JSinMBCA

Hello. My 12-year-old son and I are taking a road trip of Ireland. We are quite used to this type of travel - spent 3 weeks this summer in the US, and that involved setting up a tent and camping most nights. So staying in hotels, even if a different one each night, isn't difficult. I am more concerned about not getting lost, being the only driver. Can anyone tell me if I will be able to plug my GPS unit into the cigarette lighter of the Irish rental car? And will my Ipod and Iphone rechargers, which plug into the cigarette lighters of my US car, work the same way in the rental car? I am assuming yes ...

Our adventurous itinerary is as follows:
Sun March 27th - fly into Dublin; take aircoach into city; stay Sun & Mon nights here
Tues, March 29th - take aircoach back to airport and pick up rental car; head south - see Powerscourt/Glendalough - stay night in Kilkenny
Wed, March 30th - Rock of Cashel, Blarney, arrive in Kenmare
Thurs, March 31st - Ring of Kerry in am; afternoon Killarney Natl Park; stay in Killorglin
Fri, April 1st (Good Friday) - leave Killorglin early for morning drive of Dingle Peninsula; then head north, take ferry Tarbert-Killimer and stay night in Doolin
Sat, April 2nd - if couldn't see Cliffs of Moher late afternoon day before, see them in morning -- then head north through Burren, up through Connemara and stay night in Westport
Sun, April 3rd Easter Sunday: drive to Letterkenny, Co. Donegal; afternoon drive through County Donegal; stay night in Letterkenny
Mon, April 4th: drive to Northern Ireland -- Giants' Causeway, Dunluce Castle, maybe Glens of Antrim and go back to Ballycastle to stay night
Tues, April 5th: head south to Dublin, driving past Lough Neagh and Mourne Mtns, stopping only at Bru na Boinne, then returning rental car at Dublin airport and staying at hotel near airport

WHEW!!!!

JSinMBCA

OOPS - I am off a day on my dates in my posting. The good news is that all of my reservations are made with the correct dates....

jent103

WHEW is right (since you did post your itinerary...)- I travel pretty quickly, but I would find your Ring of Kerry/KNP day and your drive-to-Dingle-then-drive-Slea-Head-then-drive-all-the-way-to-Doolin days very, very packed. Very. My suggestion would be to focus on the national park for that day, then if you must keep this general speed, drive to Dingle that night. Then drive the Slea Head loop the next morning/early afternoon, and drive to Doolin that night (and that's still awfully fast). Driving the ROK and then Slea Head the next day would be a lot of scenic driving anyway.

To answer your original question, though, my iPod + FM transmitter/charger worked just fine plugged into the rental car's lighter/power outlet. If you're hoping to play music over the car stereo, I'm not positive our car had a dedicated audio jack, but that was two years ago. You might ask your rental company. I have not personally used a GPS in a rental, but many have. That said, I'd get a good map as well, just in case.

ParisAmsterdam

12 volt outlets and cigarette lighters in cars are all the same so no worries there.

Try to have your 12 year old up to speed on working the GPS... kids of that age can often work these kinds of things better than their parents. Ask me how I know! ;^)

As already mentioned, be sure to have good maps in addition to the GPS... maps are essential for planning.

Have a great trip!

Rob

Padraig

With an itinerary like that, it doesn't matter if your GPS works or not: you'll be shooting by things so fast that you won't see them. You might as well be anywhere.

Celticharper

I suggest that you plug some of those daily itineraries into mapquest to get an idea how long the driving time between these destinations really is. Take the mapquest time and add fifty percent to it.

Driving times in Ireland are quite deceptive. Short distances can take a surprisingly long time to drive.

JSinMBCA

Thank you. I too worry about the days around Dingle and am currently working on changes. But in response to Padraig's comments -- I would politely agree and disagree. Some close friends have traveled to Ireland more than 20 times and I have relied heavily on their advice. We have mapped out the daily itineraries averaging driving 25-30 miles per hour during driving time and using two different internet distance calculators. My plan may be different than yours but to imply that my trip is worthless is a bit harsh. My goal of this trip is two-fold: first, to get a "feel" for the different areas of Ireland -- and that is by simply driving through many of them. I drove more than 4,000 miles in 3 weeks through 7 states this summer, stopping at key spots. Did I see everything in Wyoming? No. Did I get a feeling for the state? Absolutely beautiful. Do I now know where I want to return and spend dedicated time in Wyoming? Yes. And second, to get up-close and personal with key sites.

I have chosen to pick certain spots, cities or areas of Ireland to visit. And indeed, will be driving through many miles where I will simply not be able to stop, even if I wish I could. That is my choice. And someday, I hope then to return and spend greater more in-depth time in the areas that "felt" right for me.

My husband and kids and I often spend 10+ hours a day in a car, driving and exploring, getting out when we want, having a picnic lunch in a random field. We aren't museum folks, and I hate shopping. I am confident that our trip to Ireland will be an adventure -- it won't be the kind of trip many would take; but it will be fun and exciting and we are looking forward to it.

Thank you. Jennifer

jent103

Moving quickly is fine - I travel more quickly than a lot of people on Fodors seem to, and I like it that way. But there are parts of Ireland which are not best seen from a car (for example, hiking through Killarney National Park). Hence the suggestions. If you and your son are used to lots of drive time, I'm sure you'll have a good trip.

janisj

You may like moving quickly -- and around the US that is very doable w/ interstates and 24 hour coffee shops. Unfortunately -- the roads in Ireland don't share your travel style.

You will be lucky to average 35 mph on much of your route - and even less on the ROK/Dingle Peninsula.

Also - you won't be getting on the road super early most mornings. B&Bs just don't work that way -- unless you pay up the night before and skip breakfast.

You can do what you want -- but I do feel sorry for the 12 yo. He won't have time to see/explore much.

Kerry_V

JSinMBCA - my husband and I are doing a similar trip in the sense that we are packing a lot into one week. From my very limited experience of utilizing the fodors board, most people here believe that Ireland should be taken slowly. Maybe they are right - or maybe it depends on the person. Don't let it deter you from doing what you feel is best for you on your trip. If it is too much then you live and learn (and have more to look forward to on your next trip). Good luck and happy planning! I look forward to hearing how your trip went!

Songdoc

I'll actually respond to your question about the GPS instead of offering an unsolicited critique of your itinerary ;-)

My GPS (Garmin Nuvi) would NOT work in my rental car in Ireland. It worked in Australia, New Zealand, and elsewhere. But in Ireland, I had to charge it every night back at the cottage--and that was sufficient to get me through a full day of driving. By the end of the day it was letting me know that the battery was low, but I think it always held on until I was back at the cottage. But ... my days of driving weren't nearly as long as yours.

Now that that's out of the way ... I'll share that your style of travel would be miserable to me. I don't enjoy driving and I want to hike and wander and explore. I like to spend at least 4 or 5 days in one cottage and use it as a base to really get a feel for the area--and see all the area has to offer.

But bear in mind that I travel extensively and have the luxury of taking longer trips than most people can--so I don't feel the need to cram everything in on any given trip. On my upcoming trip, except for one night in a castle, my shortest stay will be four days. Everywhere else will be 6 nights. We'll be gone a month and this is my 5th or 6th trip to Ireland.

Sounds as if you know exactly what you're signing on for and I hope you have a great time.