What vehicle do I need for 6 adults with luggage in Ireland

Personally would not drive in Ireland w/o CDW. There are so many very narrow roads and potholes, etc and losing a side mirror or worse is not worth trying to save money especially when driving a van.

Others will agree, ad infinitum, but you really need the cdw in Ireland. And, your credit card won't cover it. Nuff said. Now, about the seven-people business. It's not going to work, no matter how hard you wish it. Seven people means seven people and no luggage, or five people with some luggage. When I was traveling with three kids (10 - 15 or so) we made it but one kid was sharing the seat with luggage. One trip with another couple we had one, because we knew they wouldn't travel light. We had the back seat down for max luggage capacity and we needed every bit of it. (When my wife and I travel alone, we use the smallest car available and have plenty of room.) Find a real good diagram before you commit. My guess is that you don't have a prayer of stuffing in seven adults with one carry-on each - - and no chance at all of a purse, camera bag, etc in addition. In fact, some of the luggage is going to be on the floor and people will be riding with their knees against their chins. A couple of good-sized sedans will fill the bill since one will have a passanger space left over for luggage. It might still be tight.

Ed is spot on, do you have any idea what they are traveling with? Have been with friends who take a suitcase you could put a horse in and have room for another one. You need to find this out and maybe set boundaries???

Sorry, I made a mistake. I changed the title to six people and the VW Transporter is a 9 seat van with some space behind the back seats, probably at least 4 bags. Then if we flod down 2 seats the rest of our gear shoulkd fit. We do travel Rick Steves smart and check no bags, so 6 carryon size bags and 6 small handbags. I was wondering if anyone knew anything about the space in the Touran or Zafria, I think they are too small. We could fold down 1 seat, but there is very little space behind the seats. As far as two cars, I am the only one who can drive manual and by the time I look at one of the two automatic and both large enough to fit our luggage, we are more than the Transporter.

You'll make it fine with the nine-pax Transporter. Probably not with the others. The Touran is rather small. I've never seen the Opal.

Get the super CDW.

With a relatively huge vehicle like that (for Irish roads, particularly) you will need super CDW. Even with a small vehicle I recommend it. But you would really be better off to get two smaller vehicles. Roads are impossibly narrow in places, parking is difficult, and two vehicles would give you more flexibility if some of you want to go a different direction for a bit.

With the regular CDW you get with the car, it comes with a deductible. The bigger the car, the bigger the deductible. I'm guessing that with the size of your car, it'll be a 1500 euro deductible. That means if anything happens, you'll be out $2000, plus whatever conversion fees (usually 3-4%) your credit card slaps on. Go to www.dailyexcess.com (it's part of insurance4carhire). You can buy "excess" insurance, which means it covers the deductible. It'll probably cost around $100. WELL worth it for the peace of mind. We got a major scratch on our car from a wall by the road on the first day of our vacation (tiny road, tractor coming the other way). If I had to pay to repair that scratch, I would've spent the whole vacation in a funk worried about paying the deductible. Since we had that covered, everything was fine. I'm all about saving money, but when you've invested that much into a vacation, you want to make sure you enjoy it. When you buy the excess insurance through another company, and something happens to the car, the deductible goes on your credit card. You keep ALL the paperwork and file a claim when you get home. I got my money back in about 6 weeks.

Do I need theft insurance? How about Personal Accident Insurance (PAI)? Avis has CDW and these two to choose as options. Do I need excess, cdw,theft, & PAI?

Two vehicles would make a lot more sense. You may want to go to separate venues on one day??? Also the cost will be a LOT less. Re: CDW I always get mine on-line in advance from http://insurance4carhire.com/ Roger

Although I introduced the two-headed beast, the idea really stinks. I've tried it a couple of times: >If I lead, the other guy dropped back and got lost >If he lead, he'd make wrong turns >Illegal frs radios don't work since there's too much bs chatter right when you need to say something important >Even if you resort to 'meet me at the church in _____' at five pm, the othe guy can't find the only church in a small village before six The whole herd needs to travel in one cattle car.

Two vehicles probably is not an option. I will probably be the only driver. There are two adult daughters going, but neither drive manual and by the time you get like two Ford focus and one with automatic and pay insurance on both, it really isn't less expensive or at least not much. What is diferent about super CDW, and in Ireland can I buy it other than from the rental agency? I thought there was something about buying it from an Irish business?

"What is diferent about super CDW, and in Ireland can I buy it other than from the rental agency? I thought there was something about buying it from an Irish business?" Let's first put on the table a fact of driving a rental in Ireland. Roads are narrow, there are stone walls, vegetation, unexpected curbs (blew a tire on one of those), branches, twigs, rocks, cattle, and other vehicles on a road it doesn't seem should properly hold one car. Super CDW means, you break it, you walk away, no deductible (there are some exceptions, like tires). You can buy from a 3rd party and save a few €, but if you have a damage, you will have to cover up to the deductible, then file paperwork later for refund. Make your life easier, buy the Super CDW from the rental car agency and never worry about any of this stuff. Oh yeah, and remember to stay left!

I have drove the roads in Souther England and Whales. Are the road in Ireland worse than those?

Southern England's a big place, I'll leave that one alone. Ireland's roads, neglecting the freeways, are closer to the roads in the interior of Wales, but not as bad as those in western Pembrokeshire.

My first day of driving the left side was south of Bath. Stonehedge, and Stouersomthing gardens? Those roads wre sooo narrow, but I made it in a big car. At least with a van, I will be sitting up high to see better.

Do I need theft insurance? How about Personal Accident Insurance (PAI)? Avis has CDW and these two to choose as options. Do I need excess, cdw,theft, & PAI? You don't need theft insurance. Well, not unless you suffer a theft. The only time you need Personal Accident Insurance is if you have an accident and get hurt. So, when you have your own car insurance at home, do you carry that sort of insurance? Yes? Get it. No? Risk it. What's the worst that could happen? Its a personal choice.