Driving abroad
Driving in Ireland means driving on the left, with a drink drive limit of 0.05 percent, 0.02 for learner and professional drivers and motorway speeds of 120 km/h. Everything below is the practical version, the things that actually cost visitors money or time.
The M50 barrier free toll is the classic hire car bill. Pay it the same day online.
Once the paperwork is sorted, this is what you came for. Healy Pass, Conor Pass, Ring of Kerry are among the highest scoring roads we hold in Ireland, and all of them are open to any road legal car.
Motorway limit
120 km/h
Outside towns
80 km/h on regional roads, 100 on national roads
Built up areas
50 km/h, often 30
Drink drive limit
0.05 percent, 0.02 for learner and professional drivers
Checked by the Drivers Atlas desk
Scored and written by the Drivers Atlas editorial desk, drawing on driven routes across the UK and Europe, mapping data and member road reports. A planning summary, not legal advice. Check the national road authority before you travel. How we score roads.
Last reviewed 5 April 2026
The detail
A handful of motorway tolls plus the barrier free M50 around Dublin, which must be paid online by eight the next evening.
Snow is rare, standing water and fog are not.
No low emission zones at present.
UK and EU licences are accepted.
Nothing mandatory, a jacket and triangle are advised
112 or 999
Now the good part
Beara Peninsula
Tight hairpins over the Caha Mountains linking Cork and Kerry above two bays.
Dingle Peninsula
Ireland's highest pass, a shelf road with lakes hanging above the Atlantic.
County Kerry
The classic Irish coastal loop, best at dawn before the tour buses wake.
County Wicklow
Empty moorland tarmac over the Sally Gap, minutes from Dublin but utterly wild.
Connemara
A narrow loop climbing over headland above the drowned islands of Connemara.
Dingle Peninsula
Cliff edge tarmac facing the Blasket Islands and the open Atlantic.
Common questions
Motorways 120 km/h, main roads outside towns 80 km/h on regional roads, 100 on national roads, and built up areas 50 km/h, often 30. Lower limits are posted and always take priority.
A handful of motorway tolls plus the barrier free M50 around Dublin, which must be paid online by eight the next evening.
0.05 percent, 0.02 for learner and professional drivers. Roadside testing is routine and the safest approach on a driving tour is nothing at all before you drive.
Snow is rare, standing water and fog are not.
Nothing mandatory, a jacket and triangle are advised. Emergency number is 112 or 999.
UK and EU licences are accepted.