Less expensive in non touristy places?

Irisheyes · Senior Member

Less expensive in non touristy places?

wojazz3 · Guru

Kenmare has gotten quite expensive. Kinsale always has been. Oddly, Galway seemed cheaper to me. It was hard to find many entrees (for instance) under E10 anywhere but Galway. There were great dinig values in Oughterard.

Bill

Michele Erdvig · Host

Irisheyes,

I think that lodgings can cost less in the middle of nowhere. Probably more competion with restaurants may bring the prices down in larger cities. On the whole, I think that when Ireland switched over to the Euro and they "rounded up" the food prices went through the roof. It seemed that restaurants doubled in price after that. I think it was a legit way of price gouging. When no howls of protest were heard the prices never went down but up again.

There is one restaurant that was highly recommended to me as having wonderful food and being "excellent value for money". At 50 euro per meal it was a bit too excellent for my budget!

Here are a couple of interesting websites:

http://www.ripoff.ie/

http://www.valueireland.com/

Just be glad you are not buying a house in Ireland!

Michele

P.S. The Irish love to come to the USA to go shopping. There are rarely sales there.

Shawn · Senior Member

Michele,

It's funny that you mention the house thing. I saw postings for houses in the southwest that were 600 sq feet and selling for 320,000 euro! ouch!

Shawn

yesiree · Guru

Ireland used to be considered a good bargain for travelers. That is not true any more. Sure, you can travel on a budget, but you will feel the crunch. It's amazing how quickly prices went up after the euro came in.

However, there have been some benefits...more accommodation options, better food in restaurants, better pretrol stations (with a higher bathroom standand!), competitive airfares, expanded commercial bus service and serious road improvements.

Staying off the tourist trail does equal lower prices, but costs have gone up everywhere. And, yes, property values are through the roof. I'm amazed at how much the Irish are paying to buy an attached home (one side of a duplex) in a "housing estate." And the banks continue to offer 110% mortgages with no money down. I'm comparing apples to oranges, but I could get a very nice one-bedroom condo in downtown Chicago for what they are paying in even the smaller Irish towns. However, those homeowners can save a few euros with the new discount grocery stores and DIY centres.

Irisheyes · Senior Member

The housing prices didn't really seem that high to me, but then I live in SO CAL the high price leader. We have the highest prices in the nation, just under the Bay area.... but I digress..... I did think restaurants were especially high. I remember eating at a pub for lunch and two of us shared a plate. I think it was over 40 euro. Seems high for pub grub - 3 sandwiches and beverages. The fine dining places were REALLY expensive.

Michele Erdvig · Host

Irisheyes,

I think the beverages can really add up. Soft drinks (minerals) can vie with pints in price. Coffee is sold by the cup in most places. No free refills. Bottles of wine can be astronomical. I usually just ask for a jug of water with ice (free) or a pot of tea. On occassion I treat myself to a pint of Smithwick's or a glass of wine, but not often. Since I go to Ireland so frequently I need to be on a very strict budget. Sometimes dinner is a sandwich and bag of Taytos from Tesco.

Michele

oopsy · Senior Member

We spent time in Leitrim (think non-touristy), and it seems that pub food was not less expensive there than in other places (except for the cheapest basket of sandwiches imagineable at McCaffreys, somewhere in the middle of nowhere). We didn't do any fine dining in Leitrim, so I can't compare on that note. A huge difference for us was at the B&B. We were not charged a single supplement for my mother's room in Ballinamore.

I was stunned, stunned, stunned at the cost of housing and property in Leitrim.

oopsy