No match. See all guides.
Money in Ireland, sorted.
A calm, current plan for the money side of your trip: why your card covers almost everything, the little cash worth carrying, the VAT you can claim back on shopping, and the one place Ireland can bite your budget, renting a car.
From 1 July 2026, Ireland cut the VAT on restaurant and cafe meals from 13.5% back to 9%, which should ease eating-out costs a little. Hotels were left out, and there is still no nightly tourist tax, though Dublin and Galway are pushing for the power to introduce one.
The three things people ask
Will my card work? Do I need cash? Are ATMs easy?
The quick read for a first trip.
Your card
Works almost everywhere
Visa and Mastercard are near-universal, with contactless and Apple or Google Pay standard (regular contactless caps at 50 euros, mobile wallets have no limit). Amex is patchy and Discover barely accepted, so bring a Visa or Mastercard. A no-foreign-fee card covers almost the whole trip, and your bank's foreign fee still applies unless the card waives it.
Check yours →Cash
A small backup
You rarely need it. Keep about 100 to 150 euros in small notes for a week for rural card-only pubs, small markets, the odd taxi and card-machine outages. Get euros from a bank ATM rather than an exchange booth, and top up only as needed.
How much to bring →ATMs
Bank machines are fee-free
Use AIB, Bank of Ireland or Permanent TSB machines, which generally charge foreign cards no access fee. Standalone ATMs in shops and tourist spots can add a few euro, so skip those. Daily limits run around 600 to 800 euros, and always decline 'convert to dollars' and choose euros.
See ATMs in Ireland →(opens in a new tab)Cash or card
About as cashless as travel gets; a little cash is just backup.
A rough feel for everyday spending. Cards and contactless cover almost everything, from hotels and restaurants to shops, taxis and attractions. Cash is a small backup for rural card-only pubs, small markets, the odd taxi, and places where the card machine loses signal, and you rarely need much of it.
See what the trip really costs →Your money plan
Four steps and you're set.
Before you go
- Bring a no-foreign-fee Visa or Mastercard, plus a backup from a different bank. Amex is patchy and Discover barely works, so do not rely on either.
- You need very little cash, but a fee-free ATM debit card (Charles Schwab, Wise or Revolut) is handy for the small amount you will pull from bank ATMs.
- If you plan to rent a car, sort the insurance before you go: the excess trap is real, and your US credit card often does not cover Ireland (see below).
- You do not need travel insurance for money reasons here, but standard travel medical cover is always sensible.
At the airport
- Skip the exchange counters. Pull euros from a bank ATM if you want a little cash, or just start tapping your card.
- Grab about 100 euros in small notes if it is easy, for your first taxi or a rural stop; you can also just break a note on a small purchase in arrivals.
- Set up an eSIM before you land for maps and calls. Three, Vodafone and eir all cover the country well; an eSIM from Airalo, Nomad or Holafly is the easy route.
- Renting a car at the airport? Expect a pickup fee of around 22 euros added at the desk, and read the insurance terms before you sign.
Day to day
- Tap your card for almost everything, and choose euros every time.
- Keep a little cash for rural pubs, small markets and the odd taxi.
- Shopping for something to take home? Ask for a VAT refund (Tax-Free) form at the till, since as a non-EU visitor you can reclaim the tax.
- Crossing into Northern Ireland? That is pounds, not euros, but your card switches seamlessly.
A golden rule
- Always pay in euros, never in dollars. Choosing your home currency (dynamic currency conversion) quietly adds a few percent on card terminals and ATMs.
- Use bank ATMs, not standalone ones. AIB, Bank of Ireland and Permanent TSB machines are generally fee-free to foreign cards; the machines in shops and tourist spots are the ones that charge.
Staying connected
Will my phone work here? And what will it cost?
Excellent across the country. The three carriers are Three (the largest), Vodafone and eir, with 4G almost everywhere and 5G across Dublin, Cork, Galway and the other cities. Coverage can thin in the deep countryside and along parts of the Wild Atlantic Way, but even remote cafes usually take cards. A local prepaid SIM is cheap, and eSIMs from Airalo, Nomad or Holafly are the easy route if your phone supports it. Your US plan may include some roaming, so check the rate before you rely on it. You do not need mobile data to pay by card, but you will want it for maps and, if you are driving, live traffic. The cost is where people get caught out, and on most US plans it lands in one of two buckets.
Your plan may already include it
Often, do nothing
Some US plans include slow data abroad at no extra cost. If that is you, the honest move is to leave it alone.
we earn nothing
Or it charges quietly, after the fact
The bill lands later
On pay-per-use plans the cost runs in the background while you travel, and the charge can show up weeks after you are home. Forgetting to switch off data roaming is the classic one. For a week or more, an eSIM is usually cheaper and keeps you in control.
Check what your own carrier charges before the trip, not after.
If an eSIM is the cheaper call, Nomad covers Ireland.
Get your Nomad eSIM for Ireland→(opens in a new tab)we may earn a commissionMedical cover
The one cost with no price tag.
Every other number on this page has a price you can look up. This one does not, and it can be the largest of them all. Most US health plans cover little or nothing once you leave the country, and Medicare covers essentially none of it abroad. A serious illness or injury is paid up front, and a medical evacuation runs from tens of thousands of dollars to past $100,000 if you are remote or an ocean from home.
First, you may not need to buy anything.
A cheap, refundable trip close to home does not need this. And if you are healthy, headed somewhere with good care, and one of the premium cards on the shortlist above already includes emergency medical and evacuation, you may be covered already. Check your card's benefits guide before you buy. Saying that costs us the commission, and it is still the right call.
How much cover matters here
Here, good hospitals are easy to reach and the care is high quality, so for a healthy traveler this leans more toward your call than a must.
If you do want cover, this is what it is for: the evacuation and the up-front hospital bill, the part no card limit is meant to absorb.
Enough for most trips
Faye, or a comparable whole-trip policy
Bundles trip protection with emergency medical, which is enough cover for most travelers on a typical trip.
The deeper end
A dedicated travel-medical plan built for serious care and evacuation abroad
Stronger on medical care and evacuation, for a remote or higher-risk trip where that is the real exposure.
If it happens
Call it first, then call your insurer's 24/7 assistance line, which is what confirms payment and arranges an evacuation. 112 is the free emergency number (999 also works, exactly like 911), reaching the Gardai (police), ambulance and fire from any phone, even with no SIM or credit. Operators speak English. Save your accommodation address to read out.
TrueTripCosts explains the gap and points to options. It does not set your coverage amounts or act as your insurance advisor, and every policy carries its own exclusions, so read them before you buy. Emergency number checked Jul 2026. Confirm the current number before you travel, as local lines can change.
Renting a car
Where the rental desk makes its money.
Renting is often the best way to see Ireland, and the cover is where the counter earns its margin. The rental comes with basic collision cover, but it leaves you owing the excess, the first slice of any damage or theft bill, often several hundred to a couple of thousand dollars, held on your card until the car is back. The desk will offer to erase that excess. It is a real product, just priced at the counter for far more than the same cover costs if you arrange it before you go.
You may not need to buy anything at all. Some US credit cards include rental collision cover when you pay with the card and decline the counter's version, so check what your own card covers on rentals before you add anything extra. We cannot read your policy for you, and flagging this can cost us the sale below, but it is the honest first step.
If your card does not cover it, or you would rather have cover built for this, a standalone policy bought ahead is the cheaper way to handle it. It covers the damage and theft the rental leaves you liable for, often including parts the counter cover leaves out like tires, glass and the underbody, and mechanical faults stay the rental company's problem. RentalCover covers rentals in Ireland. Read what the policy includes before you buy.
Cover a rental in Ireland with RentalCover→(opens in a new tab)we may earn a commissionCurrency basics
The euro, in plain terms.
Quick conversion
Ireland uses the euro. At about 0.88 euros to the dollar in mid-2026, a euro costs a little over a dollar, so 10 euros is roughly 11 dollars and 50 euros about 57. Prices already include VAT, so the figure on the tag or menu is what you pay.
Cards rule, cash is backup
Visa and Mastercard work almost everywhere, with contactless and mobile wallets standard; Amex is patchy and Discover barely accepted. You can go days without cash in the cities, but carry about 100 to 150 euros for rural pubs, small markets and card-machine outages.
Money back on shopping
As a non-EU visitor you can reclaim the 23% VAT on goods you buy to take home, through the Tax-Free (Retail Export) scheme. Ask for the form at the till, get it validated at the airport before you check your bags, and claim your refund, worth roughly 15% after fees. Northern Ireland purchases do not qualify.
Tipping is light
Around 10 to 12% in restaurants if no service charge is on the bill, nothing for drinks at a pub bar, and rounding up for taxis. Staff are paid a proper wage, so tips are appreciated but never expected. See the tipping section below.
Real exchange rate
What your money is really worth here.
This is the mid-market rate, the one the banks trade at and the yardstick every other rate is measured against. Your card lands a little below it, and if a screen ever offers to bill you in dollars, that is worse again. So this is the number to expect, and how you spot a bad one.
1 US dollar is about 0.88 EUR
Taxes, refunds and renting a car
No tourist tax, money back on shopping, and the car-rental catch.
Ireland is refreshingly simple on tax. There is no nightly tourist tax, unusually for Europe, though Dublin and Galway are lobbying for the power to add a small one, so it is worth a quick check nearer your trip. Prices already include VAT (23% standard), and there is good news for 2026: from 1 July 2026 the VAT on restaurant and cafe meals dropped from 13.5% to 9%, which should ease eating-out costs a little. The win worth acting on: as a non-EU visitor you can reclaim the VAT on goods you buy to take home, through the Tax-Free or Retail Export scheme. Ask the shop for a tax-free form, get it validated by Customs at the airport before you check your bags, and claim through a refund company (Global Blue, Planet) or the retailer; after fees you get back roughly 15% of the price. Note that purchases in Northern Ireland (which is the UK) no longer qualify. The one place Ireland can bite your budget is renting a car to tour, which is common here. The base rate includes basic collision cover but leaves a high excess of about 1,500 to 3,500 euros frozen on your credit card, so most people add Super CDW or a standalone excess policy (cheaper bought online in advance, around 3 to 8 euros a day, than the 15 to 30 a day at the desk). Do not assume your US credit card covers Ireland: most Visa and Amex cards do not, and even the Mastercards that do usually need a letter of coverage. Most rentals are manual, so book an automatic well ahead if you need one, and remember Dublin's M50 is a barrier-free toll you must pay online by the next day, or a late fee starts adding up.
Before you book: passports, the six-month rule and whether you need a visa. Not a US citizen, or connecting through Europe? The rules can differ, and even a layover can need its own visa. See our passports and visas guide →
Watch out for
The small traps that catch first-timers.
Tipping
Light and never expected.
Tipping in Ireland is genuinely low-key, because staff are paid a proper minimum wage rather than relying on tips. In a sit-down restaurant, 10 to 12% is a normal thank-you for good service, but first check whether a service charge (often 10%, common for larger tables) is already on the bill, in which case nothing more is needed. At a pub, you do not tip for drinks ordered at the bar; if you get table service for a while, leaving a euro or two is a kind gesture. For taxis, rounding up to the nearest euro or two, or the nearest 5, is plenty. A couple of euro for a hotel porter or for housekeeping is appreciated but not expected, and a private guide or driver who makes your day is happy with 10 to 20 euro. Card machines increasingly offer a tip prompt, but a little cash is always welcome and sure to reach the person.
Common questions
Quick answers.
Do I need cash in Ireland?
Barely. Ireland is one of the most cashless countries anywhere: cards and contactless work almost everywhere, including taxis and small shops in the cities. Carry about 100 to 150 euros in small notes for a week as backup, for rural card-only pubs, small markets, the odd taxi and times the card machine loses signal, and pull it from a bank ATM as needed.
Should I pay in euros or dollars in Ireland?
Always euros. If a card terminal or ATM offers to charge you in US dollars, decline; that dynamic currency conversion adds a few percent. Choosing euros lets your card's network handle the exchange at a fair rate.
What is the best ATM to use in Ireland?
A bank ATM. AIB, Bank of Ireland and Permanent TSB machines generally charge foreign cards no access fee, while standalone machines in shops, pubs and tourist areas often add a few euro. Daily limits run around 600 to 800 euros, and always decline 'convert to dollars' and choose euros.
Can I get a VAT refund on shopping in Ireland?
Yes, if you live outside the EU. Through the Tax-Free (Retail Export) scheme you can reclaim the 23% VAT on goods you buy to take home. Ask the shop for a tax-free form, get it validated by Customs at the airport before you check your bags, and claim through a refund company or the retailer; after fees you get back roughly 15% of the price. Purchases in Northern Ireland do not qualify.
Should I rent a car in Ireland, and what about the insurance?
Renting is the best way to see the country beyond Dublin, but the insurance is the catch. The base rate includes basic collision cover but leaves a high excess (about 1,500 to 3,500 euros) frozen on your credit card, so most people add Super CDW or a cheaper standalone excess policy bought online in advance. Do not assume your US credit card covers Ireland, since most Visa and Amex cards do not. Most cars are manual, so book an automatic well ahead if you need one, and pay Dublin's barrier-free M50 toll online by the next day.
Do I have to pay a tourist tax in Ireland?
No. Unusually for Europe, Ireland has no nightly tourist or bed tax, though Dublin and Galway are pushing for the power to introduce a small one, so check again nearer your trip. Prices already include VAT, and from July 2026 the VAT on restaurant meals dropped from 13.5% to 9%.
How much cash should I bring for a week in Ireland?
Very little. For most visitors, 100 to 150 euros in cash across a week is plenty on top of card spending, for rural pubs, small markets, the odd taxi and card-machine outages. Pull it from bank ATMs as needed rather than exchanging dollars, and keep it in small notes.
What it really costs
What you'll really spend in Ireland.
Your flights if you want them counted, your room, your on-the-ground spending, the two fees most US cards add without telling you, and Ireland's tourist tax. One number, nothing waiting on the statement. No bank to pick, no sign-up, nothing saved.
Optional. Enter your round trip fare per traveler to fold flights into the total.
In Ireland, plan for about $0.
Realistically somewhere between $0 and $0.
Whether at an ATM or a card terminal in a shop or restaurant, always choose to be charged in the local currency, not dollars. Paying in dollars (called dynamic currency conversion) lets the machine set its own, worse, exchange rate on top of any fee.
Rough guide, not a quote. The percentage here is a blended stand-in for a typical US card's foreign fee, not your exact rate. The real number moves with the card you carry: one no-foreign-fee card can cover both sides, while a plain rewards credit card only removes the fee on what you buy, and cash still costs a little unless that card also waives ATM and foreign-cash fees. A debit card, or accepting the "pay in dollars" (dynamic currency conversion) offer at a till or ATM, can push it higher. Rates checked Jun 2026 and rounded.
How this estimate is built
These are the assumptions behind the number. Change the room price, nights, travelers, or travel style above, and every line here moves with them.
- Hotel
- Daily spending
- Flights
- Cash vs card
- ATM withdrawals
- Foreign fee
- The range
- Tourist tax
Not sure which card to bring? See my pick for Ireland.
Already carry a card with no foreign transaction fee? Then you are set for Ireland, and can skip this. There is nothing to buy.
If you are getting a card for Ireland, this is the pairing I would pick: a no-foreign-fee credit card for spending, and a fee-free ATM debit card for cash. We earn nothing on these today. Always confirm the current fee with the issuer before you apply. Checked Jun 2026.
Capital One charges no foreign transaction fee on any of its cards.
No foreign transaction fee
Fee-free ATM cash worldwide
Want one account that holds and spends in the local currency? A different job from the three above, and the one I reach for abroad. It is free to open; you can create a virtual card in the app and add it to your phone wallet in minutes, without waiting for the physical card; and you can convert US dollars into the local currency inside the account before you travel, then spend from that balance. Wise uses the mid-market rate plus a small conversion fee (around 0.4% and up), with no flat foreign fee.
The three picks above pay us nothing, and their tags say so. Wise is the only option here that can earn us a commission, and its tag says that too. Paid or not, the pick is still the pick.
Travelers, not touristsA few words of Irish go a long way
A few words of Irish go a long way
Everyone in Ireland speaks English, so nothing here is essential, but a few words of Irish (Gaeilge) and a story or two mark you as a guest rather than a tourist, and they open doors in a pub or a shop.
Say a few words
Tip: Irish is the first official language and you will see it on every road sign, but English is spoken everywhere, so no pressure. Sláinte (to your health) is the one word every visitor should have ready for a toast.
Know a story
Older than the pyramids
Newgrange, the great mound in the Boyne valley, was built around 3,200 BC, older than Stonehenge and the pyramids of Giza. Once a year, at the winter solstice, the rising sun slips through a stone roof-box and lights the inner chamber. Mention that and you will impress a local.
Good to know: it predates the pyramids by centuries
The monks who kept the light on
While much of Europe lost its books, Irish monks copied and illuminated them by hand, page after page, including the dazzling Book of Kells you can still see in Dublin. It is why Ireland is sometimes said to have kept learning alive. A point of quiet pride.
Good to know: see the Book of Kells at Trinity College
The saint who sailed west
Legend says Saint Brendan the Navigator set out in a small leather boat and sailed far into the Atlantic, some say all the way to America, centuries before the Vikings. True or not, the Irish have always been a seafaring, wandering people, and they love the tale.
Say it: Brendan the NavigatorIreland is a land of storytellers, from the old myths to Yeats, Joyce and Heaney, and the welcome is real: céad míle fáilte means a hundred thousand welcomes, and they mean it.
No links here, nothing to buy. This part is just to help you travel well.
Sources, and how this guide was checked
Last checkedJul 2026
Changed since last checkCorrected the M50 toll wording: missing the 8pm next-day deadline first triggers a small per-journey late fee that then escalates, not a flat 30 to 60 euro fine. That figure is a separate rental-company admin fee.
- Irish RevenueVAT, and the Retail Export (Tax-Free) scheme for non-EU visitors
- Irish Revenuecurrent VAT rates, including the 9% rate on restaurant and catering food from 1 July 2026
- eFlow and Transport Infrastructure Irelandthe M50 barrier-free toll and its late-payment penalties
Our own judgmentThe daily cash share, tipping norms, and likely ATM behavior are our own estimate from experience, not an official figure.
More money guides in Europe
If you are also weighing up nearby destinations, each guide covers cards, cash, ATMs and the fees to expect.
Going deeper on Ireland
The money questions people ask on the ground.
Short, focused answers to the specific things that catch first-timers out in Ireland.
- Tipping in IrelandIreland tips more than most of Europe but less than the US: 10 to 15% at a restaurant, and nothing at the pub bar. Here is what you actually owe, and what to check on the bill.
- Do I need cash in Ireland, or can I use cards?Short answer: a card for almost everything, a little cash for country pubs. The Republic of Ireland is firmly card-first. The one thing to watch is the border: cross into Northern Ireland and the currency changes to pounds.
- Bringing your dog or cat to Ireland.Ireland is a common EU destination for US pet owners, and it runs on the single EU pet-entry process: microchip, rabies in the right order, and an EU health certificate on a 10-day clock. No quarantine, no rabies titer. Ireland adds exactly one thing the big EU countries do not: a timed tapeworm treatment for dogs. Here is what that means, and the local parts worth knowing.
This is how Ireland stands today.
Money rules move. We can let you know for free if that changes.