Are plans are very soft on our upcoming November trip to Ireland. Since we are flying standby, we are unsure whether we are arriving at Shannon or Dublin airport. It is dependant on available seats on the plane. We would like to stay in B&B's or smaller hotels. Unfortunately, we aren't able to commit to dates and places until we arrive. Since it is low season, is it important that we book ahead? We have a plan of places to visit, but the dates and order are up in the air until we are in Ireland.
Posted by
Vermont USA
359 posts
We did that during one off-season and had zero trouble finding nice spots to stay. One mistake we made was finding and booking our spots on a daily basis while there to provide what we thought would be fun flexibility. In a way it was fun and we did end up with good stays .... but each day then included stressful and time consuming searches and a couple missed opportunities for even better locations. Once you get your dates firm I would recommend booking the stays to avoid that hassle so you can devote stress free time to the trip itself. Just a thought. But anyway unless you have exceptionally specific demands you should have little problem finding great fun spots near your desired locations.
Posted by
Rick Steves' Europe
16895 posts
Since it's basically impossible for you to commit, don't stress about it. Off-season should be a pretty easy time to do this. Of course, you could make some bookings that are changeable, but since that creates more work for both you and the proprietor, it doesn't seem worthwhile to guesstimate.
Posted by
OP
4 posts
Thanks for your information on our upcoming trip. It gets tricky without exact dates. We hope to stay at Castlewood House and plan on kicking around Dingle for a few days. Then we'll be heading up the west coast for Northern Ireland and finishing in Dublin for a few days. Do you know other must-sees on our trip? I think we have the landscape highlights covered. How about inside visits when it rains - museums, indoor tours, etc? Also places to stay on the way up through Galway/Mayo/Sligo?
Posted by
Waterville, Ireland
409 posts
One suggestion is to book directly with a place. Sure, do your research on Booking.com or TripAdvisor - but they charge as much as 15 euros to the B&B so you should call them direct and save the money! I don't know one place (ok, one place in Dublin) that didn't prefer me to book over the phone.....
And just Dingle? What about Iveragh peninsula and the Skellig Coast???
Susan
Expat living in Waterville
Posted by
OP
4 posts
Can you take a boat to Skellig Michael and Little Skellig around November 20-21 or 22? Or does all boat service end in October?
Posted by
Waterville, Ireland
409 posts
All boat LANDINGS ended October 2nd. You can boat around the island, weather permitting.
i'd suggest you call Ger Kennedy at The Moorings - the cafe and B&B across from the docks. He'd know who has their boat in the water and who doesn't. All my buddies have theirs in dry dock for the winter...
Susan
Ex Pat in Waterville