Renting a car

dede · Newbie

Renting a car

CowboyCraic · Guru

Dede,

Welcome to the forum!

Since you are traveling over during High season, making your reservations well ahead of time would be beneficial, especially if you are planning to overnight in some of the key cities, Belfast, Derry, Dublin, Killarney, Galway, etc.

As for car rental, Michele has a link here on the site for Kemwel. They are very competitive rate wise and quite user friendly. Yes, they do drive on the other side in Ireland. Although they consider it the proper side. I would suggets that you take on the added expense and rent an automatic, as it will give you one less thing to remember when you are driving. Most of your roads are of a narrower sort. I am not sure where you are in Canada, but I have compared them to the roads in the lake district of the upper Ontario province, sometimes narrow, often with blind curves and driveways, with pedestrians and errant livestock. I know that you can pick up and drop off at major airports. There is sometimes an extra fee. You will average a speed of 30 - 35 mph on most roads. Veteran drivers will pass you, learn to accept this and don't try to keep up. You are there to enjoy the experience. They are just trying to get from home to work or vice versa. If you are flying into Belfast, check with the rental company to see what their policy is for returning a rental at Shannon, which is where I am assuming you will be departing. Remember that tere are two different money systems in place. Northern Ireland being a seperate country utilizes the GBP.

If you need lodging suggestions, hunt through Michele's tips and/or post your itinerary here and we will all chime in with our experiences.

Slan Beo,

Bit

Michele Erdvig · Host

dede,

Bit has started you out on your journey to Ireland. Generally if you rent a car in No. Ireland and return in the Republic there is a hefty drop-off fee. When renting in the Republic if the car company has a depot at say Dublin and Shannon there is no fee for dropping at a different depot location.

Go to my "IrelandYes Index" and click on Car Rentals. That page wil give you lots of tips that you definitely need to study and know before renting a car in Ireland. There is no one best car rental company for everyone. You need to research and then make a decision. I have personally been using Kemwel for the past several years and am very happy with them. But there are plenty of good companies. Let us know what you come up with and we will be sure to help.

Michele

Michele Erdvig · Host

dede,

I forgot your B&B question. If you are at all particular about where you stay make reservations for July. Otherwise you will be stuck staying in the leftover rooms and B&Bs that are not the greatest.

Michele

dede · Newbie

Thank you for the information, I will make sure to read over your index on Car Rentals in Ireland. I will be sitting down with my daugher on the weekend and plan an itinerary for our stay in Ireland. I will post what we come up with and check to see if we can improve on what we will have.

Dede

Michele Erdvig · Host

Dede,

We look forward to helping with future questions. Hope you find just the right car rental.

Michele

Itallian Chauffeur · Moderator

Dede --

You are facing the HARDEST PART (car Hire) -- what I call, "Kissing the Frog"-- It does get better, after this. Merle, Dude and I just (seperately) visited the North, last year. You might want to check out our Trip Reports for ideas. Michele has some EXCELLENT Accommodation recommendations for your consideration.

I found your $1400 rental price pretty disturbing, as well, so I did some sample inquiries to see what I could come up with by comparison.

I found a 12 day July rental ( 1-13 July) of a Corolla/Focus AUTOMATIC, with CDI, for 291.43 Euro. Pick up was in Shannon, drop off in Dublin. There was a 25 Euro 'Location Fee', but NO 'Road Tax'. 'Super CDW' (Excess coverage) was 15 Euro per day, (12 days = 180 Euro). NO charge for Northern Ireland, so the TOTAL rental comes to 496 Euros. That's $793.60 US, at an exchange rate of $1.60 per 1 Euro. The only additional charge was the INITIAL tank of fuel.

After re-reading your posts, I tried again, using the EXACT dates (6 - 20 July) AND upgrading to a FULL size AUTOMATIC, (think Camry) with pick up at Dublin and Drop Off at Shannon. The rental (now 14 days) increased to 520 Euro, WITH CDW. The Super CDW, still 15 Euro, increased to 210 Euro and the 25 Euro Location Fee remained the same. This time, the total came to 755 Euro, or $1160 in US dollars. Since the CAD is doing better against the Euro than USD, your actual costs should be SLIGHTLY less.

Remember -- You don't NEED, or normally WANT a car while visiting Dublin. If ENDING your trip there, drop it off on arrival and save the rental fees. If STARTING your visit there, wait to pick it up until you are ready to leave.

Get the SMALLEST vehicle into which you and yours can reasonably fit. Bigger cars are ALWAYS more expensive, less fuel efficient and More Difficult to drive on the narrower Irish roads.

Don't give up. Ireland is WELL worth this one bit of aggravation.
Good Luck.

Bob

dede · Newbie

The information you are providing is really great. It has been a busy long weekend here and I haven't had a chance to sit down and read everything, but I will for sure at the begining of the week. I will let you know what I find.

Michele Erdvig · Host

Dede,

I like Bob's title of "Kissing the Frog" for renting a car in Ireland. He is correct. It is usually the most frustrating part of planning. But you are armed with knowledge, which a lot of people are not. Since you know about how to rent a car in advance you will be able to compare rates and companies to choose the best for your trip.

Be patient. Read ALL the fine print. Compare apples to apples (final price on same type car for everything you want). Be aware of whether the price is in euros or dollars and convert all prices so you know what the final price really is.

It will take you some time to get through the car rental process but once it is done you can relax and enjoy your trip while in Ireland.

Michele