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Post Info TOPIC: June in Ireland
EmericS


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June in Ireland
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Hello Michelle!
I've enjoyed reading many of the posts, and am very grateful for your willingness to help "foreigners" get acquainted with Ireland.  My wife and I are putting together a month-long trip to Scotland (1/4 of her ancestral origins) and Ireland.  I have a series of questions if I may:  (We fly into Edinburg, and fly out of Dublin - otherwise are open)

Our priorities are to 1)  Have at least a few days (5?) where we stay in a traditional cottage, and do day trips of the surrounding area, 2)  Visit a variety of sites; historic, religious, and natural beauty throughout Ireland.   Neither of us are "drinkers," although we love Irish music and have been known to dance (regularly).  We will definitely hit some pubs, but will be principally interested in the culture (Ceili?) and history.  We will be hiking the countryside as much as possible, and would enjoy playing golf on one or two better courses, and to do some horseback riding.

The places we've thought of visiting for 2 weeks in Ireland (sketchy at this time), are
      a.  Brief time in Dublin (maybe 2 days, one night)
      b.  Kilkenny area, possibly en route to County Kerry?
      c.  Spend a few days in the "Ring of Kerry" area  (This is where I thought we would rent a self-catering cottage for a few days, possibly in the Dingle penninsula?)
      d.  Up to the Galway area (possibly stay a couple days off of the Cashel area?)
      e.  Possibly up to Achill Island?
      f.  Some time in Northern Ireland (possibly up to Londonderry, then over to Belfast) (I thought possibly staying at Lough Eske for a night?)

Our Questions: 
1.  What is the best way to travel from Scotland to Ireland?  (Should we look at taking the Ferry to Northern Ireland, or take a flight from Edinburg to Shannon, and start at the South West part of Ireland, finishing in Dublin?

2.  I've been reading the postings on auto rental.  When I've tried Dan Dooley to get a quote, I was not able to get one (car not available).  Could that have been because I tried too far in advance?  Has anything on the CDW waiver been resolved? 

3.  We would like to spend at least one night in an Irish Castle (looked at Ashford, Cabra, Dromoland, and Lough Eske)  What are your thoughts?

4.  I understand that to fish, permission of the landowner is required.  Does Ireland require a separate fishing license?

Thank you so much.  God Bless
Dr.E



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Michele Erdvig


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Dr. E,

Welcome to my forum. Sounds like you and your wife are planning the "trip of a lifetime". Have you taken a look at my Self-catering Page yet? Most cottages rent from Sat to Sat during the season. Although you can get mid-week or weekend short breaks at certain places. But since you will be there in June it will be a good idea to come up with a firm itinerary and make your reservations.

For the SW Dingle is really not the ideal place for self-catering where you will take day trips. It is at the end of a peninsula. It takes time to drive off and then back every day and will add a lot of driving time to your day. Try either Killarney or Kenmare instead.

1. Generally, flying between Scotland and Ireland is quicker and often costs less. Some friends of mine who live in Ireland recently flew Ryanair between Shannon and Edinburgh with ease.

2. Give Dooley a call. It could be that their booking engine is not yet updated for this year. 800-331-9301. If you want to waive CDW you must have a credit card that covers Ireland such as World MasterCard (only certain ones) or Diners Club. My Capital One business MasterCard also covers.

3. Any of those castles would be lovely.

4. Yes, you need a fishing license. However if you go with a ghillie (fishing guide) they will take care of all the details for you. If you stay at Ashford Castle or Lough Eske they specialize in fishing.

Once you get your firm dates I suggest you sit down to outline an itinerary. Let us know if you have any other questions.

Michele


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Roy


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I had no problems booking with Dooley online for the last two weeks of June. Have you tried more than one class of car? Maybe the site was temporarily having technical difficulties.

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tony2phones


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Travel between Scotland and Ireland would depend on the amount of baggage. Given the length of your trip I would think Ryanair would be a no go, sure the tickets are for nothing but the baggage and other charges are huge. AerArann fly on there own and as Aerlingus these flights cost more but are cheaper with the Bags and extras. Rail and Sail with Stena line might be the cheapest option into Belfast or Dublin. As you are flying out of Dublin I would make sense to hire your car from Dublin in the first place. A possible reason why you cant find car hire is that you are looking at 2 different countries and cross border one way drops carry a high premium. If you are planning a spot of fishing you will probably find Ireland is at a lower cost. This reply is all about financial guidance rather than either sights and culture.

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EmericS


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Thank you Michelle, Roy and Tony: I appreciate the valuable insights. I can pack light. My wife, on the otherhand, is good, but whether she can pack for a month and stay within 20 Kilos (Aer Lingus' limit) is questionable. Looking at Aer Lingus, they have a direct flight from Glascow to Shannon, Aer Arann flies to Carnmore, which I believe is Galway, and Ryan Air flies to Dublin. Ryan Air appears to permit the second checked bag - at a price.

Regarding the auto, I will have separate rentals in Scotland and in Ireland. Looking at costs, there does not appear to be much of a premium in auto rental by picking up a car in Shannon and leaving it in Dublin. Thanks to the earlier posts, I was alerted to the CDW waiver policy. I use a platinum world MC, and will bring the coverage in writing (which is what both Thrifty and Budget now show on their booking site). I will try Dan Dooley again. While there may be some days that the auto sits without use, I will rent for our entire duration to give us the flexibility to come and go as we please.

I didn't know about the Rail and Sail, so will research that. I'll also look at Killarney and Kenmare, and as I work out the itnerary a little more, will post again.

Thank you all again!
DrE

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EngagingKate


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DrE,

I'm probably a bit jaded, but I do want to warn about Ryan Air and its baggage policies. Be aware that, when Ryan Air speaks of "carry on," that means ANYTHING you have with you on the plane. When they say, "Strictly one item of cabin baggage per person," they really mean it. If you're carrying a camera, you cannot also have a carry-on bag. If your wife has a purse, she cannot have a laptop, too. And their carry-on limit is 10kg. I'm not kidding. They are completely strict and will charge you for everything they can!

If you're thinking of flying Ryan Air, I encourage you to check out their website and baggage rules: http://www.ryanair.com/en/questions/baggage.

We've been looking at Stena's Rail and Sail between Northern Ireland and Scotland. Haven't made a decision about what we're going to do, but it looks like a great option to us. (If you need to get to Dublin from Belfast when you get to Ireland, you can always take the train (Translink's Enterprise train only takes a couple of hours for as little as 9 or 10 pounds per person, I believe.)

Hope you have a wonderful trip! I would encourage you to make your stop in Kilkenny, if you have the chance. It's a wonderful town that's great to walk. Lots of things to see in a relatively small area!

Slan,
Kate


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Green Dragon


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For that length of a trip, I say pack 5-6 days of clothes and do laundry throughout - and pack light therefore. I'm going to attempt 'carry-on only' on my two week May trip to Ireland.

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Michele Erdvig


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Dr. E,

Please check out this link:

As Christy suggested, I always advise people to pack less and then have their laundry done at a launderette while in Ireland.

Michele



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"Ireland Expert"  Michele Erdvig

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Roy


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Even tough it seems expensive to have clothes laundered I think you are right to pack relatively light, especially since one free check in bag is now the norm.

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Michele Erdvig


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Roy,

Using a launderette costs less than the extra bag!

Michele

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"Ireland Expert"  Michele Erdvig

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EmericS


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Greetings, and thanks for the helpful hints. We're accustomed to packing light and doing hand laundry as necessary. We do pack a small portable iron, and unfortunately the toiletries for my wife are weighty. We'll have one proper outfit (for church and as required at some establishments). It does appear that the flights may be better than the rail and sail as I think time will be more important than money. I have a couple of quotes on autos, and I also think they are workable.

Can you tell me who is the best telephone service for using pre-paid sim cards? I have a European (Nokia) phone, and like to have a local card just in case. For Internet connectivity, who do you recommend for a usb modem with prepaid sim card? Also, if I have a newer Garmin GPS card for UK, will that be adequate, or will I need to load off of geo coordinates?

I'm sure there will be more questions as I start to lay out our actual itinerary. Thank you all for your help and support.


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tony2phones


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I use Tesco for my 2phones one Irish (Island of Ireland) and one UK.  As you are flying into the UK 1st you can get an Irish add on which keeps you on the same number and the UK tarriff whilst over here.  It might though be benificial to get an Irish sim card when here as Tesco Ireland have access to the 3G network giving 2c calls to overseas numbers and a decent data bundle for E7.

http://www.tesco.com/mobilenetwork/

http://www.tescomobile.ie/

-- Edited by tony2phones on Tuesday 18th of January 2011 11:09:05 AM

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Roy


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Michele Erdvig wrote:

Roy,

Using a launderette costs less than the extra bag!

Michele


Yes Michele, a whole lot less!

 



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