May
Wk 18–20
The quietest stretch among this region's best weather weeks: crowd level around 27 out of 100, weather comfort near 49.
- Crowd level
- 27–28
- Comfort
- 45–53
Ireland · Northern and Western
Best time to visit Northern and Western
When is it busiest here, and when is it quietest? The answer runs week by week through the region's own year, from official EU overnight-stay statistics.
Busiest week
AugustCrowd level 100
Wk 32 · 470,414 overnight stays
Quietest weeks
JanuaryCrowd level 0–1
Wk 2–4 · measured against the region's own year, not against other regions
Sweet spot
MayCrowd level 27–28
Wk 18–20 · quietest while the weather still holds
Warmest month
16 °CComfort 56
July · around 107 mm of rain in the month
Crowding Index 2.0 · As of 25/08/2026 · Crowding score 0–100, season-relative
Northern and Western (Ireland) is quietest in January: across Wk 2–4 the crowd level runs from 0 to 1 out of 100. The busiest single week falls in August (Wk 32), at 100 out of 100 with roughly 470,414 overnight stays. Calculated from open official data; the values are modelled, not counted.
When is Northern and Western busy, when is it quiet?
Click a week. The panel on the right explains why it is busy or quiet.
Weather profile
Weather comfort is an absolute scale (0 = poor, 100 = ideal) and a second axis next to the season-relative crowd level.
JanuaryØ 3
FebruaryØ 13
MarchØ 19
AprilØ 29
MayØ 29
JuneØ 52
JulyØ 69
AugustØ 95
SeptemberØ 44
OctoberØ 35
NovemberØ 23
DecemberØ 21
Colour = season-relative crowd levelBar = weather comfort (Sun & warmth), absolute 0–100
Why this week?
May · Wk 18
Crowd level28/100 · fairly quiet
quietbusy
Weather comfort11/100 · Sun & warmth
-14 % versus the region's annual average.
- Contributing months
- April (23 %) · May (77 %)
- Overnight stays/week
- 186,849
- School-holiday pressure (source markets)
- 9 % of source markets on school holidays
- Region range
- 75,224–470,414 (avg 218,190)
- Base years
- 2022, 2023, 2024 (excluding 2020, 2021)
v1: Crowd-Score aus der Eurostat-Basisschicht (Übernachtungen), moduliert vom global (ungewichtet) gemittelten Schulferien-Druck der Quellmärkte – der Quellland-Mix liegt für dieses Ziel-Land nicht vor. Season-relativ zur Region. Event-Schichten folgen.
Plan your trip
Pre-filled with the next date in week 18.
DestinationNorthern and Western
Travel datesPick a week in the calendar
FlightSearch flights (opens in a new tab)
StayFind stays (opens in a new tab)
ActivityExplore activities (opens in a new tab)Ad · commission link
Photos: Johny Goerend · reisetopia · Dino Reichmuth on Unsplash
The travel year in Northern and Western, month by month
The year as a table to read and to cite: crowd level for every month, plus weather comfort and temperature from the climate normals.
| Month | Crowd level0–100, season-relative | Weather comfort0–100, profile “mild” | Avg temperature |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 3 | 21 | 5 °C |
| February | 13 | 21 | 6 °C |
| March | 19 | 26 | 7 °C |
| April | 29 | 37 | 9 °C |
| May | 29 | 51 | 13 °C |
| June | 52 | 54 | 14 °C |
| July | 69 | 56 | 16 °C |
| August | 95 | 54 | 15 °C |
| September | 44 | 49 | 14 °C |
| October | 35 | 40 | 11 °C |
| November | 23 | 29 | 8 °C |
| December | 21 | 23 | 6 °C |
The crowd level is season-relative: 100 is the annual peak of Northern and Western itself, not the busiest destination in Europe. The figures say when it is quiet here — not where it is quieter than elsewhere.
Weather comfort 0–100 from the climate normals, profile “mild” – the same profile as the recommendation above, not the selection in the calendar. A “–” means the data for that month is missing.
Index 2.0 · As of 25/08/2026
The windows worth catching
Three windows from the model: first whether the weather suits the region, then how busy it gets.
September–October
Wk 38–40
A second option, also with usable weather: crowd level around 38, weather comfort near 46.
- Crowd level
- 35–40
- Comfort
- 43–49
August
Wk 32–34
The region's peak: crowd level around 99 out of 100. Only if the dates are fixed.
- Crowd level
- 98–100
- Comfort
- 53–55
Northern and Western compared with Europe
How full the accommodation is here, measured against Europe – on the only measure on which two travel regions can be compared.
- Bed occupancy in Northern and Western
- 58.8
- European median
- 23.1
per cent of bed places, annual mean
per cent of bed places, annual mean
Furthest from the median: August, at 2.9× the value. Closest to the median: January, at 1.9× the value.
Mean across 12 months, weighted by their weeks. This occupancy compares travel regions with one another. The crowding in the table above compares Northern and Western with itself. The two measures are never combined.
Climate through the year
Average temperature with day/night range and precipitation across the twelve months.
- Avg temperature
- Day/night range
- Precipitation
| Month | Avg temperature (°C) | Day avg (°C) | Night avg (°C) | Precipitation (mm) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 5 | 5 | 5 | 93 |
| Feb | 6 | 6 | 5 | 113 |
| Mar | 6 | 7 | 6 | 104 |
| Apr | 8 | 9 | 8 | 82 |
| May | 12 | 13 | 11 | 85 |
| Jun | 14 | 14 | 13 | 107 |
| Jul | 15 | 16 | 14 | 107 |
| Aug | 15 | 15 | 14 | 130 |
| Sep | 13 | 14 | 12 | 103 |
| Oct | 10 | 11 | 10 | 123 |
| Nov | 7 | 8 | 7 | 100 |
| Dec | 6 | 6 | 6 | 107 |
The band shows mean daytime to nighttime temperature. Precipitation shown as monthly total (mm). Typical monthly value (climate normal), not a forecast.
How sunny?
How much sun a typical day delivers, month by month, expressed as hours of full midday sun.
Not very sunny
≈ 2.6 h of full midday sun per day, annual average
May
Sunniest month
| Month | ≈ h of full midday sun per day |
|---|---|
| Jan | 0.6 |
| Feb | 1.3 |
| Mar | 2.4 |
| Apr | 3.8 |
| May | 4.9 |
| Jun | 4.8 |
| Jul | 4.2 |
| Aug | 3.6 |
| Sep | 2.6 |
| Oct | 1.5 |
| Nov | 0.8 |
| Dec | 0.5 |
Basis: mean daily solar irradiance in kWh/m²/day; 1 kWh/m² is roughly one hour of full midday sun (1,000 W/m²). Not the same as measured sunshine duration. Typical monthly value (climate normal), not a forecast.
Directly reachable from
Destination airports of Northern and Western and every European departure airport with a direct connection to them.
Destination airports
Select a destination airport to see the direct departure airports.
“Directly reachable” means a direct connection exists according to our sources. We do not show a live timetable. Availability and flight days can vary by season and airline.
Frequently asked questions about the best time to visit Northern and Western
Short answers on timing, weather and getting there, all from the data on this page.
When is the best time to visit Northern and Western?
- The best time to visit Northern and Western is May (Wk 18–20): it is the quietest stretch among the region's best weather weeks – crowd level around 27 out of 100, weather comfort about 49 out of 100.
When is Northern and Western quietest?
- January (Wk 2–4) is the quietest time in Northern and Western. Crowd levels there sit at 0–1 out of 100, the lowest across the year.
When is Northern and Western busiest?
- Northern and Western is busiest in August (Wk 32) with around 470,414 overnight stays in the peak week.
What is the weather like in Northern and Western and when is it warmest?
- It is warmest in Northern and Western in July with an average of 16 °C and around 107 mm of rain in the month.
How do you get to Northern and Western?
- Northern and Western is reachable via 2 destination airports with direct flights, including Ireland West Airport Knock (NOC) and Donegal Airport (CFN).
Quiet travel windows across Europe, once a month
The Crowd Report names the emptiest weeks of the coming months — for every region, not just this one. Free, unsubscribe any time.
Sources and data vintages
Every provenance note on this page, collected in one place.
- Cover photo
- Photo by Pascal Bullan on Unsplash
- Cover video
- Video by Michael Francis Redmond on Pexels
- Crowding figures
- Index 2.0 · As of 25/08/2026. v1 approximation, calculated from Eurostat overnight stays. Day tourism and cruises (Venice, Dubrovnik …) are still missing, so we show these destinations as quieter than they are. The crowd score is a model-based forecast, not a measurement.
- Climate data
- Generated using Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2025.
- Reachability
Data sources: direct connections from Wikipedia (“Airlines and destinations”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, aggregated and modified by us), cross-checked with Eurostat, Destatis and the UK Civil Aviation Authority; airport data from OurAirports (Public Domain). The derived connection data is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Data as of: September 2026
- Data basis
- All figures are approximations derived from open data (crowd level from Eurostat overnight stays, climate from Copernicus/ERA5-Land), not measurements.