We fly into Dublin Airport and out of Shannon Airport (heading to Philadelphia Airport). I read with great interest the tips for Dublin Airport departures.
Will we need to arrive three hours early at Shannon Airport, as advised for Dublin departures?
It sounds like passengers went through Customs in Dublin, Ireland and don't go through Customs when arriving in U.S. Is that true or did I misread it? Any tips appreciated!
Departing from Shannon (or from Dublin), you will go through "preclearance." This means you go through US Immigration and Customs in Shannon; your arrival in Philadelphia is like a domestic arrival (you just get off the plane, pick up any checked luggage, and exit). If you've ever flown from a major Canadian airport nonstop to the US, it's the same procedure.
Details here: http://www.shannonairport.ie/gns/passengers/prepare/us-preclearance.aspx
Since you're doing the potentially lengthy formalities in Shannon, I'd certainly want to arrive 3 hours before departure for a flight from Shannon to the US. Will it probably take less time? Sure - but the consequences are high if it doesn't.
Thank you so much for the information. We have planned our 16 day trip ourselves, but had no idea Customs was handled in Ireland. Makes a difference to know these details. Thank goodness for Rick Steves Forum!
We flew out of Shannon, also headed to Philadelphia, and found it to be a well run, efficient airport. We turned in our car late in the afternoon on the day before departure and stayed overnight at the Radisson. It's an OK hotel--a bit on the tired side but the big advantage is that it is just a short walk across the parking lot to the airport (and yet, it was not noisy at all). It made the departure process so easy and stress free! We had breakfast and checked out at about 8:45, strolled over to the airport, checked our bags, did the paperwork for our VAT tax refund, did a little shopping and were through customs and security in plenty of time for our 11:30 am flight. This was in late September--the airport might be busier, and thus more time might be required, during the height of the season.
We are also staying at the Raddison! Just walk out the door, through the parking lot, and into the terminal! We are dropping our rental car that day also.
Can you recommend a good car rental company? My husband is working on that detail. We'll pick it up in Dublin and drop it in Shannon.
Thanks for your info!
On our last trip we picked up the car in Cork and dropped it off in Shannon. We opted for Budget and were perfectly satisfied with them. On a previous trip we used Europcar with pick up and drop off in Dublin--also no complaints.
