Dublin, Leitrim, Donegal May-June 2012

egnolive · Veteran Member

Dublin, Leitrim, Donegal May-June 2012

Michele Erdvig · Host

Glad to hear about your return trip to Ireland. It will be fun meeting up with relatives and doing genealogy.

Letterkenny is a good base for all of Donegal. Some people don't like it because it is a "working" town. But I think it has good infrastructure i.e. restaurants, accommodations, cinema, etc. Go to my Lodgings page for some recommendations there.

Michele

egnolive · Veteran Member

Thanks Michele,

Anyone have any other recommendations for B&B and/or self-catering in Donegal, other than what's on Michele's page? Glenrowan looks nice but for some reason the link to Ballryraine does not work. I'm finding that some places I come across are no longer in business. I hope I am not too late to find a good place in Donegal.

BTW, my husband and I are vegans so we don't really care about breakfast, although it would be a plus if someplace had something for us. Some places say they are suitable for vegetarians but I haven't come across any willing to tackle vegans. None of the websites I find in a search of "vegan" and "Ireland" have come up with much. That's why I think a self-catering might be better for us.

Roy · Guru

We will be staying at Railway Lodge in Donegal Town for six nights in June. Can't speak to your dietary needs, but they gave us an excellent rate for staying multiple nights.

Michele Erdvig · Host

If you make your dietary needs known to your B&B hosts in advance they will do all within their power to accommodate your needs. Fruit, cereal, porridge are all available and if you want something else tell them.

I had no problem pulling up the Ballyraine website. Maybe it was down for a while? http://www.ballyraineguesthouse.com/

Michele

Bertrand · Veteran Member

The hidden fees I would think ... Dooley is about the only place that gives you everything ahead of time. Make sure you are comparing things across the board. That is a big range of difference for sure.

-- Edited by Bertrand on Wednesday 28th of March 2012 01:02:05 PM

egnolive · Veteran Member

Roy: Checked out the Railway Lodge in Donegal town. I'm not sure if that will suit our needs right now as we are thinking about staying farther north. But I will keep that in mind because I have been running into places being out of business or already booked. Thanks for taking the time to help.

Michele: I tried on two computers and still cannot access the Ballyraine website. Guess its something on my end.

As for our dietary needs, we try not to make a big deal about it. I notice that some websites say they cater to them, but often have no idea what it means. For instance, they think vegetarian means you can eat fish. Not sure what they think vegan means, but it is a lot to ask as it may involve buying special products, like soy milk and soy yogurt. We don't want to be too much of a bother. On previous trips to Ireland, we always noticed that there were vegetarian items on menus, but more likley than not it was the same thing everywhere we went and that got old very fast. Its hard to understand if its not your way of eating.

My husband just told me that the places he wants to place golf are mostly in northern Donegal., so I'm looking up that way, as well as Letterkenny. I have an enquiry into The Whins in Dunfanaghy and a self catering in Glasnevin. I think my options are getting very limited because of the June Bank holiday. Still open to any suggestions.

Now I'm on to the rental car fun. Got two very different quotes from Dan Dooley and Hertz. Dan Dooley quoted $592.17 for nine days for a manual transmission, declining CDW! Ouch! Hertz quoted a Ford Fiesta for $192.36. Am I missing something?

Thanks again!

Michele Erdvig · Host

Soy milk and yogurt are available in Irish supermarkets. Your B&B hosts will have no problems picking some up. So just tell them what your needs are. Even I don't know all the ins and outs of being a vegan. It is up to you to educate people. Some B&Bs will give you a lower rate if you are not eating breakfast.

Car rentals!! There are hundreds of discussions here about it. READ THE FINE PRINT! Comparing rates is like comparing apples to oranges. You must get ALL the charges and add them up for a grand total. It is the total you should be comparing not the initial quote. The basic quote from most car companies can easily double or triple once all the extras have been added.

Michele

susan · Senior Member

Hi Egnolive-

We will be in Ireland about the sametime you are.I have been checking car rental rates for 4 months,and they have not budged (Dooley).

Last Sept-Oct 2 weeks we payed $389 for a cat.D (Man).this year its $635 same car type and same amount of days.

I did book the car last week,it was the last thing we had to do and I just want everything booked.I did not want the Bank Holiday causing any problems with availabilty.

Good Luck

Susan

Itallian Chauffeur · Moderator

Dooley 'Breaks out the LLI charge (Basic Liability) for informational purposes. ALL rental cars provide it, by law.

Here's the info from dooley.com :

Maybe you need to clear your 'Cookies'??????? confuse confuse confuse

Seriously, make SURE to select 'Manual' on the Details / Home Page.

Group A

Economy - 2/3 Door...

Economy - 2/3 Door

Quote reference # : DCRP1304994

Pick up :
Dublin Airport (Terminal 1 & 2)

Date and time :
29th May 2012 10.00 Hrs

Drop Off :
Dublin Airport (Terminal 1 & 2)

Date and time :
8th June 2012 10.00 Hrs

Rental Duration : 10 days

Currency : $

CDI Insurance : Not Required

LLI Insurance : $111.73

Total Amount : $232.19 (166.25 Euro)

$237.43 $225.56

Group B
Economy - 4/5 Door...
$244.41 $232.19
Group C
Compact

If you call the NJ office and quote the Reference Number shown (or my earlier one) , they should honor that price .... smile smile

Bob

-- Edited by Itallian Chauffeur on Thursday 29th of March 2012 10:30:35 AM

Itallian Chauffeur · Moderator

egnolive --

I went to the dooley.ie site and plugged in your dates with pick up and drop off in Dublin, DECLINE CDW and got MUCH lower figures ---

Used an age of 59 (but, unless you are LESS than 25, or MORE than 70, it shouldn't matter ...

I also used the 5 % Discount Code: dochara

Manual Economy -- $310.47

Manual Compact --$329.05

Manual Intermediate -- $360.89

Auto Economy -- $590.42

Auto Compact -- $650.13

Auto Intermediate -- $701.87

The Quote is

Quote Reference #: DD2715946

It's good for Seven (7) days -- Feel free to claim it! biggrin biggrin

Bob

egnolive · Veteran Member

Thanks everyone!

I know car rental is the worst part of any Ireland trip. Interesting that Bob got such a different quote than I did. I also used Dochara and declined CDW and the age is pretty close. How do I claim this quote?

Things are starting to come together. We are excited we got reservations for dinner at MacNean House in Blacklion. Trying to decide between a B&B outside Letterkenny or one in Dunfanaghy for our Donegal part. Dunfanaghy is a little closer to the golf courses my husband wants to play, but is more expensive. At least we found some availability - I was getting a little worried about that.

Now I just have to decide where to stay in Dublin and get the rental car. Then I can relax and plan fun stuff.

Thanks again to all.

Erin

egnolive · Veteran Member

More car rental confusion....

I tried to duplicate Bob's quote. I had been using the DanDooley.com site and got $464.38 for an economy for May 28th through June 6th.

However, I noticed that Bob used the DanDooley.ie site and got the lower quote. I tried it and got $232.19 for an economy. Both US dollars.

Then I realized I needed to pick up the car on May 29th instead of the 28th, so one day later. Redid the quote at the .ie site and got a price of $425.24!!

Why the difference? Why should renting a car for one less day cost almost twice as much?? Also, the ie site charged for something labeled as LLI insurance which I didn't see on the US site.

egnolive · Veteran Member

I've been playing around with different times of drop-off on the .ie site. I noticed that when I decline the LLI insurance, I've gotten a lower rate, but you have kept it. I don't understand whether I need to keep this or not. But I defer to you Bob, so will try some more options keeping that insurance.

Thank you so much for your help. You are awesome!

Erin

Michele Erdvig · Host

Websites put "cookies" in your computer. If the same price comes up over and over again, that's why. The website you are using remembers you. In order to get a different price use a different computer or clear the cache and cookies from your computer.

Michele

Itallian Chauffeur · Moderator

Depends upon what Foreign Transaction Fees are for your card. If they are HIGH (like my Bank of America -- 3% PLUS the MC 1%) I would call the NJ Office, and Pre-pay, in dollars. If the fees are waived, or minimal, you can pay in Euros, since NasterCard USUALLY has a better Exchange Rate.

$238 for 8 days isn't bad.

Best transport mode to/from Dublin Airport depends upon how much luggage you'll be carting. I 'lifted' this from the Jurys Inn Christchurch website:

Getting here from the airport

What time does it take to get from the airport?
It takes approximately 30-45 minutes to get to the hotel from the airport depending on the transport mode. Taxi would cost approximately 25-30 euros.

Are there any special buses?
Yes, there are number of buses leaving from the airport. 747 Airlink would be the most recommended one as its the cheapest option 6 one way and also drops right across the road from the hotel. They take up to 1 hour to get to the hotel.

Public Transport

The 747 Airlink bus will take you to the Christchurch area. The nearest stop to Jurys Inn Christchurch is the Christchurch stop (situated on Dame St.) which is 2minutes walk to the hotel. Once you get off the bus at Christchurch, walk up the road towards Christchurch Cathedral. Jurys Inn is located on the side opposite the cathedral.

If you opt for the Airlink, purchase a Return Ticket (Round Trip) as it will save you a Euro or Two per person AND because you'll need to get BACK to the Airport to pick up your car. Dooley's Car Lot is ACTUALLY 'Off-Airport' -- they have a Shuttle that takes you to the lot that runs from Arrivals.

Bob

-- Edited by Itallian Chauffeur on Monday 2nd of April 2012 10:32:43 AM

egnolive · Veteran Member

I know about the cookies and clear them frequently. However, I think the different quotes are due to something else and are something I will never figure out! I always got much higher quotes using the Dooley's US site as compared to the Irish site. Comparing quotes in US dollars too.

Car rental is the only bad thing about a trip to Ireland.

I got a quote from Dooley's car rental [Irish site] for a compact manual from May 29th thorugh June 8th for $238.82 or 171 euro. I declined the CDI because I have a Capital One Visa. The letter showing my coverage is on the way.

I think I'm ok with this quote. Hope I'm not forgetting anything. Should I ask to be charged in dollars or euros?

BTW, the pick up and drop off is at Dublin airport. Will be staying probably at the Jury's Inn Christchurch. Any advise on the best [ie cheapest] way to get back to the airport from there? Any chance Dooley's will bring the car to us?

Seven weeks and counting.

Thanks for all help.

Erin

Michele Erdvig · Host

Erin,

Phone the NJ office at 1-800-331-9301. Give them your quote and they can book the car for you in US dollars. Just note that when declining CDI or CDW (interchangeable terms) Dooley puts a "hold" on your credit card - not an actual charge.

Michele

egnolive · Veteran Member

Thanks Bob and Michele, You guys are the greatest.

Erin

hammsb · Veteran Member

Check out Buswell's hotel in Dublin. We stayed there in 2009 and are going to stay there again in May. Great location and decent rates. They make a great Irish coffee too. Staff was very helpful and a great walking location.

Group A

Economy - 2/3 Door...

$237.43 $225.56

Group B

Economy - 4/5 Door...

$244.41 $232.19

Group C

Compact

Quote Reference #: DD2715946

Getting here from the airport

Public Transport