Hi, my wife and I will be traveling to Ireland late august to mid-september and our rough idea is to fly into Dublin for a few days then renting a cara and heading north to Belfast (why belfast? no special reason, just sounds different) and the north coast for maybe five or six days. Then south towards Galway and Dingle. I want to be flexible in case I really like northern Ireland, so don't want to make too many b&b reservations in advance. Is this possible at this time or year, or should we just make all of our reservations in advance, anticipating that accommodations will be hard to find? Thanks for any ideas or advice!
Posted by
Spring, Texas
635 posts
I suspect you will be able to find a place to stay. There are B&Bs all over Ireland. You'll just have to be flexible because it will be difficult to preview them like you can from home. Most are en suite but many are not. Many have only classic double beds. Also, you can plan on spending at least an average of a hour every day to find your B&B. You can just stop at the ones with signs out front or visit the TI and pay their fee. The highly rated B&Bs on TripAdvisor will all probably be booked that time of year.
Posted by
Bloomington, IL, USA
9371 posts
Having made four trips to Ireland (three of them with no reservations at all), I can tell you you'll a have no trouble finding a B&B. Even in the off-season, when some B&Bs are closed for the season, I had no trouble, and basically stopped wherever I was. There was no need for an hour-long hunt. You will see B&B signs virtually everywhere, even in rural areas.
Posted by
Land of La
9217 posts
As previous posters have noted you'll find accommodation fairly easy that time of the year. Look for brown sign posts as you drive. If a home or farm has one drive in and knock on their door. En suite means the bathroom is in the room not down the hall. Breakfast is included at all B and B's. 9 times out of 10 it's stellar. You won't notice much of a difference between Eire and NI. In fact driving up from Dublin to Belfast the only thing that will change when you cross the "border" are the look of the road signs. You will notice graffiti denoting Catholic or Protestant strong holds by whether The Pope or The Queen are spoken of with kindness or not. Definitely visit the Giants Causeway in NI. Don't miss Newgrange, Glendalough, or Rock of Cashel in Ireland either. Lovely island. Simply watch out for the sheep on the roads. Slainte!