best road map

I had the same question a couple of years back when we did our first Ireland trip. I knew we would need a comprehensive atlas because I had planned to take some very rural routes in the western part of the island. I was about to get the government Ordnance Survey atlas when I saw a recommendation on this forum for the AA Road Atlas Ireland (which is apparently based on the Ordnance Survey ). If I recall, the poster said that the colors used on the maps were more clear on the AA Atlas. I did not do a side by side comparison myself, but ordered the AA Atlas on his say-so. I believe the cost was in the $10-15 range on line. It did indeed show very well the rural roads I was most concerned about. I was pleased with the information provided. We only got lost once, which I attribute to the fact that I probably took a wrong turn down a country lane which didn't look all that different from the quite small "regional road" we had been on. That's my only caution - secondary roads and truly small rural tracks don't look much different from each other way out in the countryside. And signage can be scarce. That's not the fault of the atlas, so I'll give it 5/5 stars. Have a great trip.

bobbin4data,

Do you recall if the AA map was spiral bound? My husband wants one in that format so he does not have to keep folding pages. Hmm, perhaps I can find it on Amazon??????????

KSE -
The copy I got (5th edition 2013) is not spiral bound, but it is a book-form road atlas (standard glued binding) so that no page folding is required. It's been used on 3 trips now and has held up with only minor page loosening from the binding. The island (including N. Ireland) is divided up into 64 overlapping rectangular chunks that are displayed one per each pair of pages. For example section 38 showing Dublin area is displayed on pages 38-39 All you need do is flip to the relevant page and you have a detailed map of that area of the island (scale 1:200,000 or about 3.2 miles per inch). There is a page up front showing all 64 chunks in one map so you can quickly decide which page you need. There's also an overall "route planner" map of the island, plenty of keying, maps of ferry ports, a distance chart, explanation of dialects, detailed maps of city centers with street index, "motorway maps" (think of a map showing segments of US Interstate highways with all the exits and junctions marked), a map of Counties, a map index for finding cities, towns and points of interest, and lastly a map showing freshwater fishing areas. Whew. Plenty of data. Easy to read. Enjoy your trip.

bobbing4:
Thank you so much for the recommendation. It sounds perfect and easy enough for me to read as my husband will do the driving and me, the directionally challenged one will do the navigating!

bobbin4data,

Thank you for the information. We ordered the map yesterday and should receive it tomorrow (Amazon Prime).

I just received my AA 7th edition Road Atlas Ireland in the mail today. I have not given it a through study but at first glance I don't like it as well as the route planners online. It is pretty much as bobbing4data described. The route planners online (AA & Michelin) give a step by step detail drive. i.e. they even tell you which exit to take on a roundabout. I am sure it will be of value if we get lost but I am now thinking we will rely on 1) the navigation system 2) we will probably print or download the online route planners and 3) the road atlas as a backup. In the states I just ask my phone to take me to....and she replies with an "alright let's go" and gives me step by step directions. I think I will miss her in Ireland :) I think the atlas will give us a broader picture and will be handy as a back up or if by chance we want to go off the beaten path the minor roads are shown.

I'm an American now living in Ireland.

Here's an additional answer in case someone else sees this stream of posts.

The BEST map(s) in Ireland are county maps made by Xploreit. They are technically cycling maps, but the only decent map I've found. The problem is they are only one county each, they don't have every county yet, and now they're 15 euros each. If you were my friend coming to visit, spending that many nights in Killarney and Dingle (both County Kerry) I'd send you this map. I own every one they print. Multiple copies of Kerry.

It is color, it's waterproof, it has every road, cycling route, walking paths, church, ruin, graveyard, standing stones, parking/viewing area, holy well, ring fort, beach.....whew! I could go on.....

Seriously, GPS does NOT work all over Ireland. I also use an iPhone, and often it shows me in Limerick when I am home (off by over 100 kilometers!). Paper maps are best, and NOT the map that comes with the rental car!!!

Susan

Susan,

As stated I got the AA road Atlas map of Ireland and have been "playing" with it for a few days now. I have called my route up using the Michelin or AA route planner online and tried to follow along on the paper map. For the most part the paper map is a good overview but what I feel it lacks are the roundabouts when going through a city and sometimes the R roads (especially if it is a short length) going through some of the cities. We are getting the GPS in our rental car but that doesn't sound like it will be enough.

What would you suggest?
We will have the GPS and AA Atlas map of Ireland ( I doubt we will get the biking maps)
The online Michelin map gives detailed turn by turn directions. I am assuming that the map is correct but who knows. If we print everything out we will probably end up with a book. I can probably download the information to our phone but looking at a map on a small screen would be harder than reading from a print out. I do plan on Getting an Irish sims card for my phone but I don't think they come with that much data usage so that would only be used for an emergency.

I was so hoping that the GPS in the car would be reliable.

I personally plotted our trip on an OS atlas prior to leaving because I, too, like scenic routes and off the beaten tracks. This allowed me to make sure we hit the popular drives (Slea Head, Conor Pass, Ring Road, WAW, etc., but also making good use of time). During the trip, we used the OS atlas and Google Maps (mainly for back up purposes, navigating cities and things like finding a grocery store/restaurants/hotels). We had a sim card, and I downloaded an offline map of Ireland on my phone just in case we lost service. We had an extremely smooth navigational journey in our trip from Dublin to Kilkenny to Kenmare to Dingle to Ennis to Galway to Connemara and back to Dublin. Signage is pretty fantastic, and while I made sure to follow along on the map, we didn't miss any scenery. The biggest key in roundabouts is knowing what the signage means and anticipating your direction. I don't think I would have done anything differently.

Also, I downloaded a map of the Dingle peninsula from their tourist website. Very helpful as it shows a lot of the smaller roads. Made our trip easier!

Georgia,

Where did you purchase your SIMS card? Did you use your phone for navigation? and if so did it eat up a lot of data? Also wgat is the WAW drive???

We got our SIM cards at a Carphone Warehouse (located inside a mall) not far from the Dublin Airport: https://www.carphonewarehouse.ie/Stores/Omnicentre,-Santry

We purchased SIM cards from "3" for 20 euros a piece, which included a couple GB data each. It took about 20 minutes total from leaving the rental car complex to purchasing our SIM cards. The hardest part was finding a parking spot! We had service the entire time save a small blip in the Gap of Dunloe. I was pleasantly surprised by the service given the amount of time we spent outside of cities.

I used my phone to navigate about half of the time, and it did not use much of my data. We both had plenty of data left over (and we both used our data for other things like, updating social media and making FaceTime calls back to the states). As I said, I did download offline maps as well as a backup (google: how to download offline map and this will give you all the details; you can download the entirety of Ireland in one go but you need to have a Google account to sync to your phone). I typically would start the navigation to get us out of cities, but once out, the roads were pretty simple to follow. We didn't use it at all on the Dingle peninsula or in the Connemara peninsula.

I think if you are renting GPS, have a phone and have a map, you should be just fine! If all else fails, the Irish are mighty helpful and kind in general.

WAW = Wild Atlantic Way! (which btw is represented by a simply wave symbol at points along the route)

Thanks Georgia,

At least for the moment I feel prepared.

Georgia,

I just took a look at the site you mentioned. I located a store in Dublin and the plan I saw from "3" gave you unlimited text, all the data you can eat but the only calls included were to those on the "3" network and calls to any network on the weekends. I love the unlimited data and text but did you find you ran up a bunch of charges if you placed phone calls? I would probably only need to place a call to the B&Bs to give them an arrival time, if we were running late or if we got lost but I can see talk time running up if they are giving us directions, etc.

I am not sure about the minutes based on that plan because we definitely used our phones to call B&Bs and restaurants for reservations. We only topped up (added money) once at the store, when we bought the SIM card, and we never had to do that again. Although, if you have an iPhone, you can make calls as FaceTime Audio, and then use just data (I didn't do this with calls within Ireland though I did to make calls to the US). I would ask at the store - I picked the 3 network based on the coverage maps. It seemed like either 3 or Vodaphone would have the most comprehensive coverage from what I remember, though Vodaphone's pay as you go plan is pretty useless.

Also, since it's pay as you go, so you can't "run up charges" so to speak - you have to ADD money to be able to use the services.

Georgia,

What am I not seeing/missing/understanding?? I went to the link you posted, clicked on Sims plans and chose the "3" network. There was only one offer, zero minutes (unless it was to someone inside the network), unlimited text and all the data you can eat. And am I to understand I buy the SIMS card for 22 euros and then top up (or pre pay) for 20 euros?

I just located a Carphone warehouse on Grafton street in Dublin. I think I will just wander in there and let them explain the plans to me.