Car rental for just a day? Feasible?
 

Hi there! We have our Ireland vacation scheduled for this upcoming August and have purchased it as a package including airfare, hotels and rail travel. We will be flying into Dublin and spending one night there, taking the train to Limerick (2 nights there), from there to Galway (2 nights), and then back to Dublin for one night before flying back out of Dublin. This itinerary cannot be changed, and as first timers to Europe, we are okay with that (and also that our primary mode of travel will be rail).

That being said, we are considering the idea of renting a car in Limerick and/or Galway for a very short rental (one day) to take day trips outside of these cities to some sights we'd like to see (from Limerick we'd like to see Cork or Cobh or Cliffs of Moher; from Galway we'd like to make the short drive over to the tiny town my ancestors came from and then see other sights near Galway).

First, is this even feasible? I don't want to spend our limited time picking up and dropping off a car. I've read about how notoriously difficult it is to rent a car in Ireland and I want to make sure, before reserving a car, that it won't impede too much on our time.

Second, if not by car, what would be the next best way to travel out of the city to sights like Cliffs of Moher? I'd really like to see Cork or Cobh as well, but am open to suggestions for other great sights near Limerick or Galway.

Thanks so much in advance for any advice!

I do believe it is possible and feasible. It won't be real cheap, but you can certainly do it. We rented a car for less than one day (about 6 hours, actually) in Amsterdam, so that we could drive out of the city to visit a friend for the afternoon. I'm sure the same sort of one-day rental would also be possible in Ireland. Why not?

I used to rent cars at Shannon often for meetings in my company's Galway office, returning them that evening. Very usual business practice.

There are of course rental agencies in Galway and Limerick. Compare 3-day rentals, might be a better deal. You may also run into offices with early closings but they usually have drop boxes for the keys. Take photos of the car if there's no one to check it in.

To be honest you have nothing on your list that can't be done by Bus and or local tour..

I do, actually. The bus does not go to one of the towns I'd like to visit (I've checked the bus schedules).

Which Tiny town in Galway? That's the only place with a transport question mark.. Being honest though you will be pushed to fit Dublin - Cobh - Galway and points in between into your time scale relying just on bus/train travel..

Shrule, and it's actually Co Mayo, but if we are to visit it, we'd be doing so from our 2 nights in Galway city.

I'd like to rent a car on our 2nd day in Limerick city and sight see from there, and possibly do the same on our second day in Galway city. I just wondered if the process of picking up and returning a car would be such a hassle that it would impede too much on our day. Obviously, though, we may have no choice if we want to go outside of the city. Which is why I wondered about bus tours to popular tourist spots from Limerick city. I may just end up renting a car from Galway city for a day if I can find a good bus route or bus tour from Limerick city.

Traveling by rail will be a first for me. By car, in the US, is how we've always done it. So not having a vehicle for most of our trip will be interesting.

Thank you all so much for the help thus far. :)

http://www.galwaytourcompany.com/gtc/daytours.jsp
They are at the bus station in the morning in Galway, great tours north or south and very reasonable. We did it for 20 euros with a coupon from where we were staying.

http://www.fahertytours.com/ Michael has smaller tours, very good also.

Shrule on a reasonably regular bus route http://www.buseireann.ie/pdf/1299257551-456.pdf or less than 10 minutes from Headford or 1/2 hour by cab from Galway

You might find it easier more cost effective to rent a car for 2 days.. Probably the Galway days,, after Limerick stop of at Shannon Airport and see a few things between there and Galway by car, http://goo.gl/maps/xMOHV then head west do a loop of Connemara out along the N59 http://goo.gl/Ek8bpw to Leenane (after Kylemore Abbey) then back along the valley to Cong and past Shrule on the Headford Rd back into Galway.. http://goo.gl/maps/L5ihu

Budget Car Hire have a Shannon and Galway City office.