August trip to Ireland - best time to book accomodation?
Mar 3rd, 2013, 03:47 PM
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August trip to Ireland - best time to book accomodation?
I'm planning a trip to Ireland in August - we're planning to go from Dublin to the Antrim Coast. Can I afford to leave booking accommodation until April or May, or is that leaving it too late?
Mar 3rd, 2013, 04:08 PM
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August is a very busy time in Ireland. If I was doing this, I would be booking NOW. What is the point of waiting? Do you have your itinery sorted out? Then why wait? If you book now, you will have a greater choice of accomodations and can better choose what you want.
Mar 3rd, 2013, 04:17 PM
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As soon as you have your itinerary planned, book your accommodations. I always book hotels that offer free cancellation 1 or 2 days prior to arrival. If I don't book a hotel on its own website, I like to use www.booking.com (always check the icon ? to see any special rules that might apply to deposit, cancellation, etc.)
Mar 3rd, 2013, 04:19 PM
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Thanks - we can't make up our minds about the itinerary - my wife has never been to Europe and thinks that you can just book a hotel or B&B the week before you go like you would do in some places around here (we live in Canada), but I can't seem to convince her we need to make decisions about this stuff pretty soon.
Mar 3rd, 2013, 08:24 PM
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I'm going to Ireland during the last 2 weeks in August.
I've run up against smaller B&Bs that don't have available accomodations in their computer more than 6 months out.
I haven't hit the 6 months prior to my trip, so I get many automatic rejections.
I get my information about lodging from various places. Normally, I like to start with www.venere.com and then contact the lodging directly.
I've also found good info on prior posts in Fodors on Ireland. Give these links a shot.
If I find a secondary link on articles about a place I'm interested in, then I will pursue them.
2013 is the "Year of The Gathering" for Ireland. This probably means more tourists than usual. If you find something today, with no cancellation fee; and find something better tomorrow, you have an alternative.
I've run up against smaller B&Bs that don't have available accomodations in their computer more than 6 months out.
I haven't hit the 6 months prior to my trip, so I get many automatic rejections.
I get my information about lodging from various places. Normally, I like to start with www.venere.com and then contact the lodging directly.
I've also found good info on prior posts in Fodors on Ireland. Give these links a shot.
If I find a secondary link on articles about a place I'm interested in, then I will pursue them.
2013 is the "Year of The Gathering" for Ireland. This probably means more tourists than usual. If you find something today, with no cancellation fee; and find something better tomorrow, you have an alternative.
