Driving in Ireland
 

I will be visiting Ireland in mid-May from the United States. We will be staying in Dublin for 1 week and would like to see as much of your country as possible in our limited time. I am trying to decide if it would be better to rent a car or use public transportation and/or tours. We are able to drive manual transmission cars but have never driven on the left side of the road and never shifted a car with our left hand. I am sure we can learn but I am not sure if we would have enough time to be comfortable driving. What is your recommendation? I do not want to add tension and worry to the trip but understand the freedom of travel is best in a car. I would appreciate any help you can provide.

My husband drove our rental car from Dublin to Northern Ireland after we were on a coach tour of Dublin and Ireland. The car had a manual transmission and he had no problem driving - he drove for one week when we visited Northern England as well on an earlier trip. Just remember when you turn left, stay to the left, when you turn right, go to the left - I even said it out loud to him. He also tried to avoid having to drive in the dark at night - when we were in England, he once reverted to the more familiar way when he became tired, fortunately, no oncoming traffic.

Having a car does enable you to go wherever you want whenever you want. The roads are very narrow, but very navigable. We loved the whole island and can't wait to return someday!

I would recommend going with the automatic transmission. One less hassle to deal with! If you are staying in the Dublin city centre, you really will not need a car, unless you want to take day trips.

I had no problem with the manual transmission in the UK and Ireland, however I have ALWAYS had a car with a manual transmission so I am much more proficient that most people. I prefer a manual transmission to automatic. But that's just me and I'm weird. If you are not very proficient with a manual transmission, you probably don't want to re-learn it while driving on the left.

Having "done" Ireland with public transportation, I *highly* recommend getting a car! I felt like I spent all my time on a bus, waiting for a bus, or walking to a bus. Plus, I couldn't go all the places I wanted to go.

Having had that experience, I bit the bullet and got a car (automatic) for my recent trip to Scotland. It was a bit nerve-wracking getting used to it at first, but after a few days we all had the hang of it. The fact that we could go anywhere, anytime, was *huge*. There are some places - Switzerland, for example - where you don't need a car, and some places - Ireland, for example - where I really think it makes the most sense.

If you rent a stick, I strongly suggest that after leaving the rental office, you go to the closest large parking lot (empty) or back streets, and practice stopping, shifting with left hand, turn indicators, etc, all on the "wrong" side, before entering traffic. It'd be an extremely wise 10 minute investment in (everyone's) safety and peace of mind.