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Ireland 9 Days/6 Driving

My nephew & I spent 9 days in Ireland as first time visitors from June 20-29. We had a B&B self-drive package from AAA that included B&B vouchers for 6 nights & 3 nights at the Davenport Hotel in Dublin. The car was a full-size automatic from Hertz that we picked up at Dublin airport & returned to Hertz City Center. We spent the first night in Cashel, one night in Cork, two nights in Killarney, two nights in Galway before returning to Dublin for 3 nights.

First-driving. The roads are VERY NARROW all over Ireland. The driver (me) spends most of the time making sure to avoid on-coming traffic on the right and little time seeing the scenery. I found it very stressful driving on the left in a right-hand drive car (roundabouts, anyone?). I hit a curb on the left side the first day in Cashel and blew the front tire. €100 to replace plus €50 service call. Not off to the best of starts! No other real incidents after that but driving still an adventure. Advantage-stop as you please & go when you want. Tips-had "Super CDW" from Hertz but it did not include windows, tires & mirrors. Paid €4/day extra & glad I did! Hertz City Center return is actually off the M-50 on the west side of the city so did not really have to drive far into Dublin. No hassle on tire insurance from Hertz-cost deducted on final bill and got ride to hotel. Rent a diesel; fuel costs for diesel much less than regular petro. RS is right; tour buses have the right of way. If you have to back up, you have to back up to pull over to let buses pass.

Highlights (lots of)-even though it was the end of June, tourist traffic was a lot less than I expected. No jams on the Ring of Kerry & the Dingle Penninsula. The most tourist buses I saw were to and from Galway to the Cliffs of Moher but still no a big problem. No rain the whole time; some clouds on the Cliffs day. Rick doesn't seem to like Cork much but that is my family's origin and we found a quay (pronounced "key") on the Lee with our family name. Also, the single best meal I had in Ireland was at Market Lane (5&6 Oliver Plunkett St.) in Cork. Killarney doesn't seem to get a lot of respect from Rick but it makes a great staging point for both the Ring of Kerry & the Dingle Penninsula. A recommended B&B is Windway House (New Road, Killarney) run by Frank Nolan who has 40 years in the hospitality service (take his "morning prayers"!). Quiet but only a five minute walk to the city center. Killarney also has a wonderful Tourist Information center that will make you reservations to anywhere in Ireland you want to go.

I am a city boy at heart and I loved Galway. The Kiltevna House B&B (24 Grattan Park, Salthill) is an easy walk to the water and following the water around will lead you to the bridge to the city center. In any of the seafood restaurants we ate in, the fish tasted fresh caught and the cod fish & chips had the biggest fillets of cod I have ever seen. Driving through the Burren was so barren I had to wonder who exactly lived out here. By the time we got to Dublin, I was happy to be rid of the car and we used the 2 day Hop On-Hop Off bus pass to see the city and its sights. I thought the Davenport Hotel was a fine hotel (despite some bad reviews) in a good location next to Trinity College and within walking distance of the Grafton shopping street and Temple Bar. I could not believe how many people filled the streets with their drinks outside the bars & cafes after work & on weekends (try that in the States!). No need to repeat what everyone says about the friendliness of the Irish; it's all true!

One final note: we were there when the six Irish students were killed in the balcony collapse in California. The whole country went into mourning ; continuous news and TV coverage through the funerals. It resembled our 9/11.

Posted by
238 posts

I really enjoyed your trip report--reminded me of our trip three years ago. We decided to pick up our car in the city after our three days in Dublin--big mistake! We broke the passenger side mirror within the first 15 minutes. Luckily the fellow at the rental place upgraded our insurance to cover everything, even mirrors. We managed to get it back on, but eventually lost it altogether somewhere between Dingle and Kinsale. And you are absolutely right about the friendliness of the Irish. We have many warm memories of the kindness of strangers.

Posted by
3 posts

Tom, agree about the narrow roads, my 2 sisters were white knuckled for our trip to western Ireland. We landed at Shannon airport, and followed your southern route with additional stops at Tipperary (ancestral home), Lismore Castle Waterford ( Adele Astaire, Fred Astaire’s sister, married Lord Charles Cavendish and lived in the Castle between 1932 and 1944. When her husband died she returned to America but continued to visit Lismore for a month each summer, during which time Fred Astaire was a frequent visitor) and Tralee (song and festival Rose of Tralee).

Past Galway, we drove to Clifden (pilots Alcock and Brown beat Lindbergh across Atlantic in 1919), past lovely Kylemore Abbey to Westport (Grace Kelly's relatives and Matt Malloy pub) and to Ashford Castle near Cong. John Wayne, Maureen O'Hara and cast stayed there while filming the movie The Quiet Man.

All in all, a GRAND TIME as the Irish would say.
jb

Posted by
18 posts

Tom is right. Driving in Ireland is a challenge. The roads are very narrow, and many aren't in good condition. The complete CDW package is worth the extra money for peace of mind--especially If you're not used to driving on the left.

Posted by
86 posts

When driving in the UK or Ireland always rent the smallest car you possibly can...it helps immensely on the narrow roads.

Posted by
1 posts

For anyone that has visited multiple European countries Ireland can be a disappointment. Ireland is sparse on signature sights since it never was the center of an empire. If you are looking for great scenery, Ireland can be great. However, you can find great scenery all over Europe. The Irish Republic combined with Northern Ireland is worth nothing like a 21 day trip. Dublin is worth one or two days combined with a day trip to the Wicklow mountains on an additional day. Belfast can be comfortably seen in a single day, and not an especially long one at that. Galway and the Cliffs of Moher are good for two days. The Dingle peninsula is good for two days. Avoid Dingle town completely during the months of June, July and August. Dingle town is a sea of global tourism, cars and overpriced fish and chips during the high season in summer. Instead, stay at a B&B farther out on the Dingle Peninsula. If you must visit Dingle town, avoid the gimmicky tourist oriented sights such as Funghi the dolphin and OceanWorld. If you are going to Kenmare/Ring of Kerry these destinations overlap the Dingle experience. In that case, the Dingle peninsula can be comfortably skipped. Finally, avoid Kinsale, Cobh and Cork. These towns are at best, a two quick two to three hour walk through unless there is a particular sight in one you absolutely want to see.

In summary, Ireland is a great place but doesn't warrant more than an eight to 11 day trip. Dublin, Belfast, Galway, the Dingle peninsula, Kenmare and Ring of Kerry sum up the entire list of worthwhile cities and areas to visit.