fuel and lodging questions-Ireland

Yes, you will find diesel widely available. Quiz your rental company, though, about their return policy. I have used Irish Car Rentals on most of my trips to Ireland. Their stated policy is that you are to bring the car back empty of fuel (which creates a problem in trying to guess how much fuel you will need to get to the end of the trip without leaving much in the tank). They told me in person, though, that if you bring the car back full instead, they refund the original fuel charge that is tacked on to the rental. On my last trip, I did the math and realized that by topping off the tank, my total fuel cost was lower than that original charge -- and the credit appeared with no problem on my next credit card bill. No matter what company you are using, ask them if this is an option for you. Depending on how much driving you will do, it might be better to take it back empty but you won't know that until you see how much the original charge is and what you will have spent.

As for lodging, if you have a B&B directory you should be able to find one with no problem. There are many, many small towns around with numerous B&Bs in each, and if you find some full they can probably direct you to where you can find one (and they will probably even offer to call ahead for you).

Thanks. It appears a diesel car would be most ecenomical in Ireland. This will leave a little more to spend in the pubs and restaurants, etc.!

Thanks for the help. We are using Irish Air car rental, so we will use your advice.
Does anyone have any advice on gasoline vs. diesel costs in Ireland? Which is more ecenomical at this point?

Here's a graph that shows April motor gas and diesel prices. It appears the UK line is the highest line on both graphs but I can't quite see the color to be sure. This indicates that in the UK this month, motor gas is somewhere between $8.00 to $9.50 per gallon and diesel is about a dollar lower at $7.00 to $8.50 per gallon.click

I'm not sure if I got to you too late or not, but we were just in Ireland last week. Diesel fuel was higher in every city at every gas station we passed. I want to say, on average, diesel was 5 to 10 cents more per liter. You'll find diesel at just about any gas station you go to.

Also, if Monday, May 19 is a bank holiday, you'll want to book a B&B ahead of time. Our last day in town was over a bank holiday, and it took a bit of time finding a B&B. We were staying in a big city, so it wasn't hard to eventually find one, but in a smaller town like Ennis, you might want to have a reservation.

Diesel is a good option, I believe they're using B20 now - 20% biodiesel