Car Rental in Ireland

There would be huge extra charges, picking up in one country (UK) and returning in a different country (Republic of Ireland).

This may not meet your plans, but in 2018 we picked up and dropped off in Ireland. Could you pick up a car in a place closer to Belfast, but still in Ireland, then return it in Dublin? Or rent two cars, one north, one south, and get from Belfast to Dublin by another means?

Thank you two good suggestions. I will do some more checking on rentals both north and south.

Last year I solved a similar problem by driving straight from DUB to Belfast, parking the car for the three days we were in Belfast, then headed west to the Antrim coast, Rathlin Island, etc. eventually getting to Dunfanaghy, Donegal, ..., then eventually Dingle then finishing in Dublin after dropping off the car. I wrestled with the various options of taking a train/bus, flying from Kerry to Dublin, and many other alternatives, but they all saved little or cost precious time or had high one-way car fees. The closest I got to an alternative was to bus to Belfast from DUB, then come back on the train three days later and rent a car in Dublin. then drive back to Antrim and the west. It's only 1 1/2 hours on easy roads, so I made the drive after my long haul flight - very frowned on in these forums. Had a pleasant enough drive to make a stop at Drominskin Tower, and the carpark was only a hundred yards from the freeway in Belfast, so no city driving while sleep deprived.

That is basically the same route we are taking adding going down to Cork and back up to Dublin. Thanks for the info. I
checked out a company called Conn Ireland Car Rental https://connsirelandcarrental.com which is located in the US that has Hertz car rental in both Ireland and Northern Ireland so you can rent in Belfast and drop off in Dublin. It has good recommendations and prices seem no different then a normal rental. The other option is renting in Dublin parking or staying outside of Belfast so we don't have to drive in the city. Thanks.

"... you can rent in Belfast and drop off in Dublin"
That's true of any of the major car rental companies. You'll need to sort out exactly what the one-way drop charge will be for an international rental.
Might still be worth it to you for the convenience involved, but you'll want to read the fine print in the rental agreement to ensure that you know what you're getting into before you finalize your booking.
Also, there may be additional insurance add-ons applied to vehicles operated in both the Republic and NI.

There's a carpark just 400m off the M1 on Grosvenor Rd (Value Car Parks) that was L9 per 24 hours with a stamp from our hotel, which was a 6 min walk away. No dealing with the city driving.

Thank you for the good information. What was the hotel you stayed in and how far is it from downtown Belfast?

We too rented and returned the vehicle in Dublin. We didn’t stay in Belfast. Upon arrival we drove up to Crawfordsburn, spent a night, then drove the Antrim coast. At the end of the trip we returned the vehicle to the airport coming up from Kilkenny, stopping off in Glendalough and the Monastic City.

As an aside, if you’ve seen the old UK series Ballykissangel, it was filmed mostly in Avoca. There’s also a woolen mill (Avoca mill/handweavers) just outside of town.

We parked at Grosvenor Value Car Park, had a 6 minute walk to Ten Square Hotel (which picked I on price, but it was very nice), which left us with a 10min walk to good music pubs (McHughs). It's about a 30 minute walk to Titanic Experience. We took a taxi to Crumlin Gaol because we had a booking squeeze, but walked back. Also took a bus to
CS Lewis and walked back. At 74 years old, I don't walk the long distances like I used to.

Thank you for that information. It all sounds very workable. I too am 73 and a little slower in walking but it's what we like about Europe you can walk everywhere! I looked at Ten Square - it's one of the higher rated hotels but their dates weren't available for when we are there maybe I will try again but did book at The Warren Belfast Hotel. Thanks again all good info.

And to jaimeelsabio I have not seen the series Ballkissangel but have heard about it. Thanks for the info on Avoca and the woolen mill - that sounds like a good place to stop.

I'm wondering about car rentals and if car rentals are most available and easier in Dublin or can we just as easily rent cars in places like Cork or Dingle or Galway for a couple of days?

@e_goos: I doubt you'll find a rental car agency in Dingle, but you will in Galway and Cork.

You need to find not just a car rental agency, but a car rental agency that's actually open when you need to pick-up and drop-off that car. I found that in smaller Irish cities/towns, the rental agencies were typically closed on Sundays, and sometimes had limited hours on Saturday. Be sure to factor in the days/times you'll need them to be open, and check their open hours.

Agencies at airports tend to be open more than non-airport locations, but you need to check. Cork has an airport with commercial air service, Galway not so much.