Car Rental and touring in Ireland

[marylovestotravel]

We are thinking of renting a car in Dublin after our cruise and doing a driving tour. Any tips, suggested itineraries? Does anyone have experience with and recommends local car rental agencies, or should we go with Budget, Enterprise, etc. Am quite excited about going to the west coast and seeing a different part of Ireland. How about Northern Ireland?

 

Thanks for any advice.

 

 

Mia

[Floridiana]

The trip advisor forum Ireland will give you insightful advice, but as someone who gives advice to people on another country trip advisor forum, I have to tell you that you should do a little bit of research first. Precise questions are easier to answer than a general "What shall we see?" Also give your age group or fitness level (20 or 70, mobility challenged or hiker), number of participants, interests (castles, pubs, luxury hotels, golf, churches, scenery) time of year, and the length of time you plan to stay in Ireland. Good luck with your research!

[janecambridge]

Depending how long you are there, as its a few hours from Dublin,The Ring of Kerry is a must.😘

[desert traveler]

I have rented a car in Dublin twice over the years-both times from Hertz. Driving in Ireland is not for the faint of heart--you will be driving on the left and most roads are very narrow. That being said, the countryside is beautiful.

When I went with my sisters 10+years ago-we drove essentially a circle around the south-Killkenny, Kinsale, Dingle, Galway then back to Dublin.--This was a 10 day trip. My favorite place in the world is Dingle so 2 years ago I had my husband drive from Dublin to Dingle in 1 day--quite an exhausting day but we were short on time. We did hire a driver for the Dingle Peninsula which was well worth it. We then drove to Limerick (stopping at Cliff's of Moher) and turned car in -so this was about 3-4 days of driving -did not drive in Dublin.

Besides Trip Advisor another reference would be Rick Steves tour book.

[Mura]

The last time we were in London we did a private tour to Newgrange and other sites around there. It was about an hour's drive to Newgrange. I would highly recommend going to Newgrange as well as our other stops, although I confess I stopped my diary entry to soon! I'll have to check my photos to see where else we went ... please email me if you want further info. This was an easy day tour.

 

Maybe the best part of hiring the guide was that he took us to his home for lunch! We stopped at a sandwich place and bought what we wanted, then went to his lovely home in the countryside to eat ...

 

If anyone is interested in the guide, it was Michael Fox -- <boynevalleytours@gmail.com>. If you want to use him, write early because we missed out on the larger vehicle we wanted! He's a private person, not an agency.

 

(I just checked my photos: we went to Monasterboice and the Tara Church plus another interesting site that I appear not to have photographed! But you could certainly do this day trip on your own. You might want to make sure that you don't need rservations to see Newgrange.)

 

Bear in mind that I believe in Ireland you cannot rent a car if the driver is over 70.

 

Mura

[sammiedawg]

Check with CIE, the big travel company in Ireland. They offer an inexpensive self guided car rental matched with stays in B&B's. We didn't book it but it sounded very interesting.

We took a guided CIE tour of Scotland and it was excellent.

[shorefolks]

It has been a few years since our last visit, but I can tell you that a self-driving experience there is well worth it. You can't beat being able to stop at an out-of-the-way pub or just being able to take a quick photo of ruins in the middle of a cow pasture. As to the age limits on renting, that varies among the several companies. When you shop for price, make sure you ask about it.

 

I would also concur with the recommendations on seeing the Dingle Peninsula and Newgrange. Different experiences, but neither should be missed.

[Noxequifans]

i am sure you are aware that when you drive in Ireland you are driving on "the other side of the road". It takes some more concentration than one might be used to. Killarney is an excellent base to make day trips to the wonderful countryside and sights (Ring of Kerry, Muckross House, Dingle, Kenmare, Molls Gap, etc.).

 

Nothing like stopping in a small town for mid morning scones and tea ..... enjoy.

[jo-b]

We used Georgina Campbell's guide to find hotels/B&Bs, she is a foodie so lots of nice places to stay along the way.

[floridatravelersforlife]

We rented a car for the Ring of Kerry, but it turned out to be a ring of rain - torrential rain. Plus traffic was heavy. Turned back at about 10 percent of the route. Went to the Blarney Stone and then a session at the pub.

[Paulchili]

Check with CIE, the big travel company in Ireland. They offer an inexpensive self guided car rental matched with stays in B&B's. We didn't book it but it sounded very interesting.

We took a guided CIE tour of Scotland and it was excellent.

 

In addition to above, I would check the brochures or online with several large travel companies (like Globus, Trafalgar, Brenan, etc) for their itineraries for Ireland. They tend to know what people want to see and then you can modify it to your needs, time, etc. Most people also enjoy the Giant's Causeway in N. Ireland.

[shorefolks]

We rented a car for the Ring of Kerry, but it turned out to be a ring of rain - torrential rain. Plus traffic was heavy. Turned back at about 10 percent of the route. Went to the Blarney Stone and then a session at the pub.

 

Exactly why we preferred the Dingle Peninsula. Traffic on the Ring was very heavy, especially from the huge tour buses. One cut across a curve and forced us off the road. We hit a rock hidden in grass and bent a rim.

[janecambridge]

If you can pull up BBC iPlayer,find Wild Ireland:The edge of the world.Beautiful scenery...

[marylovestotravel]

Thank You to all who have posted. There is a wealth of material on visiting Ireland but sometimes some friendly advice beats a 500+ page guidebook. We'll definitely look seriously at the Dingle Peninsula and Newgrange. Phil has driven in the UK before, but our experience a few years ago on the west side of England was a little too hair raising for us! I mean, seriously!! a massive roundabout at a junction of a major freeway!! And those cute little twisty lanes with hedgerows obscuring heavy oncoming traffic? Obviously we picked the wrong routes. The east side was much calmer. I was on a day trip on the Antrium coast a few years ago and felt the roads were very drivable, with moderate to little traffic. Of course it is always easier when you are being driven;)

 

We're looking forward to Ireland and am researching via Rick Steves, Frommer, Lonely Planet, and when our itinerary gels, Tripadvisor.

 

Any advice/experience on going to Northern Ireland?

 

Thanks again,

 

Mia

[marylovestotravel]

If you can pull up BBC iPlayer,find Wild Ireland:The edge of the world.Beautiful scenery...

 

Unfortunately we are unable to access BBC online. Too bad as they have such interesting programs! Thanks for the heads up anyways.

 

Mia