Driving Around Ireland
 

My wife and I will be visiting Ireland for the first time during early October (2016). We'll be flying into Dublin on a Saturday, and flying out of Dublin the following Saturday. Two questions:
1) Apart from "the other side of the road" thing...what are some tips out there for: renting a car, insurance, driving conditions, drive times (say Dublin to Killarney...), roads conditions and other destinations on the Southern half of the country...
2) Does 7 days seem like enough time to take a road trip down to Killarney (area), then over to Blarney, and back up to Dublin...or is that just too rushed? (*We enjoy moving about and exploring new countries/destinations; and can always adjust on the fly. So, really just looking for feedback from anyone who's driven the roads of Ireland and may have a story to tell.)
Thanks, in advance!

Before you go further, if you cannot drive a stick shift using the "other" hand, be sure the automatic rate is acceptable to you.

There isn't much beyond reading your fine prints regarding car insurance (CDW, LDW). Your U.S. credit card insurance is unlikely to cover you in Ireland. You need to take an alternate insurance. A plain CDW would leave you with an excess over 1200€. Paying more daily rate will get your excess lower.

>>> We enjoy moving about and exploring new countries/destinations; and can always adjust on the fly.
If you are going to do the Ring of Kerry, if you don't time the direction the route correctly, you will be fighting against big tour bases - on narrow roads.

Top speed can be pretty slow, so keep that in mind. Be alert at traffic circles/round a bouts. Use GPS. Be aware of meal times. Places are sometimes closed between lunch and dinner. ENJOY!

@greg - Thanks for the feedback (and for understanding my sarcasm :-) Good tip about the tour bus traffic (never would have considered that!)

@deladeb - great stuff! Thx

How old are you ? Believe they don't rent to people over ceratin age - 70 ?

Only a few credit cards cover rentals in Ireland. We have a Citibank MasterCard that did but we needed a printed document from them proving it for Hertz. Plus a hefty hold was put on our card by hertz. We thankfully had no issues so can't say what the process would have been like it he had. To purchase the full coverage from hertz would have been about $150 for the week.

The roads are fine. Motorways (the M roads) are like normal highways. The N roads are good roads as well. The R and L roads are tinier, sometimes just one lane for two way traffic but they do have lots of turnouts for passing.

We found google maps to have pretty accurate drive time estimates though people will tell you to add significant time to it. Just put in the time and day you will be traveling like Monday morning at 9am so it can factor in any rush hour, etc.

I think 7 days is a fine amount of time for what you propose but we aren't slow travelers. If the tour buses on ring of Kerry make you nervous, the Beara peninsula is beautiful with a lot less traffic.

Bedar/ Are you telling us that car rental agencies in Ireland do not rent cars to folks over 70 years?

Is this some govt rule, some agency policy, your opinion?

If this is true, I will need to reconsider my journey.

You can do some great day tours from Dublin, take the gobus to Galway and or take the train to Cork or Killarney. Public transportation is great in Ireland. Go check out Trip advisor, there are many that use just public transportation there. I am younger and still only do trains and buses.

<Age Requirements - Restrictions.
Drivers under 25 must have held their full license for at least 24 months prior to the date of pick up. The minimum age to rent a vehicle is 21 years (maximum 75). Drivers under 25, i.e. drivers aged 21,22, 23 or 24 are subject to an insurance surcharge of 25 Euro per day and drivers 70 or over are subject to an insurance surcharge of 25 Euro per day. All drivers under 25 and over 70 are liable for the first 1,200 Euro of damage to the car (excess). The surcharge is paid when collecting the car and is not included in the quoted price.

The minimum age to be a named driver in a minivan, minibus or luxury car rental is 25 years.

The maximum age to be a named driver in a minivan, minibus or luxury car rental is 70 years.>

Jobin,
Age limit is company specific. Just read the "Terms and Conditions" fine prints presented to you before making a reservation. They always have a section on age restrictions.