Rental vehicle size

"each bringing a carry-on size and a regular size suitcase"

Let me be the first of probably many to say that this sounds like way too much luggage, if I understand you. For us, our main suitcase is airline carry-on size and any smaller day bag is the type that counts as an airline "personal item" and fits under the seat in front of you, hardly worth mentioning. Did you mean more gear than that?

Most car rental web sites use some kind of graphic to quantify the amount of luggage space.

So six bags? You will need a larger car or less luggage.

Wow, yes, Laura, I did mean more than what you describe as your typical luggage. We will be in Ireland nearly 2 weeks. You are able to get everything you need into a carry-on size piece?

I've done 2 months in a carry on - including an 11 nt cruise.

Check out the Packing Threads for tips on packing light - once you try it you will never go back!

Yes, we pack the same for two weeks or two months. That usually means wearing each outfit a few times and making a trip to the laundromat every two weeks. I don't skimp on underwear, but can get by with less of everything else. Ireland is a pretty casual place for tourists. The only times I used a bigger bag in Europe were my first couple of trips, when I had borrowed it from a friend and also had a whole car to myself.

Some bags are expandable, so if a last-minute shopping spree makes it heavier, the bag can adjust and go as checked luggage. Or you can carry an empty, lightweight, collapsible tote bag for the purpose of carrying back purchases (while checking the carry-on-sized bag).

For our two separate 18-day British Isles trips, I got by with a carry on size suitcase and a schoolbook sized backpack. The first carried all my clothes and toiletries, the second my electronics and other stuff. I checked the suitcase and used the backpack as my carryon, and had a folding nylon tote (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00NS363WU/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1 ) for my purchases on the way home. We did laundry about every 5 or 6 days, so five shirts, three pairs of pants, a few tanks to cut back on sweat getting on the outer shirts, and lots of underwear and socks lasted between laundry dropoffs.

For car size, keep in mind that the roads are verrrry narrow! Personally, I would go for a small sedan (think 4-door Honda Civic/Mazda 3) if whoever will be in the back can be comfortable back there. Otherwise, go a bit bigger but stay with the sedan (think Honda Accord/Hyundai Sonata). My mom and I had the first, and that worked out fine. Skip any SUVs if you can--just too big!

My wife and I traveled to Ireland in May 2016 and rented a compact, which had just enough room for our 22" bags plus small carry on. We are not carry-on only travelers at all, but we went to a smaller bag than our usual 25" luggage because we know from out 2013 England trip that rental car trunks, for a car of reasonable size, are really small. The trunk size/baggage size ration is really important if you want to stop at the places in between, which is where all the best stuff tends to be in Ireland. With three people and a mid-sized car and three carry on bags, you might be able to fit it all in, but maybe not.

To your original point regarding the nature of Irish roads: the motorways and the "N" roads are all modern (wide) thoroughfares, similar to what you're used to at home. No issues there.
Where it gets interesting is on the rural roads, where the width of the lanes can typically be 1.5 car widths (or less). The Irish word for road literally translates as "cow path" which will give you some idea of what you're dealing with at times. Can be a little daunting until you get comfortable with the local rules of the road, which requires that one of the vehicles meeting on a road not wide enough for the two to pass must use one of the pullouts that are located every couple of hundred feet for that purpose. It's no big deal for the locals. Fact is that by the time I had time to react and figure out what it was I was supposed to do, the approaching driver had already pulled over and was waving me thru. As long as you slow down and prepare yourself mentally with a "bail out" plan when meeting oncoming traffic on a rural road you'll be fine, although coming face to face with a truck is always guaranteed to make a visiting Yank's heart spike for a few seconds.
We found that mid sized vehicle made for a much more comfortable driving experience than going with a mini.
And yes - you're bringing way too much luggage.

You should also take into account that you will be driving on the left. Staying in the lane may be awkward at first, so you want the smallest car possible. On the other hand, I usually get an automatic in Ireland because I don't like shifting with my left hand, and automatics generally run larger that manual transmission cars. So my advice is to take less luggage and get the smallest automatic that fits three people and their luggage comfortably.

If you can get down to one slightly larger than carry on size bag, (26") 3 people can manage in something as small as a 4-door Nissan Micra or Toyota Yaris. I did that with my wife and 15 yo daughter, two bags and daypacks went in the back, one bag on the back seat. It was tight, but not anywhere near intolerably so. My wife and daughter are on the short side (5'4") so a little bigger might be better if your passengers are taller.

You should be able to get down to a single medium bag or smaller. I tend to overpack and was fine for 3 weeks without needing to do laundry with a medium sized bag. In a pinch I could have easily gone down to a carry-on.

Good advice on getting an automatic, and as small as you can comfortably tolerate. I wouldn't want anything bigger than a Jetta on some of the back roads, and although I am a die-hard manual driver, I prefer an automatic in Ireland, even though it's nearly twice the cost of the same size car in a manual.

Get comfortable with the fact that you can wear everything but undies more than one time and, yes, you can make do in a carry on for quite a long time. We've done 16 days in Europe twice with only a carry on each. Unless you spill something down your clothes or sweat a lot, just hang them up to air out overnight and they're good for another day. There will be somewhere along the way to either do laundry yourself or have it done for you while you enjoy the sites. We're pretty heavily skewed toward light packing here in Steves-land - not everyone is comfortable with that, though.
A smaller car is always better in Ireland. If you are seeing anything of the country, you'll end up on one of those cow paths soon enough.

Many, many thanks to Laura, Christie and the others who, in answering my question, suggested travelling with nothing more than I could fit into a carry on "suitcase" and a backpack. I am back from Ireland, having followed your advice, and everything was fine. Count me in as a convert to the ranks of those who travel light. It's so much better than hossin' around a big suitcase, having to wait for bags to be delivered to the baggage claim area, etc. Thanks for the tip. You have changed the way I travel from now on.

welcome to the club

Interested in car size recommendations for trip planning also. We're a family of four with two adults and two teenagers (a boy and a girl). We'll be there the last two weeks of July 2017 and participating in a wedding near Wexford. Our wedding clothes will take up more space than we'd like, unless I can figure out how to send the clothes separately at a reasonable cost. I don't know if a compact will be enough space. May need to bump up to an intermediate size?

Ray (in Washington) I learned 2 noteworthy things on my first trip to Ireland. One is that the complaints of the narrowness of Irish roads are a little overstated. The other is that there is considerable merit to the idea of traveling light. But, if you are in a wedding party where you have to wear some sort of formal attire, you may be a little constrained in the packing department. There were 3 of us and we wound up renting a Skoda Octavia 4-door with automatic transmission. It was fine as far as interior size went (I would think two adults and 2 children would be comfortable) and no better or worse on the roads of Connemara than other car sizes. Mind you, I live in a rural area, where roads tend to be narrower than in most cities and nearly all suburban areas. The Irish roads did not seem significantly more narrow than what I am used to at home. The big difference is that hedges are allowed to grow and stone walls are built very close to the edge of the pavement. In other words, there is virtually no shoulder and, in some places, actually no shoulder. That can be a little intimidating at first. I think that, if I were you, I would be concerned less with the size of the car and more with being sure you are able to carry what you need to carry. Just try to make the latter as little as possible.

We went for 2 weeks this past summer with 2 adults and 2 kids and rented a SUV. Even that was tight..... We each had a suitcase and two small carry on bags... clearly WAY too much. We are planing Italy this summer and will be travelling by train. I am looking at carry on bags only this time. For us, coming from an urban area, the roads were very narrow... some extremely so to the point where we had to back up and find a look out point to let others cars by.....

Thanks for the replies. Live in a rural area so narrow roads aren't new to us. Done some checking on sending suits and dresses separately by UPS and it would be much cheaper to rent a larger car.

We found that the Google Maps street view feature was quite helpful in Ireland. The coverage, even on some very rural roads, was quite extensive. Might help if you selected some of the small roads in your area of interest and then have a look on street view. It's not a moving map per se, but it really helped me to have seen the roads in advance, not to mention viewing signage, traffic flow, roundabouts, etc. before having to negotiate them at speed. Will give you an idea of how the pullouts work too, since that's always one thing sure to lead to anxiety attacks until you get comfortable with the local rules of the road.