Ireland itinerary - for the 1000th time

When are you going?

I'm just finishing up that phase (booking rooms) for our July holiday to the north and west of the island. Lots of double rooms under $120 and B&B's are $35-60 pp a night sharing. It can be hard to pick a room, so many choices, in the end its just a place to sleep and shower. I'm having trouble with booking a car rental. The prices are all over the map. The stand-byes, Auto Europe and Doolie are much more expensive then the others, that makes me nervous. The market should keep prices roughly the same. I'm getting upwards of a $300 range for the same vehicle. I'd feel better if all the rates were consistent, than I wouldn't feel I've missed something. In the end I'll pick one close to the average price and be prepared for extra charges. Expect the worst and never be disappointed. Your plan looks great, relax and enjoy.

I can recommend the Andorra B&B in Dublin. They r n the Ballsbridge section across from the Bewleys Hotel. We stayed there this past weekend. € 40/night/person. Don't know if they have a higher summer rate, but they do have a website. U can google it. Easy bus access to the heart of Dublin across the street. DO NOT rent a car from Dan Dooleys. We thot we did, only to have them "lose " our reservation & try to get €400 more out of us for a smaller car. Budget car rentals did their best, wh turned out to be good bec the roads in IR are small, smaller, narrow, narrower and two-way. DO spring for a GPS plus automatic transmission, unless you're experienced with driving on the left. The stickshift is on the left wh complicates an alrdy difficult task. And get a good drving map to clarify the GPS directions. The GPS sometimes loses track of itself. Joan

Peter, You could do your own post on this subject. In Ireland some firms quote the price with the full-CDW and some do not. Some firms seem to go out of their way to make it hard to find the extra cost. You should get the full-CDW when in Ireland. When I've priced cars with their full-CDW, there hasn't been very much a difference between the companies. Some companies will run "specials" which will give them a little edge on the competition.

CJ, $100 for a B&B is going to be close. The RS recommended places seem to not go below 70 euro very often but you can usually find a nice place at 80 or 85 euro. Shop carefully and you may make it. I found Trim to be a little sparse except for the beautiful castle. I've stayed at the RS recommended B&B across from the castle and loved it. One of my favorite memories of Ireland is walking through the dawn mist around the castle and river. Even so, I would recommend you see the castle but stay somewhere closer to Newgrange and Knowth (see both). You'll be closer to the other sites too.

Sorry, got a little carried away. I always try to compare apples to apples when getting quoits, same car same coverage. Just curious, if a B&B or attraction gets a recommendation in one of Ricks books, with the result of increased traffic, would that not increase it's value and thus cost, in relation to a property of equal value that does not get a mention? Does it affect the apples to apples thing?

Peter, I routinely crosscheck B&Bs on TripAdvisor. Sometimes I'll go with someone not in Rick's book because of ratings and comments there. I've not noticed what I'd call a RS premium because of his recommendation. Sometimes I think the recommendation makes it harder to book his recommendations. When I book a couple of months in advance, it only seems like his recommendations are full.

The Boulevard in Westport is reasonably priced and in an excellent location http://www.boulevard-guesthouse.com/

Try the Travelodge for accommodations. Now, about the car. I had the same issue this year. AutoEurope was very high, so I looked around and found a cheaper rate elsewhere and then called AutoEurope and had them match the price.

Hi CJ, Rather than Portrush, we stayed in Portstewart, which was a lovely town! And one bus stop away from Portrush. Anyway, we stayed at Cul Erg and had beautiful views, private bath, great breakfast, was about a 5 minute walk from the main strip, 1 minute walk from the water, etc. Anyway, we walked everywhere we went in Portstewart. And we were right across the street from a bus stop which took us to Derry when we came and went. Also, the bus can take you the other direction to all the main sights (Carrek-a-rede Bridge, Bushmills Distillery, etc). Anyhow, we paid 32,50 Pounds per person when we went. We traveled in September 2009. So of course, it will be a bit higher now, but still should meet your $100 budget. I found the Antrim coast to be very reasonable... Cul Erg is rated #1 on Tripadvisor for B&B's in Portstewart. And if you read some of the reviews, you may get more up to date info about the B&B. (My memory may be a little fuzzy since it was almost 2 years ago!)
For Belfast, we stayed at Benedicts for just one night and paid 78 Pounds (we had a small discount for booking online and paying in advance). Our room was actually quite spacious with a really nice bathroom. The rate actually included breakfast in their restaurant. It was about a 15 minute walk to the train station, too. Also, we caught the big bus tour very close to the hotel. We ate dinner there as well and it was good food. Enjoy!!!

PS: I posted pictures of Cul Erg on my review on Tripadvisor. The review is dated 9/30/09.