Dublin or Zermatt?
1,297 km apart, in Ireland and Switzerland. Each is scored month by month on the same ten years of climate readings, the public holidays that crowd it, and what the flight costs. This is where they part, and when.
Month by month
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dublin | 8° 10d | 9° 11d | 11° 10d | 12° 9d | 15° 9d | 18° 11d | 20° 9d | 19° 10d | 17° 11d | 14° 12d | 11° 11d | 9° 11d |
| Zermatt | -1° 10d | 1° 8d | 2° 10d | 5° 8d | 9° 10d | 15° 6d | 18° 6d | 18° 6d | 14° 6d | 10° 9d | 3° 10d | 1° 11d |
| Pick | Zermatt | Zermatt | Zermatt | Zermatt | Dublin | Zermatt | either | Zermatt | either | either | neither | Zermatt |
- Sweet spot
- Good
- OK
- Avoid
- Busy
Each cell is that destination's own verdict for the month — sweet spot, ok or avoid — with its typical daily high and its rainy days ("11d": days with at least 1 mm of rain, as a weather station counts them). The pick goes to the better verdict; with the same verdict, to the higher score, unless the two are within a whisker of each other, when it is either. A month both would avoid is neither. A dot marks a busy month.
Before you go
- Cost of living — Dublin: moderate, about 85% of the United States; Zermatt: very expensive, about 112% of the United States.
- Currency — Dublin: Q4916; Zermatt: Swiss franc.
- Plugs — Dublin: type G, 230 V; Zermatt: type C, 230 V.
- Driving — Dublin: on the left; Zermatt: on the right.
- Travel advice — Dublin: no advice against travelExercise normal security precautions (Global Affairs Canada)Level 1: Exercise Normal Precautions (US State Department); Zermatt: no advice against travelExercise normal security precautions (Global Affairs Canada)Level 1: Exercise Normal Precautions (US State Department).
Facts from Wikidata (CC0), the UK Foreign Office (Open Government Licence) and the World Bank. The advisory is written for British travellers; entry rules depend on your passport.Facts from Wikidata (CC0), the UK Foreign Office (Open Government Licence) and the World Bank. Travel advice for American readers is the US State Department's (public domain), and for Canadian readers Global Affairs Canada's (Open Government Licence - Canada), each in its own words and written for its own citizens; entry rules depend on your passport.
On arrival in Dublin
- Apps — Rides: Bolt, FreeNow, Uber. Maps: Google Maps, Apple Maps. Messages: WhatsApp.
- Paying — Visa and Mastercard are accepted almost everywhere, and taxis must take cards without a surcharge. Carry a little cash in case a card is refused.
- UPI, for visitors from India — Not accepted for paying here; bring a card that works abroad.
- Getting around Dublin — Buy a TFI Leap Visitor Card (1, 3 or 7 days) at the airport for Dublin Bus, Luas and DART. Bank cards cannot be tapped yet, and bus drivers take coins only.
- Tipping — 10 to 15% is usual in restaurants; tipping in pubs is not expected. Round taxi fares up to the next euro if you like.
- Emergency — 112 or 999 (any emergency).
TravelCharika is not an emergency service: we cannot call for help or send anyone. Numbers can change; if one fails, ask someone local or your hotel.
Put together by hand from the sources listed, checked 3 October 2026. Apps, cards and rules change, so check before you rely on one.
Sources (17)
- gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/ireland/getting-help
- about.leapcard.ie/leap-visitor-card
- transportforireland.ie/getting-around/visitor-travel-information
- transportforireland.ie/news/minister-for-transport-opens-new-contactless-project-hq-in-dublin
- transportforireland.ie/getting-around/by-taxi/customer-information
- rte.ie/news/ireland/2026/0121/1554357-contactless-ticketing
- en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Ireland
- en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Dublin
- lyft.com/blog/posts/one-year-in-freenow-growth-since-joining-lyft
- free-now.com/cities
- uber.com/global/en/cities/dublin
- bolt.eu/en/cities/dublin
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WhatsApp
- developers.google.com/maps/coverage
- apple.com/ios/feature-availability
- pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2286608
- rbidocs.rbi.org.in/rdocs/AnnualReport/PDFs/09PAYMENT290526C6588B796E664822A2BD0DEB6452CAD4.PDF
On arrival in Zermatt
- Apps — Rides: Bolt, Uber. Maps: Google Maps, Apple Maps. Messages: WhatsApp.
- Paying — Cards, Apple Pay and Google Pay are accepted almost everywhere, and cash still works. Locals often pay with TWINT, a Swiss payment app; a visitor can simply use a card.
- UPI, for visitors from India — Not accepted for paying here; bring a card that works abroad.
- Tipping — Service is included by law; round up or add up to about 10% in restaurants if you were pleased. Never required.
- Emergency — 112 (any emergency) · police 117 · ambulance 144 · fire 118.
TravelCharika is not an emergency service: we cannot call for help or send anyone. Numbers can change; if one fails, ask someone local or your hotel.
Put together by hand from the sources listed, checked 3 October 2026. Apps, cards and rules change, so check before you rely on one.
Sources (17)
- gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/switzerland/getting-help
- myswitzerland.com/en-us/planning/about-switzerland/general-facts/money-and-shopping/creditcards
- myswitzerland.com/en-us/planning/about-switzerland/general-facts/money-and-shopping/tipping
- en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Switzerland
- zvv.ch/en/travelcards-and-tickets/tickets/24h-tickets.html
- zvv.ch/en/service/apps/zvv-app/check-in-ticket/check-in-faq.html
- uber.com/global/en/cities/zurich
- bolt.eu/en/cities/zurich
- swissinfo.ch/ger/bolt-lanciert-in-z%C3%BCrich-neue-taxi-konkurrenz/76712857
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TWINT
- thelocal.ch/20211103/cashless-payments-in-switzerland-what-is-twint-and-how-does-it-work
- infobip.com/blog/most-popular-messaging-apps-by-country
- sinch.com/blog/most-popular-messaging-apps-by-country
- developers.google.com/maps/coverage
- apple.com/ios/feature-availability
- pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2286608
- nipl.com/uploads/NIPL_Press_Release_Worldline_and_NPCI_International_to_empower_mobile_payments_for_Indian_tourists_in_Europe_9f55d714b9.pdf
Between them
1,297 km as the crow flies, about 2h 30m in the air.
The flight time is estimated from the distance. A nonstop or a road is named only where a record has it — nonstop routes from Wikipedia's airport articles (CC BY-SA 4.0), roads from openrouteservice.org by HeiGIT — and none of it is a fare; the searches on each destination's page are where prices live.
Also compared
- Dublin or Amsterdam
- Dublin or Athens
- Dublin or Barcelona
- Dublin or Brussels
- Dublin or Budapest
- Dublin or Chamonix
- Dublin or Copenhagen
- Dublin or Frankfurt
- Dublin or Lisbon
- Dublin or London
- Dublin or Madrid
- Dublin or Munich
Every verdict here is the destination's own: ten years of climate readings, the public holidays that crowd it, and what the flight costs. The comparison is the difference between two pages, not a third opinion.

