So ummm, help, where do we start?

Ian · Member

So ummm, help, where do we start?

The Next Chapter · Veteran Member

Michele and the Regulars around here will soon chime in with lots of good advice for you. They will rightly recommend that you fly into Shannon if you can. For first timers it's an easier introduction to Ireland than Dublin. They will tell you their favorite spots. Mine are the west (Dingle, Galway, etc.) and the North (the Giant's Causeway area).

It sounds like driving yourself and doing B&B's will be the best way to have the trip you are imagining. That means you should definitely get Michele's book. Setting up your accommodations without the book makes it a roll of the dice. With her book, you will truly enjoy each place you stay.

Best wishes. Planning is half the fun. Seeing your plans come to life on the Emerald Isle is the other half. :)

Jeanne

Carrie · Veteran Member

Your travel style sounds very much like my own. B&B, self drive, scenery, old places, and no big cities! The Dingle peninsula is a favorite for a lot of people, and with good reason. Very beautiful scenery. Also usually considered a "must see" are the Cliffs of Moher. Some of my favorite old places are the Rock of Cashel and Clonmacnoise monastic site.

If traveling around the West you may find it convenient to make use of the Killimer- Tarbert car ferry. This takes you over the river Shannon, saving you many miles. Just something to keep in mind.

I second the comment about flying into Shannon. Much easier to navigate, even more so since Dublin is doing major construction right now.

Itallian Chauffeur · Moderator

If you are coming from Australia, you may have good choice on destinations, since all roads PROBABLY lead through London. .. ..

Are you interested in visiting the North? If so, what you might save on car hire MAY make an In/Out of Belfast an attractive option.

If you have three weeks, you should be able to cover a large part of the island at a fairly sedate pace -- particularly if you are dis-interested in the cities.

Michele's 2010 updated guide book will be available shortly. It is an EXCELLENT, handy reference to have BOTH while planning and when you are traveling around.

Michele has Lots of recommended lodgings, THROUGHOUT Ireland, so pre-booking is an excellent option. Check out her lodgings link on the MAIN page.

Likewise, be sure to read her 'Getting Started' page. You can also gain a LOT of ideas and insites from perusing the Trip Reports.

A rough suggestion to get you started, is to list the sites that sound interesting and then locate them on a map. You will probably find that they are 'clustered together' and THAT information will help you determine an efficient ROUTE ...

Let us know how we can help ...

Bob

Michele Erdvig · Host

Ian,

Welcome to my forum. You should probably start with educating yourself about Ireland. Go to the library and check out some travel and picture books about Ireland. See what you are interested in seeing and doing.

Tourism Ireland has a presence in Australia so go to their site, contact them and get lots of free info sent to you.

That will give you a start. Planning is essential for having a good trip. As your plans progress you can get all your questions answered here or have your itinerary critiqued.

Michele

Ian · Member

Thanks guys and Michele for the great replies!

Already we have traumatised about the car hire situation as emails to Kermwel and Budget and others INITIALLY appear above board and up front.

However, when we ask about the "hidden" costs and the dreaded insurance dealings with credit cards, the dark worms start coming out i.e "Oh yes, we will be asking that your credit card has a balance of two thousand euros etc" and "Oh yes, we may charge this amount to your card (in addition to the normal hire fee) and refund it to you ......"

I am a retired international airline pilot (sigh!) so get get around the old globe and most airport hassles without the training wheels but this car rental situation in Ireland is certainly a new one on me! Still on the learning curve after all these years ......

To digress, when will Michele's 2010 book be out for purchase by we Aussies down under?

Love the forum!

-- Edited by Ian on Monday 22nd of March 2010 05:42:15 PM

-- Edited by Ian on Monday 22nd of March 2010 05:42:35 PM

Michele Erdvig · Host

Ian,

Renting a car in Ireland is the worst part of the whole planning process. It is best to concentrate on other things first (like firm dates, flights) and then take the car rental bull by the horns. You may have seen the sticky post here that is three pages long about renting a car. Don't be intimidated. There is a lot of info because each company has different rules. Things have been changing in the industry too. So we need to keep updated. Put cars last on your list!

I am not familiar with credit cards covering CDW for Australia. Perhaps you will enlighten us? In the USA only a few select cards will cover: some World MasterCard and Diners Club. In Canada it is Visa card. Different rules for everyone. But it is extremely important to know the rules that apply to you and your card personally. One company that is very straightforward is Dan Dooley.

You are probably traveling stand-by since you are a retired pilot. I understand the need to have flexible travel dates for that. Or maybe you have enough seniority to be first on the list. You might consider September because it is shoulder season and high tourist season starts settling down then.

My book should be out very shortly. I will announce it on the forum when it is ready. Unfortunately it costs more to send to Australia so it is more expensive than if ordering from the US. I think the few extra dollars will be worthwhile though. Plus I have held the line on the price for several years now.

Glad you are enjoying the forum. We have a lot of nice members here that are extremely helpful. It is good to have you aboard too.

Michele

Ian · Member

Thanks muchly Michele!

Strangely enough, most airline staff - especially us oldies - no longer opt for standby travel as most of the deals on the net are so comprehensive that we can't do a whole lot better by going the discount path!

For example I can get to Singapore from Brisbane Australia - and back again - FREE for us both yet the overall savings is only about AUD500 compared to flying Brisbane direct to Shannon with Etihad. Sure that is still five hundred bucks but having to wander around the Pacific initially in the wrong direction, additional flight and baggage changes and incurring an extra 24 hours travel takes the gilded edge of the discounted travel.

Standby travel is great fun when you are young and bubbling with adventurism and thriving on the unexpected. As (we) all age, having a confirmed seat and knowing you won't be turfed off the plane at the last minute is a comforting feeling!

Hang the cost, your book will be well worth it when it is published!

Michele Erdvig · Host

Ian,

My husband is retired from the airline biz so we are used to traveling on passes. I agree that it gets worse the older you get. Now his former employer is giving free upgrades to mileage plus passangers so getting anything but coach is virtually impossible. And so it goes.

Michele

Ian · Member

We have just received a quote/info from an organization called "Exploring Ireland" with Russell Short being the contact.

He specializes in drive yourself tours wherein they make the B & B bookings and are pretty flexible on the initial 14 day package that can be extended as necessary.

He assures us that the charges are inclusive of the EURO1200 "deposit" left for damages and this is not charged to the credit card company unless there is damage on return of the vehicle.

Does anyone have experience with this company as he sounds OK at this early stage but some first hand experience would be nice.

The only downside is the fact that the bookings once made, cannot be changed all that easily and we are not all that fussed in being tied down to specific places and dates every night.

Michele Erdvig · Host

Ian,

I had a look at exploringireland.net. I think that is the one you are looking at? Basically they are a travel agent who is reselling CIE tours and CIE "go as you please" fly/drive/voucher packages.

We have had many, many discussions on the forum in the past of the pros and cons of using vouchers in Ireland. The general consensus is that unless the package deal is an absolutely fantastic value that you cannot turn down, it is best not to get it. Vouchers for B&Bs and hotels greatly reduce the number of places you can stay in Ireland. Perhaps 1/4 to 1/3 of accommodations in Ireland accept them. That leaves 3/4 to 2/3 where you cannot stay with vouchers. Also, with that plan your car rental will most likely have lots of "extras" that you must pay for on top of the price paid for the car to the travel agency.

Before purchasing you must read all the fine print and know exactly what you are getting into.

In order to put together your own package you need airfare, car and B&B or hotel reservations. Most of us prefer a DIY approach to putting the pieces together ourselves.

Let me know if you need more feedback on the issue.

Michele

Itallian Chauffeur · Moderator

Ian --

As to your concerns about having everthing pre-booked and being 'Locke-In' to a time table, be aware that the Tourist Information Offices in MOST major towns will book a place for you for a small fee ( about 2 euro, I think).

Aug/Sept is "shoulder season" and, given the state of the economy, I would think that you would have decent choice "winging it", provided that you locked in someplace by 2 PM ... and I would THINK that by that time, you SHOULD have a pretty good idea of where you expect to end up.

Right now, the car hire bargains and hassle-free zone appears to be in Northern Ireland, which falls under United Kingdom laws and practices, so I will re-iterate my suggestion that you consider flying via Belfast and renting your car THERE.

I only wish that I had that option for MY trip! hmm

Bob