Ireland: car rental and driving maps

Thanks Steve!

I have used Autoeurope for all of my trips to Europe...they are a U.S.-based broker that will find you the best deal (usually Europcar). Get the smallest car you can live with so you'll have no problems navigating Ireland's back roads. And I agree that a GPS is an absolute must-have. For our last trip, we bought the Garmin 275T well in advance so we would be familiar with its use. It comes pre-loaded with European maps.

I think you should also pick up a Michelin map at your local Borders or Barnes and Noble as a backup...plus you can use it now to learn the "lay of the land."

Finally, I don't know what your itinerary looks like, but if it includes Dublin on either end, make plans to NOT have the car then. You do not want to drive in Dublin, let alone have to deal with parking.

If you have a detailed map, you don't need a GPS. The official Ordnance Survey Complete Road Atlas of Ireland has a scale of 1:210,000, is spiral-bound so it lies flat, and has 116 pages. See here.

I always rent from Irish Car Rentals. I've never bothered with special maps, just a basic Michelin map. Next time I'll take my GPS, but I've done fine without it in the past, too.

We got our car through e-car rentals Ireland. They're a broker, our car was actually with Thrifty.

As far as the GPS's go, I'd have a map along, too, and a ballpark idea of where you're going. My sister's GPS sent us on some cattle paths this summer and we got a lovely scratch down the entire passenger side of the car as a result. If you don't like the looks of the road it tells you to take, keep going and it'll recalculate.

Thanks again all. GREAT advice.

I rented through Autoeurope, which is a consolidator. If I remember correctly the car was from Budget. A map is good for planning your route, but I was VERY happy I took my GPS. I also got directions from aaroadwatch.ie to route myself from one place to another. As someone mentioned, if using a GPS and the instructions don't make sense, just keep going. The GPS will recalculate itself. I found myself on a few very small roads too. Luckily I didn't have any car damage. I would suggest getting all the insurance they offer. If booking through Autoeurope you might want to call and ask some questions. They are located in the U.S. and you pay in dollars...another plus!

Rented from Dan Dooley.
Would recommend spending the extra $$$ for the zero deductible insurance coverage.
You almost can't help getting scratches on the left side of the car from the bushes and things on the small roads.
I bought a very good map here in the states at Barnes & Noble. It is AA road map of Ireland - worked great for us.