HUNDREDS of thousands of people will be on the move this weekend, with festivals and events planned in many towns and cities and an expected influx of visitors from Britain.
Both Bus Eireann and Iarnrod Eireann expect to carry about 100,000 passengers each, with extra buses and trains laid on to cater for the demand.
Iarnrod Eireann's weekend fares will be extended by one day. The company will run 20 extra trains in addition to its normal schedule but no suburban trains will operate from Dublin on Monday.
DART services will run as normal, apart from Monday, which will be the similar to the Sunday timetable with minor alterations.
Normal bus services will operate on Friday and Saturday, with extra buses on major routes.
Most normal Sunday services will be in operation, apart from a number of buses aimed at weekend travellers who normally return to the major cities. Some of these will operate on Monday, with additional buses and extra services to cater for returning travellers.
Normal service will resume on Tuesday, with the addition of some early morning services to Dublin.
Stena Sealink's HSS Explorer which sails from Holyhead to Dun Laoghaire is currently running at a lower than usual capacity. The ferry can accommodate 1,500 people but is waiting for a fourth evacuation chute to be dried and repacked after testing last week. This will not be completed until next Wednesday, and the ferry will only carry 900 passengers in its sailings over the Bank Holiday weekend, weather permitting.
A spokesman for the company said extra passengers could travel on the conventional ferries but Stena would not be laying on any extra services. Irish Ferries is also running at full schedule, with no changes in services.
Cork Swansea Ferries is putting on extra sailings from Cork on Saturday and Sunday morning.
Ryanair and Aer Lingus are laying on extra flights, including Friday evening from Dublin to Stanstead, Luton and Gatwick.
Festivals planned for the weekend include Viking "assaults" on Leixlip and Athy, a comedy festival in Kilkenny, a traditional singers festival in Ennistymon and currach races in Connemara.
Up to 160 Viking actors from the English history group, Regia Angelorum, will set up a mock Viking village on the outskirts of Leixlip as part of "Feile an Bhradain". At 3.30p.m. each day, they will re enact the Battle of Clontarf in 1014, in which Brian Boru inflicted a decisive defeat on the Vikings of Dublin.