Northern Europe · Capital Dublin
Each opens that government's own advisory for Ireland — the authoritative version, updated far faster than this page.
Ireland is a safe country with a low rate of violent crime, and the risks a visitor actually meets are the road and the weather rather than people.
Dublin has a visible late-night street-disorder problem in a small number of streets, and opportunistic theft of phones and bikes is common. Outside the city, the danger is a narrow rural road driven on the left in the rain.
Risk is rarely spread evenly across a country. The base colour is the code the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs gives Ireland as a whole; shaded regions are those the UK Foreign Office names in an advisory against travel.
Shading marks whole regions named in an advisory, but a warning is often narrower — a border strip, one road, or a single city. Read the wording, and check the official advisory linked below.
Each pillar is scored 0–100 against every other country. Longer bar = more risk.
Biggest factor here: natural hazards. Earthquakes, floods, cyclones, drought and tsunami exposure.
The things worth knowing before you land.
Average daytime high and nightly low for Dublin, over 2010-2019. Bars are rainfall; the colour band is how hot the days get.
Mildest and driest around July.
Patterns reported repeatedly by travellers and local police. None of this is about individual businesses — it's about set-ups you can learn to spot in seconds.
Phones taken from hands and tables, and bags lifted in busy pubs and on public transport. Opportunistic rather than organised.
How to avoid it: Phone away when walking, bag strap over the shoulder and in sight in pubs. Temple Bar late at night is where alcohol and opportunity meet.
Sources An Garda Síochána — crime prevention UK FCDO Ireland — safety and security
Not a scam, but the single most common complaint: pints in the Temple Bar tourist strip cost roughly double what the same pint costs two streets away.
How to avoid it: Prices must be displayed. Walk five minutes in any direction for an ordinary Dublin pub at an ordinary Dublin price.
Bike theft rates in Dublin are high and recovery is rare. Rental agreements often leave the renter liable for the full value.
How to avoid it: Two locks, frame to a fixed stand, and never leave a bike overnight on the street. Check the rental liability clause.
Specific places that come up again and again — either in government advisories or in traveller reports. Everywhere else in Ireland is not automatically fine, but these are the areas worth a plan.
Ireland's most serious visitor risk. Wet, hedged, blind-cornered and posted far above a sensible speed.
Antisocial behaviour and occasional assault around O'Connell Street, the north quays and some Luas stops late at night.
Unfenced cliff edges at the Cliffs of Moher and along the Wild Atlantic Way, plus rip currents and rogue waves. People are swept off rocks every year.
Irish regional roads are narrow, hedged to the edge, frequently wet and often carry a default 80 km/h limit that is far above a safe speed. Blind bends, farm traffic and livestock are normal.
If you are not used to driving on the left, the dangerous moments are junctions, roundabouts and the first hour after picking up the car. Slow down well below the posted limit on anything narrower than two clear lanes.
Ireland is the country where credit-card rental insurance most often fails. Many Irish rental firms do not accept third-party or credit-card collision cover, or require a letter from the card issuer and a large hold on the card — commonly €2,000–5,000.
Check the excess and what your own cover actually does before booking a cheap headline rate. This is a contract term, not a scam, and arguing at the desk will not change it.
Vaccinations, malaria and outbreaks. This atlas does not give medical advice — it is personal, it changes, and it is the one thing worth getting from a doctor. Both national services publish current advice for Ireland:
Check the official advisory before you book. This page reflects data as of August 2026. Advisories change without warning, and only your own government's advice affects your travel insurance.