Suggestions, ideas, tips, Oh My!

KrystleWold · Newbie

Suggestions, ideas, tips, Oh My!

Michele Erdvig · Host

Krystle,

Welcome to my forum! Irish Car Rentals recently dropped their age limits. Check with them. Please look at my Car Rental page so you will be educated about the difficulties of renting a car in Ireland. Do not rent a car while in Dublin. Get your car on departure from the city.

Do you have a full week in Ireland? Or are two of those days for travel? Will you be departing from Dublin too?

I have not stayed at Clontarf Castle but have had good feedback from my clients who have. It is not right smack in Dublin City so you will have to get public transport into the tourist areas. I would tell you to be careful late at night in any city if you are alone. Try to be in well-lit populated areas. Always better to get a taxi than to take risks walking around places you don't know well.

Ireland is very photogenic. Do you have any ideas of what you want to see or where you want to go?

Michele

KrystleWold · Newbie

I will actually arrive in Dublin on Friday at 6am, so I really only have 5 days. I will be flying into Dublin and departing there, so I had thought I would rent the car at the airport, but I guess that is a bad idea!
I did read your information on the car rentals, but it is still so confusing! After reading someone's trip summary on here the other day, they used Irish car rentals at the airport, I am a bit scared to go with them! She had stated that they gave her a quote and ended up charging her 400 dollars more than what was quoted. They also charged her card multiple times in error...
So you wouldn't recommend booking a car in advance through an online travel agent such as Expedia? I would assume my hotel could direct me to where to rent a car once I was out of the airport? Do you get better deals for not renting at the airport?

I do know that I would like to see the cliffs of moher, but are they really any different from say the Beara area? I hadn't heard of that driving route before, and from what people are saying it is much better than the Ring of Kerry.
I would also like to see castles ( I hear they are a plenty), stay away from huge tourist-y places, and come away from this trip with some new friends. I would love to hear some traditional Irish music while I am there as well.

I generally want to be a free spirit for the 5 days that I am there, and really don't plan to spend a lot of money. I would love to go sailing (that is probably expensive and I have no idea where I would do that!), see some great country side, and have a pint and good conversation with some locals.

Thanks for your help!

Michele Erdvig · Host

Krystle,

You usually get better car rental rates when booking in advance. You can use Expedia or any other company you prefer. I simply suggest shopping around for your best rate. If you are charged in error from any car company, you can dispute the charge with your credit card company.

Your first night will be in Clontarf Castle. Correct? Most likely, you will need to spend your last night near Dublin Airport. That depends on your flight time. If that is the case, you have three days to see everything else you want.

Instead of trying to see the whole country (impossible) I suggest sticking closer to the eastern part of Ireland. Go south to Co. Wicklow "the Garden of Ireland" to visit Powerscourt and Glendalough. The scenery is beautiful. Perhaps a day or two in or near Kilkenny and visit the castle there. There is a wealth of things to see and do in just those areas.

Michele