AlisonandRobin

Hi all - we're new to Fodor's but it looks great and we're hoping to get some good tips for our upcoming trip (May-June 2015). We're catching a ferry from Troon in Scotland over to Larne in Northern Ireland, then getting a train to Belfast, and another one to Dublin. Then we can get our hire car in Dublin - either at the airport or downtown. We've heard that driving in Dublin can be quite hard if you're not familiar with the layout, so we're wondering - given that we're flying out of Dublin at the end of our trip (and there is a substantial cost if you don't drop off the car at the same place as picking up) should we catch a bus from the train station and collect our hire car from the airport, or should we grab it from downtown when we get off the train?

jan47ete

Dublin is great, very walkable, transportation makes it very easy to get around. I would not even get a car for Dublin unless you planning trips you've not mentioned but still bus/trains are great.

Tony2phones

Ok I suggest you Sail and Coach via Belfast for an all in one ticket price. http://www.stenaline.co.uk/ferries-t...ain/coach-sail you can buy a ticket straight through to Dublin but it would be a shame not to see the North first as you are going that way.

If flying out of Dublin I also suggest you leave all your Dublin city time to the end of your visit. Bus from Belfast to Dublin airport for your car and head from there to the starting point for the republic be that Kilkenny or Galway? After your time travelling return the car and drop into Dublin for that leg of the trip. You might find it cheaper not to use the Airport Car hire but an off airport depot, depending who you rent from.

bvlenci

I don't think they want a car for Dublin. Their car trip is starting and ending there.

If there's a substantial cost for picking the car up in central Dublin and dropping at the airport (which seems strange to me), then I think it's pretty clear that it would be better to pick it up at the airport.

janisj

Who are you booking through? I've usually not had fees for one way rentals in Ireland.

Tony2phones

There is a substantial cost if you pick up in the UK and drop in the Republic (vice versa) some of the lesser companies do charge for different drops some of the main companies have hefty Airport charges, especially Dublin Airport.

hence "depending who you rent from"

AlisonandRobin

Thanks for your replies everyone! Our original plan was to pick up a car in Belfast, travel in an anticlockwise direction around Northern Ireland and the Republic and drop the car off in Dublin before flying out. Booking from Australia, the only company that allows you to do that is Hertz (other companies make you change vehicles at the border and is time consuming). There is a one-way charge of GBP 144 + 20% tax, and with the terrible exchange rate currently for Aussies (1 GBP is approx 2 AUD) it was going to be very expensive which is why we decided to train it, then collect the car and head straight back up to Northern Ireland to see the sights. Thanks for the sail&coach suggestion Tony2phones, I'll investigate that option. We weren't planning on having the car while we explore Dublin, I'm glad to hear we won't need one jan47ete and bvlenci. It was Hertz that was going to charge us for picking up downtown and dropping off at the airport, so if you can recommend any other companies please let me know (that will let us drive between the Republic and NI too). Thanks again everyone.

janisj

To clarify my post -- there are seldom drop off charges w/i the <i>same country</i>. Collecting a car in the UK and dropping it in Ireland -- yep, big drop off fees.

Check Dan Dooley and Autoeurope

Tony2phones

Lots of people like Hertz, swear by them, can't all be wrong. They are the only company on my personal 3 strike list. http://www.easytourireland.com/ have Hertz sorted you get their cars without having to deal with their customer service. Dooley are another good option, they claim not to have a charge for the cross country drop but its hidden into the quote (so I am told)Budget are an option I have used for many years. Whichever option go direct rather than booking through a middle man who could put your business with whoever gives them the best commission.

AlisonandRobin

I will definitely do a bit more homework before I book anything. Thanks for the suggestions and comments!

dfourh

There is a direct bus from Belfast city center to the Dublin airport:

http://www.translink.co.uk/Services/...rt-and-Dublin/