We are traveling to Ireland for the first time in September and renting a car...flying into and out of Dublin. Are we better off buying B&B vouchers or just winging it ourselves? What has been your experiences? Is it necessary to book ahead?

I think you'll find most people here have suggested in the past to ditch the voucher system.
There are many BBs that do not accept vouchers and it may not gain you anything in the long run, so I think it'd be better to wing it yourself. If you're going in September, you might not have trouble finding vacancies on the fly, however a lot of people like to book ahead, just so they don't have to spend extra time going place to place. It's a conveinence thing. Personally, I started out thinking we'd wing our trip this past June, but decided I'd rather have bookings settled, so I could spend more time seeing the sites.
And, most check-in times are bt 4-6pm so typically "on the fly" you'd want to be in a town to find a place during that time. If you're pre-booked and planning to be late, all you have to do is call your place and let them know.

You can get a lot of info on BBs thru the internet, such as what they look like, amenities, recommedations. Try townandcountry.ie for instance.
There are tons of recs on this forum for most towns/cities in Ireland. Just do a search.
You can also get tourist offices to make bookings for you for a small fee, if you do plan to wing it.

btw, all our BBs were 28-33eu per person/nite, which is inexpensive esp for June!
Good Luck! and I hear September is a great time to visit. Whether you book ahead or wing it, I think you'll be fine.

Unless you get a spectacular deal that includes airline, car and rooms, going without vouchers is usually best. I've never seen a voucher deal on it's own that is a deal. Travel agents will push them, but that's because they get a good cut.

In September you shouldn't have any problem finding rooms, though generally I like to reserve for two reasons:
1. I have special places that I like to stay or there is a new place I want to try.
2. I don't like to spend time I could be spending sight seeing or tipping a pint looking for a room.

In September, almost everyone will be open, but you could come across a number of places that are booked. It's a personal decision though. If your itinerary is loose and you don't know how much time you'll spend in a place, pick them on the fly. If you stay in a B&B that you really like, ask them if the have a suggestion for the next town you'll be in. Many a B&B owner will call ahead for you and book you for the next night. There are sort of loose networks of B&B owners there and they like to help each other out. It's how I found The Shores in Dingle.

Bill

Bear in mind that you can always pop into a tourist information office and have them book your accommodations for 1 or 2 Euro, for those nights when you are concerned about finding a place (or to assure that you get into the specific place that you want. Never have used vouchers myself, but when calling around to find a place, I have often found that if I insert the words "We don't have vouchers" into the pause after we asked if they had vacancys, the inevitable aswer has been, "Yes, we can fit you in." Dunno if there is a correllation, but before I started doing that, some B&B places often ASKED me first (about if we were using vouchers, before they would say if they had vacancys.

Thank you for helping me out on the voucher vs. no voucher decision. We will just wing it without buying vouchers. Now I need to work on my itinerary...

Interesting, I was going to post a query about vouchers and this thread addresses that...I have the B&B guides from the Irish Tourist Board (they'll send you all 3 by calling 800 233-6470)and most of the listings indicate they accept vouchers, but what I'm reading is that B&B owners aren't enthusiastic about accepting them. It does seem more economical to use the vouchers - has anyone had GOOD experiences using vouchers?

First of all there are hundreds of B&Bs that do not accept vouchers and/or are not listed in the Tourist Board guide books. Second - and most important really - having vouchers does not guarantee you a room. Only that IF a room is available, and IF the B&B accepts them, then your room is paid for.

It is understandable that some landlords don't especially like the vouchers - they cause extra paperwork. Plus there is a cash flow issue. Cash immediately when a visitor checks out -- or money later on after the vouchers are redeemed. I know which one I'd prefer if I owned a B&B.