Car Rental in Ireland.

I think they force you to get something. I would anyway. We blew a tire and it was covered by the insurance.

I always get the full insurance. Especially, the tire and wheel coverage. But our car rental costs exceeds one persons airline charges.

I was going to contact Irish Car Rentals. Someone on this forum recommended them. They usually give you at least full liability with the rental. You would need to provide or purchase the rest of the package.

Also, we have some coverage/help with American Express Platinum Services. Will check with AMEX and Irish Car Rental.

Thanks,

/s/ Tom Milam, Jr.

Not complaining. Covering drivers used to driving on the rights side of the road in Ireland, is not for the faint of heart.

CDW will be required, and you do best to get it priced in when the reservation is made. We didn't care for Sixt Car Rental at the airport.
We were there for a week in May and I am fine driving on the left side of the road. But we found the road conditions off the beaten path to be extremely difficult. Roads are often narrow and have ditches and walls on the roadsides--often vegetation sticks out in the road.

FYI, Irish car rental IS Europecar. One and the same. We also rented from Irish car rental and when we arrived at the Shannon airport, we were directed to the Europecar stand.

In the "Tips and Trip Reports" section of these forums there is a "Transportation" forum that gives lots of info about car rentals. Be aware that Ireland has age limits.

I just got back from Ireland, and booked the rental car through Conn's Ireland, who uses Hertz for cars. "Super Coverage" is included. My credit card would cover Ireland, but the rental through Conn's for my particular trip was the same price with super cover included as the price from other agency's without it.

Roads are different there, but we had no issues. Maybe because we heard and read so many stories, we actually found the roads much better than expected. And we were definitely off the beaten path on single-track roads. Just exercise care and you'll be fine.

Thank you for your help.

Reading through these comments. I believe that it would be best to rent a car through a service that shows the insurance coverage up front. We have AMEX Platinum. They cover some things, even in Ireland.

Off the subject, my new favorite road is the Connor's Pass in the Dingle Peninsula. It is outside of Dingle. Read about it the Rick Steve's book on Ireland. Yes. I love that road. Especially the sheep and the clouds.

Still thinking about buying a car and leaving it at the Dublin Airport. Probably at one of the long term storage areas. We purchased a cottage on Slea Head Drive outside of Dingle. Above the beach where they filmed "Ryan's Daughter." Planning on spending at least six to ten weeks there a year. The rental car costs are a concern. American is adding a daily service from Dallas, next March.

Things are getting much better.

We used Enterprise at the Dublin airport and had a good experience. I’d recommend reserving a car with an automatic transmission. There’s enough to think about while driving on the other side of the road without having to worry about shifting, too.

We used Enterprise last month, and turned it in at the Dublin Airport, although we picked it up in Galway. Drop off was fast, once a representative got to our car. Picking up took a while, and maybe that's just Galway, not the Dublin airport. Price was our main reason for picking Enterprise.

There were just 2 of us, and our carry-on suitcases. We got a manual transmission, and the smallest car available, which wound up being a VW UP! hatchback. You may need a bigger vehicle, but on narrow roads, a narrow car is slightly less stressful than something bigger. We met one couple who were advised by friends to rent a BMW 5-series sedan for the "extra comfort," and that's what they did. Not sure what their rental cost them, but despite its probable superior handling and definite superior acceleration, that wouldn't have worked for us in Ireland.

Just do not ever under any circumstacnes rent from Hertz. I had a very bad expreience and the main office does not back up what the staff in Ireland tell you.

I just returned from Ireland 4 days ago, and I highly recommend Europcar. I always get "zero deductible", and it paid off this time. I am from California, and I rented our car on the UK website for Europcar. I paid in British Pounds, because it was cheaper than paying for the same car in US dollars. Most importantly, I was able to pay for everything upfront by going through the UK website. When I contacted the US Europcar website, I was told that I had to wait until I arrived in Ireland to pay for "zero deductible". We rented from the Dublin Airport, and we returned it to the Dublin Airport. Easy to hop on the motorway right from the airport, so no need to drive through Dublin. I have rented several cars throughout Europe, and this was by far the best experience I have ever had renting a car. Quick pick up, quick return. No one tried to sell me additional coverage or add ons like usually happens. We had some damage to the car, but it was covered by our insurance.

Hi Milam.

The car rental will come with a basic insurance included in the price. But I would highly recommend taking the extra insurance that they offer you when you pick the car up. This insurance means that in the event of damage or an accident you have zero excess and will end up paying nothing! It works out at approx 10euro a day on a midsized car.

Hope this helps.

Mike.

Oh and Milam.

I would suggest Hertz, they are a pleasure to deal with!!

Mike.

Anyone have any suggestions on how to interpret a description of a car that seats 5/7? For example, a Renault Grand Scenic says it seats 5/7 but it looks more like a small SUV and no third row seating. But to seat 7 it would have to have that extra row. We are planning a trip with 5 adults so that room for up to 7 would be important. Yes, we know we'll have to pack smaller/lighter than normal, but getting us all in plus luggage will be a challenge unless we upscale to a full sized van which is crazy expensive. Any experience with this from anyone?

If you're planning to use the insurance that your credit card offers, make sure you get an actual letter from them saying they do cover you in the Republic of Ireland. Print just in case the terms and conditions but that letter I mentioned is very important to them.

We used Europcar and had no problems with them. We picked up our car at terminal 1 in the DUB airport and let us dropped it at terminal 2.