method · this region's data.