Honeymooning in Ireland, Self Driving Tour

Posted by nashlann on 03/28/16 03:43 PM

My husband and I are looking to travel to Ireland to do a self driving trip. Can anyone give us advice on using a service (such as great value vacations or social living to book our travel) or just booking a flight and planning the rest on our own. We would like to travel to Dublin, then head south, west, north and back to Dublin.

We are trying to find an affordable way to plan our trip but do not want to be limited to a plan set by travel sites.

Please share any thoughts or past experience of your planning process!

Thank you!

Posted by Donald

Kansas, United States

03/28/16 04:40 PM

1081 posts

We did this very trip last May and it was excellent!

1st: Get the Rick Steves Ireland Guide - Every hotel and restaurant was very good and yet the prices were reasonable.

2nd: There are several "must see" places in Ireland such as Dingle, Killarney National Park, Powerscourt Gardens, Cliffs of Mohr, so you plan your route to include these things.

3td: I highly recommend you plan to stay 2-3 days at Ashford Castle, it was the higlight of our trip to Ireland, you can even take a Falconry Class while there! Also the Medeival Banquet at Bunratty Castle was a great evening with good food and amazing music.

4th:**When in Dublin be sure to take the "Literary Pub Crawl" one of the best evenings on the trip to Ireland!

Posted by Laura

Rick Steves' Europe

03/28/16 08:09 PM

16895 posts

Since I've never used one of those travel booking sites, I'd like to assure you that you can do it on your own. I find Rick's books easy to read and to use. Once you've booked a flight, a rental car, and a Dublin hotel, you could consider finding B&Bs on shorter notice for the rest of your trip, if you think you'd like that flexible approach. Other commenters might like to know the time period for this lovely honeymoon.

Posted by nashlann OP

03/28/16 09:31 PM

2 posts

That is great advise. We are planning on going between end of July beginning of August. Any car rental suggestions?

Posted by Nancy

Bloomington, IL, USA

03/29/16 12:20 AM

9371 posts

I have been to Ireland four times now, twice solo. On my first trip, we reserved every B&B ahead of time. Then came the foot and mouth disease epidemic in Britain, and many of Ireland's rural B&Bs closed at short notice. We had to rebook on the fly and we actually liked the flexibility. Since then, I never book ahead. There are hundreds and hundreds of B&Bs, and you will see them all over. If you do not book ahead, you can go farther than you planned, or stop sooner, without having to call to cancel.