Is driving that bad? People over dramatic?

It is not how horrible people make it seem believe me. Just take your time and be sure to have automatic not manual drive. If going on a roundabout and miss exit just go around again. Having a passenger navigating really helped with reminders especially at an intersection te!ling me which way to turn. It just takes a couple of hours at most to get reasonably comfortable. Enjoy!

I have driven in Ireland. It is no big deal. Especially the first few days you have be conscious about driving on the left side. What gets you is when you are on a road/drive with no other traffic. With other traffic it keeps you aligned. One other item to consider is automatic transmission cars are much more expensive than standard shift cars. Even if you do drive a standard shift, it is a bit of challenge shifting with your left hand.

Used to driving a stick, in reverse for 500 yds on a lane with trees (hedgerows) both sides and not the full width of an American road? It can happen. Let's face it, plenty of tourists not on this forum drive in Ireland and survive to tell the tale. This is not Beirut or a minefield, but it sure ain't Chicago either.
Be conservative with your estimates for travel times (consider doubling the time to take into consideration pee breaks, souvi shopping, sheep in the road, getting lost), ensure you have a detailed paper map to back up google or gps, and ensure someone knows how to read it. Know cars are small for a reason. Trunks are way smaller than you anticipate and a compact or economy car won't fit the 4 of you and luggage.
Something like the Ring of Kerry or Dingle Pen may be better enjoyed by all if on a day tour, but you can figure that out after a day or two driving under your belt.
Be sure you research your CDW insurance coverage extensively or plan to buy the full package from the rental company. Most home and auto insurance does not cover overseas rentals effectively. Your credit card coverage may also not exist or not sufficiently.
It won't be a relaxing vacation for the driver, and may be stressful for all more than once, but you will have adventures and the ability to get off the beaten path a tour doesn't offer you. Plus the cred for saying you did it and survived to tell the tale. Have a grand time.

I’ve never understood the panic driving on the opposite side of the road causes. Merely a visual and muscle memory adjustment.

Too be honest it was the roundabouts that took me by surprise but once I mastered those I was aces.

95% of the time I travel solo. Have driven the entire island twice. Nary a scrape or near miss.

On the wee roads SLOW down, watch out for sheep, walkers and their dogs, bicyclists, lorries and know your destination. On the highways obey the speed limit.

Plot your routes and off you go.

Did their experiences include driving? And they survived? Or did they opt out and simply thought they were glad they did? I'm one of those who found it manageable and worth the challenge, especially once you get a day's experience under your belt.

An issue on smaller roads can be just planning which towns you'll pass through, so you can choose the right direction at an intersection that's not marked "north" or "to the big city." Of course, Google Maps on your phone or any form of GPS makes that easier, these days.

I'm sure you'll do fine. FWIW, here are a few tips and differences in driving rules/practices.

• One of the situations most prone to mishap is when you're making a right turn. Because we're so used to having a right turn be unimpeded, it's easy to forget to look for oncoming traffic from your left. Making a right turn in the British Isles is equivalent to making a left turn for the rest of us.
• When you approach a roundabout, the traffic in the roundabout has the right of way.
• If it's a 2-lane roundabout, you're supposed to stay in the inner lane until just before the branch where you're going to exit. (I know this can be difficult if you're not sure which branch is your desired exit.)
• On multiple-lane roads, and especially dual carriageway highways, you're not supposed to choose a lane and stay in it, as we're taught to do in the US. You're supposed to pass only on the right. The fast lane (inner lane; right lane) is just for passing.

We have driven in Ireland several times. It has not been a problem. Most of the other drivers on the road are very polite.

I would suggest getting the full coverage insurance because it is almost impossible not to scratch the car because of hidden rocks in all of the hedgerows. The rental car agencies go out of their way to find the most minute scratch so they can charge you for it.

I've bicycled all over Ireland and Northern Ireland on nine trips over the years and have never had even the slightest reason for concern, be it mingling in with traffic (even in Dublin and Belfast) or biking on the left side of the road. It somehow felt just as natural on my first trip as on my last. However, I still have to do some mental gymnastics when walking across a street - be it in a village or a big city. The "walkiing" brain cells must operate on a different plane than those used for cycling! Just be absolutely sure you know from which direction the traffic is coming before you step off the curb. And mind those roundabouts!

I also find the Irish to be the most patient and couteous drivers I've experienced in the thirty plus foreign countries in which I've traveled by bike and much more so than American drivers. Getting a driver's license in Ireland, I understand, can take about a year. The driver's manual is as thick as some college textbooks. When you're there, look for a large red "L" in the left rear corner of a car's back window. It indicates that the driver is a learner.

Yes, many rural Irish roads are quite narrow, but wide enough for two passing vehicles. Drive slowly and be patient. Especially when you come upon a flock of sheep on market day!

If you can before you go, find an empty parking lot some weekend, chalk out lane lines or place cones along a stretch of blacktop and practice driving on the left. And toss in a rotary for good measure.

I've been to Ireland numerous times and always driven, usually picking up the car when ready to leave Dublin and returning to the airport before returning home to the US. Never had a problem. Of course, for us, driving on the left was a bit of a learning curve but soon mastered. Be aware some of the 'lesser' roads are narrow lanes often lined with stone walls. You will find drivers there are polite and masters at turn taking when it comes to those narrow roads. At least this has been our experience over the years.

Both. It is "that bad," and most are over dramatic about it. Consider that the constituency here seems to skew towards the don't dribe side, as evidenced by the preponderance of "luggage storage..." posts.

The other side other road thing was easy (for me) to adjust to, I had a little time on major roads to adjust ad then it wasn't so bad. The roads are narrow,and often blind. but if you have adjusted to the other side of the road thing and have any experience on rural roads, you;ll be fine. If in doubt, allow extra time. I'd rather drive in Ireland than an unfamiliar city at home like Chicago.

Consider getting an automatic car. You'll pay more, but it might be worth it. At home and anywhere they drive on the same side of the road, I am a die hard manual transmission type. But in the UK & Ireland, it just seemed like too much of a distraction to adjust to shifting with the other hand, and I've always gone for an automatic.

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/general-europe/biggest-danger-of-foreign-travel-is-car-accidents

And try not to run over the sheep and the country walkers trekking the narrow roads.

You've received very good advice from the others.
No - it isn't that bad. If you're a reasonably competent driver at home you'll do fine in Ireland.
Consider previewing your daily routes by viewing the street view feature on Google maps. It really helps me to have seen the driver's eye view of the road before I tackle it at speed ... especially roundabouts, signage, etc. Might help you too.
And, yes, spring for an automatic your first time.

Remember that you have to pay a lot more attention on roads here than you would at home. Avoid the temptation to admire the scenery while you're on the move! There are usually lots of areas to pull over

The gentleman at the car rental told my husband that he'd be fine after the first half hour and he was right! After that, he drove like a pro all over Ireland. The first half hour had a lot of backseat drivers yelling "get over" but there, fortunately, wasn't much traffic at the time so he could get used to the round abouts. I would also recommend an automatic! The roads are much better now than when we were there years ago and, with a GPS, he had no problems driving!

My husband drove on two trips to Ireland and his problems were really only due to fatigue. You are fighting muscle memory and habit constantly, and when you add that to being tired, it's easy to make mistakes. Try to do your driving earlier in the day when you're fresh and when you realize you're running out of steam, find a place to park or switch drivers. Having a competent navigator riding shotgun is extremely helpful!

Thank you everyone for the feedback! I can shut those haters out of my head! We do have car rented (automatic) already so should be good from here. Can’t wait!

Aside from the issues specific to Ireland, take into account that cars in Europe generally have less luggage space. Make sure your car is large enough for all your bags. Otherwise the backseat passengers may end up holding suitcases on their laps between hotels. Brush up on international/European road signs.

Here is a link to a sample Irish RSA driveres test:
http://theory-tester.com/

I just got back.

Ireland has plenty of highways now, which aren't much different than ours.

There are also lots of roads with enough space for a lane each way and a line down the middle. They aren't wide lanes but most drivers stay on their side and it's not an issue.

There are some rural roads where there really isn't space for two cars. These roads have plenty of pull outs. When you see a car coming, look for a pullout and use it and let the other car go. Chances are the other car will have already found a pullout and is waiting for you to go. Some of these roads were narrow and twisty enough that I wouldn't recommend them for tourists, they require patience. Don't speed. Give yourself plenty of time so you're not in a hurry to get somewhere, drive defensively and you'll be fine.

The only times I thought I was for sure going to damage the car was when a big bus was coming the other way. When that happens pull as far over as you possibly can, stop, and let the bus pass. They always managed to get by without a scratch. If you're stopped and they hit you, it's their fault. If you're both moving, it's shared responsibility.

Oh yeah, and a roundabout is a yield to whoever is in the circle - not a stop. It drove me nuts the number of people who stop for no reason going into a roundabout. If anything, that's likely to get you rear ended (but I think the Irish are used to tourists).

Driving is certainly doable (and really the best way to explore the more off-the-beaten path areas) but it does require extra concentration to navigate some of the narrower roads, especially if there is oncoming traffic (think tour buses). If you will be the only one of your party who is doing the actual driving you might consider booking a day tour or two so that you can sit back and enjoy the scenery too. Many of the drives in western Ireland--Slea Head, Ring of Kerry, Skellig Ring etc--are fantastic, but the driver doesn't get to appreciate them quite the way the passengers do.

I watched a few driving on the left videos, some on doing roundabouts on the left and watched a few on Cornwall roads cause we were going to the UK....... We had a large 7 passenger people mover and NO PROBLEMS AT ALL.

I just found you had to be more conscious of your driving the first few days but after that it was fine. We drove the UK for 23 days even on single lane roads with no real problems.

If you are a decent driver, you will do fine.

Here is my "heads up"....after a few days of driving on the left I got pretty well adjusted. My warning is if you drive on some single lane roads it is very easy to slip back into your USA ways when you merge to a two lane road. On the one lane roads you take up the whole road and get pretty comfortable and they generally are lightly traveled so you wont encounter much traffic. Of course use the passing places which is pretty easy. But be sure to remember when you merge back onto a two lane you must go to the left lane, you will automatically want to go to the right lane. Just definitely say focused as you transition from one lane road to two lane road. You'll be fine!!

Plenty of sound advice above. We had fun driving the west coast and in/out of Dublin (in a small car; automatic; all the insurance -- as recommended on this Forum).

"...when a big bus was coming the other way.": We encountered this often on the Ring/Kerry and elsewhere. Of course, you'll slow down and proceed cautiously, but we also noticed that the bus driver is often giving you hand-signals (forward, left, right, etc.) from his/her elevated vantage point and mirrors. We found that more helpful than trying to estimate how close we were to the adjacent hedge, cliff edge, wall or random sheep.

Traffic circles: in addition to minding the direction of the traffic flow, there's no shame in making multiple laps until you're certain of the exit and in the safest lane.

No problem with the main roads. It’s those very narrow (1 lane, 2 way) rural roads that can be stressful. In many places in the British Isles, there are no shoulders on most rural roads and many have rock walls along the edges. If someone is coming from the opposite direction, one car pulls over, or backs up and pulls over, so the other can pass. Stressful, yes, but that’s just the way it is, and everybody knows the routine. Some of the larger traffic circles can be a pain, but overall, driving isn’t terrible. I’d much rather drive and be able to stop and see those very interesting small sights that are only worth ten minutes, than take public transportation and miss them. There are plenty of small, out of the way places to see, that are not regularly served by public transportation.

I don’t remember it being a problem. However one day while driving on a 2 lane road in the rain, one car passed me on the left while another car was passing it!

Not Ireland, but NZ. Friends did a three week bike tour in New Zealand including South Island. They commented that the inadvertently road on the wrong (right) side of the road a number of times after view pullouts because of the absence of traffic. Without other vehicles driving on the correct side, their mental reflexes took over.

I only have two thoughts. 1) For those of us who are severely right handed an automatic transmission is really worth its weight in gold. Driving on the other side of the road does require a bit of extra concentration and it is nice to be without the distraction of shifting gears with your off hand.2) You need a good front seat navigator who will remind you to keep left. My keep left problems were few in number and usually happened after making a right turn. Otherwise, once out of the big cities the driving pace is relaxed and should not be any problem for a veteran Chicagoan.

Have a great time and keep left.

I just drove for the first time on the opposite side a few weeks ago. I wore a bracelet in my left arm to remind me to stay left...great help! The car rental agency gave it to me when we leased the car. After a little bit of driving it was no problem...just take it slow due to narrow roads.

We got an automatic last year. My husband really struggled. He kept swerving into the curb. Over and over. I had to yell curb! constantly. He said it was because the car was too big! A standard would have been smaller. When I read the comments here, it makes me wonder what his issue really was!

I’m back!!! Driving on the left was easy to pick up. Rental cars have a big L in window so you don’t forget. Driving in Dingle wasn’t bad for me surprisingly- that was my worry. Driving the M8 & 50 fine. However! Driving out of Dingle into Killarney was the narrow 2 ways lanes without a shoulder everyone references. We were driving out as a 2 story tour bus came towards us you really have to slow down and try to “get over”. There was a big piece of cobblestone in the road which I ran over when which punctured our tires and ruined suspension on the rental - yikes! We had rental coverage through our credit card but was quite an experience. Nice farmer who’s driveway we were able to wait in told us “don’t worry this happens 4x a month on this road”. But other than that smooth ride with both the mini suv and then the new rental as well :)

I’ve been driving in Ireland for the past week. I agree with other posters...get an automatic transmission car. It’s worth the money. Have driven on the large motorways as well as very narrow farm roads and everything in between with little trouble. Left turns are easy peasy, but I have to think through right turns to make sure I end up in the correct lane. I haven’t tried parallel parking yet, so am not sure if that’s easy or not. Irish drivers are much more patient than American drivers....they don’t honk at me if I’m going under the speed limit on the non motorway roads. They wait until they can pass safely and they don’t show me the international finger of discontent as they do so! And GPS is a must.

I'm used to driving a manual transmission. I prefer them in Europe because I get better performance (and amazing gas mileage) out of the small engines. If you're used to driving a stick, you will get used to the placement of everything about as quickly as driving on the left side.

If you're not used to a stick, driving on the left side probably isn't the place to learn.