England to Ireland
 

Hi--We'll be going to Ireland in early October of this year. We'd like to fly in to London, then go to Ireland from there stopping first for a few days at a rural area with good walks/hiking/sites. All is up in the air, although driving is not out of the question--initially, traveling by train and then getting a car at our first destination is also possible. Then taking a ferry over to Ireland--but flying is also a possibility. AND, turning it all around and going to Ireland first could work too. I'd love to hear from some of you experienced travelers out there as I've always gotten good advice from this forum. Thanks, bobbymckaye

Several years ago we rented a car in Oxford and drove across Wales then took the ferry to Dublin, drove across Ireland and into Northern Ireland and back to Scotland via ferry, eventually returning car in Oxford. It is doable, but I caution you that it will be very expensive. Even ferry travel alone is pricey with a car.

Best bet would be to fly. You can easily rent car at airport.

historytraveler, were you allowed to take the same rental car from the UK to Ireland? My aunt/uncle tried that and they were told the rental car could not be taken out of the UK. They had to turn in the rental car in Wales, walk on the ferry, then get another car in Ireland. It's possible different agencies have different rules so this is a question to ask when renting the car.

I would go to Ireland first since the weather up there probably will be getting nasty soon. If there's a choice, I would fly into Shannon and rent a car. There are many interesting sights (get a good guide book - I like Rick Steves). Return car in Dublin and fly to London -- or fly to Edinburgh and either rent a car and drive, or train back to London. Remember that driving times are much slower in Ireland and UK than in the US -- AND you'll be driving on the left.

P_M, yes, I've frequently heard that, but we rented in Oxford and drove the same car (well, in Wales we had to exchange it for another but only because of a mechanical problem) through England, Wales, Ireland, Northern Ireland and Scotland. We were charged a bit more for the days in Ireland but not for the time spent in Northern Ireland. I don't remember the extra charge as being particularily significant.

"<i>I would go to Ireland first since the weather up there probably will be getting nasty soon</i>"

Not sure I get the logic of that. Why would the chance of nasty weather be any higher in Ireland than in the UK in October?

bobbymckaye: Maybe a bit of clarification is in order. Are you interested in London and rural parts of Ireland? Or London + rural England + rural Ireland??

If it is just London + Ireland, then do open jaw into one country and home from the other. Rent/return a car in Ireland and do London car-less. It makes no sense to faff about w/ trains/cars/ferries if all you want is Ireland & London.

But - if you want to do London + England + Ireland . . . a LOT depends on how long you have for the trip. Touring Ireland is <i>not</i> quick. I would not try both countries unless you have 3 or more weeks.

There's no law or standard practice about moving cars between the island of Britain and the island of Ireland.

But all hire companies require you to inform them if a British-hired car is taken off the island, virtually all charge a substantial supplement for allowing it to be taken into Ireland, and insurance isn't valid if you don't comply with this. Just as important: car ferries between the two islands rarely cost less than a couple of hundred pounds return, and this incremental cost is virtually always greater (even before you add on insurance surcharges) than the cost of dumping a car in Britain, flying to Ireland (usually for peanuts), then hiring a new car there.

There are frequent flights between practically every strip of concrete in both islands: surface transport between anywhere you really want to visit and the other island is both slow and expensive.

Currently being tossed about in a car ferry on the Irish sea I can assure you that flying is the best option. You can get from just about any UK airport to an Irish airport, up to 6 flights a day.

As to Irish weather getting nasty? that's the sort of garbage you might expect from a guide book which is better for keeping you warm on the fire than actually helping you enjoy Ireland with Irish people.

Wow! Thanks! That gives me a lot to think about. I'll clarify. We're going to Dublin for the World Handball Championships--my husband plays--so we'll be spending 7 days in Dublin. We'll take another 7 days to do a bit of sight seeing in England. I guess what I'm really after is somewhere in between London and our ride over the Irish Sea (ok--you've convinced me--we'll fly) where we can get a self catering house--I've had great luck with National Trust--in a picturesque area with walks, etc. In that short period of time there's no sense taking out of the way side trips. Just somewhere in between where we can spend a few quiet days. Flying into Shannon is a thought--and then flying out of Heathrow. Maybe the answer is getting a place in the Cotswolds on the way back. What do you think? Thanks BMK

You can stay anywhere. The Cotswolds (fly into Birmingham), The Southwest (Fly into Bristo/Southampton/Exeter), Scotland (GLA/EDI/etc) . . . Or lots of other options.

I'd just decide where you want to visit in the UK. Most parts are easily accessible from Ireland, and all are easily accessible to London.

Thanks--I wasn't aware of the of the alternate airports. Cheers, BMK

Definitely concur with the idea of flying between the two islands - quicker and more convenient and there is an incredible amount of choice. Fares vary a lot though - so try to travel off peak (eg not on Fridays and Sundays). With respect the previous posters point about the weather makes no sense.

Hello again--Now we're thinking of just flying into Dublin and staying in Ireland the whole 2 weeks. Before or after our stay in Dublin for the hand-ball tournament we'd like to travel around the countryside for a few days. The people we're traveling with have suggested we hook up with one of those 'self drive tours'. While the itinerary looks interesting, it seems that obligating ourselves to move every night to a different B & B is unnecessarily confining. Having traveled several times in England, I've found that I've enjoyed my trips more when I'm a bit looser in my plans. Can anyone suggest a town, village or area and/or a favorite B & B where we could have a home base? Thanks, BMK

Ireland is really unsuitable for having one home base: far too big, and its embryonic fast road system is hubbed on Dublin, which is Northern Europe's worst city to drive in or out of (even Bath is relatively driver-friendly by comparison)

You need to approach this the opposite way round. Decide where you want to visit, then select 2-4 short term bases. Most people want to see West Cork (which is just combinable with Killarney and West Kerry), Connemara, and Belfast/Derry/Antrim Coast.

When you've decided, choose a separate base for each cluster.

I would agree with most of the above recommendation. Stay local to Dublin for the week of the tournament taking trips out by Public transport and making the most of what Dublin has to offer. You don't need a car for Dublin it is painful to drive in the city (but dead easy to get into and out from)and there is an excellent range of transport and tour options.

Use the spare week to tour round as is your want. No problem winging it in October, just book your last night before the flight home. If you look through the various forums lots of possible itineraries are available. Forums such as Trip Advisor have lots of local Irish contributors like myself who will be happy to offer options.

Fly drive packages are fairly good but avoid the voucher system,these are great for the agents commission but not widely accepted.

I would mildly disagree that one cannot or should not spend the whole 2 weeks (excluding the days in Dublin) in one place.
It all depends on your preferences and what you plan to do.
If you are an outdoors person that loves to hike or bike a lot, it can be an advantage to stay in one place as you can adjust your outdoor activities to the weather. And don't have to drive from A to B on a sunny day to hike in pouring rain the next day.

The disadvantage of one location, especially along the Southern coastline between West Cork and Dingle which many tourists prefer is that most scenic locations have rather poor or limited road connections or make you go far out on a peninsula. So when you are "stuck", for example, somewhere on the Ring of Kerry you cannot just hop in the car to visit the Cliffs of Moher or Connemara unless you like hours behind the wheel.

But first you should get a travel guide and check the obvious websites like discoverireland.com to get an idea what regions you will be willing to miss if you opt for just one home base.
For a first time visitor it may be more "normal" to change places at least once to get a somewhat more broader picture of the island, though.

But, to be honest, while the differences in landscape are distinguishable in Ireland, the contrasts are not that sharp as if you were changing places between Southern and Northern California.

I also agree that having a car to explore Dublin is borderline nuts, but driving a car in and out the fair city is no big deal. You may hit dense traffic in the city center, esp. on the quays along the Liffey but leaving Dublin by car is dead easy.

So now the plan is to go a week early--and site-see around Ireland--then return to Dublin and take public transport in the city and thereabouts. Thanks for the good advice about choosing where we want to be and then making decisions about accommodations. I'm now trying to figure out flights and WOW my brain is taxed and I've only just started. I want to use my zillions of American air miles, but they really make it hard(which is why I still have zillions--can never get a seat). Now that AA is in Ch. 11 I'm anxious to use up the miles for fear they'll eventually be lost. Any advice from you seasoned travelers on how to go about booking air mile seats on American? Should I do it on line or talk to an agent? Should we buy full fare and upgrade? Any advice is appreciated. Cheers, BMK

You might want to post over on the Air Travel forum. Several Fodorites who know a LOT about redeeming miles wouldn't see your question here.

OK--Thanks--BMK