Go, but pay attention.

Active notices

• • Global Measles

Vaccines

Required: Yellow Fever

Recommended: Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B, Measles, Rabies

Staying safe

• •The police force is known as An Garda Síochána, (literally, 'Guards of the Peace'), or just "Garda", and police officers as Garda (singular) and Gardaí (plural, pronounced Gar-dee), though informally the English term Guard(s) is usual.
• •Crime is relatively low by most European standards, but not so different in kind from crime in other countries.
• •In the unlikely event that you are confronted by a thief, be aware that Irish criminals in general are not afraid to resort to violence.
• •Many roads in the country are narrow and winding, and there has been an increase in traffic density.

Staying healthy

• •Water: Tap water is generally drinkable. In some buildings you should avoid drinking water from bathroom sinks, which may be recycled or drawn from cisterns.
• •Smoking: Almost all enclosed places of work in Ireland, including bars, restaurants, cafés, are designated as smoke-free.
• •Most larger bars and cafés will have a (covered) outdoor smoking area, often with heating.
• •Any person found guilty of breaching the ban on smoking in the workplace may be subject to a fine of up to €3,000.

Cash vs. Card

MasterCard, Maestro and Visa are accepted everywhere. American Express and Diners Club are now also fairly widely accepted. Discover card is very rarely accepted and it would not be wise to rely on this alone. Most ATMs allow cash withdrawals on major credit cards and internationally branded debit cards.