We are experienced Europe travelers. We usually arrive, rent a car and go from there. EXCEPTION: When it comes to driving on the left hand side of the road. I am familiar with Ireland. My wife is not. I would like her to get a good taste of that wonderfully scenic and friendly country. Plans are for perhaps 7 days 6 nights small escorted tour. (Starting/ending in Dublin.) Unless I could rent a car/driver privately, of course. This trip would take place in either September or May. I note on the various websites that Galway is always included; never the beautiful Connemara region west of there. This would be important but not crucial. I have briefly visited the Rabbies and Exploring Ireland websites, but when it comes to factual information; there is no substitute for our Travel Helpline. This would be part one of a two part trip. After beautiful but likely "damp" Ireland, we would be traveling on to sunny Spain. Being quite familiar with Connemara, someone asked me one time when swimming season was in Connemara, I replied July 16 between noon and 4 pm. Seriously, any help would be GREATLY appreciated. Richard and Mary Shaw
Des Plaines, Illinois
Posted by
Chicago
792 posts
My comments are about driving. We took a family trip and we rented a car for a week and had a great time. We rented an automatic minivan (automatics do exist, they are a little more expensive though) because there were 6 of us and none of us were great with manual shifting. We all got used to driving on the left very easily. And when you are out of the big cities, there is not a ton of traffic or multi-lane highways which makes it even easier. We arrived in Dublin, drove to Kilkenney, and stayed in Kilkenney for several days and did a lot of day trips from there. Then we did the Ring of Kerry. The thing I was not prepared for- travel always took way longer than expected. Even when things looked close on a map, the roads between the destinations were often tortuous, never straight. And there were not a lot of major highways so speed limits were lower than I am used to. This trip was about 6 years ago so things may have changed. But we did prefer travelling at our own pace to doing a tour. The roads were easy to navigate and we were using old school maps, not GPS. We drove the Ring of Kerry on our own and I would not recommend that unless you have all of your affairs in order and you have a Xanax to take when you finish. It was a beautiful drive but parts were quite terrifying. I would invest in a tour for that.
Posted by
Land of La
9261 posts
My remarks will be about driving as well. First off I am not some care free "youngster" who throws caution to the wind when I travel. Nope, Truman was President when I was born, learned how to drive with "three on a tree" on a highway still known as blood alley (Highway 17 thru the Santa Cruz Mountains), now dwell in the megalopolis of automobiles and traffic, the Land of La. Driving on the opposite of the road is NOT that difficult. Simply takes a little bit of time to readjust the brain, lose the fear and off you go. If you are right handed and broke your hand you'd readjust and start to use you left hand. It is doable. Drove the entire island in 97. Small 2 door automatic. Over and down the Sally Gap, did Ring of Kerry, motorways, teeny tiny back roads, rain, sunshine, etc., etc., etc. The trick is to slow down, understand what a kilometer is, watch for sheep and large lorries, and focus on staying on the left side of the road. I encourage you to reconsider and rent a car. Straight shot on the M-6 to Galway from Dublin. 2.5 hours at most. Otherwise I'd see what tours are available from Galway. Enjoy.