maile

Trip to Ireland and England next June/July. Fly from California to either Dublin or Belfast, overnight somewhere outside of immediate city area. Rental house evidently about four hours from Dublin and under two if we arrive in Belfast. We will stay a week in the rental and explore that area of Ireland. Then over to the Lake District in England for six days and then to Oxford for a week of classes and then home. Three weeks at a relaxed rate of speed which is what we want. Questions: does anyone know if it would be possible to first rent a car in Belfast (or Dublin) and later leave it off in Oxford? To get to the Lake District would it be best to fly from Derry to Liverpool or Manchester or take a ferry (with or without the car picked up in Belfast?) and catch a ferry over to ......,? Rent another car in England for the Lake District and leave it there? We won't need a car in Oxford and will train down to London//LHR easily enough. I would welcome any suggestions about these plans along with where to stay/what not to miss/where to eat drink and make merry.

bilboburgler

Leave the car in Ireland and fly.

Pick up car at Manchester airport, on return take train from airport to Oxford.

Athlone is pretty nice but not sure if it hits your timing requirements

daveesl

A couple of years ago, with 4 people, we kind of did a similar thing-London, Ireland, Cotswolds, at the same time of year. I had considered either renting a car after London-take ferry-Ireland-ferry-England or renting in Ireland and dropping off in England. Neither worked out to be financially reasonable compared to flying to Dublin and then renting a car in Ireland, fly back to Bristol, rent a car there with drop-off in London.

It looked good logistically, as we had my disabled MIL (80+) with us and figured if we just rented a single car then it would be less hassle than shifting luggage, mobility scooters and such. After it was all over, the fly-rental was no big deal and saved a lot of money.

dave

Tony2phones

7 days in one place to see the whole of Ireland is a none starter. I would sugest 2 locations minimum and 10 days min to get any sort of feel for the diversity of the Island. 6 days in the lakes might be more than I would want but would generaly be considered a fair length of time to explore the region.

I know you can hire in the UK and Return to the UK but you canot hire from the mainland and leave on Ireland or vice versa. flights would generally work out cheaper than ferry with a car although rail and sail as a foot passanger might be a good option.

ltr

MY only concern with the timing of your trip would be the upcoming Olympics.

It might be difficult to find accommodations the closer you get to London. Car rentals might be hard to get in the Lake District because they have been diverted to London. Restaurants, trains etc will be busier.

janisj

I see absolutely nothing wrong w/ staying a week in one place. It might not be what tony2phones enjoys -- but lots of folks rent self catering cottages by the week and live to tell the tale It is a great way to see/do a lot and have a bit of a "we're living in Ireland!!" experience.

If the house is in a decent location you can see massive amounts of things by doing day trips -- or not if you just want to sit a bit and get to know one area.

Renting a car in Ireland and dropping it in England is a nonstarter. Rent and return one car for your time in Ireland/NI and then fly to MAN or Liverpool.

(I haven't looked up flight schedules to either so don't know which would be better for this itinerary, but both are good for the Lakes. Both airports would be good so just go w/ whichever one gets you the best schedule/fares)

I assume your accommodations during the course will be arranged through the college so not an issue . . .

Viajero2

The terms and conditions for one way rentals in Ireland are a bit restrictive outside the Dublin-Shannon-Cork triangle. We could not get a company to rent us a one way Dublin-Belfast, much less to drop-off in England. Basically, one ways are free of charge so long as as you can p/u-d/o within the Dublin-Shannon-Cork and rent for more than 5 days. Do that; life will be so much easier.

kendalcottages

There's a ferry service from Belfast to Stranraer in Scotland (just north of the Lake District) which is only a short hop across. Alternatively, there's also a service that runs to Liverpool, and from there you could be in the Lake District in an hour and a half.

TheBigMan

<just north of the Lake District>.

Just to clarify, Stranraer to Windermere, as a guide, is about 145 miles and a 3 hour drive, if you don't get stuck behind lorries on the A75.

altyfc

That is indeed true... but Windermere is in the South Lakes. You could reach the North Lakes in around 2 hours from Stranraer. Ferry crossing would be shorter than the Liverpool option. But the convenience of the travel thereafter would depend on where in the Lake District the OP is going.

flanneruk

To all intents and purposes, assume ferries out.

It's almost always financially crazy for visitors to take a car on one across the Irish Sea: and unpleasant for all foot passengers, except as a fitness exercise. For any destination in northern England or southern Scotland, practically always faster, cheaper and infinitely more comfortable to fly to Liverpool, Manchester or Glasgow (over a dozen airports around Ireland with flights to all three) and drive from there. Against nature though it might sound, <b> even flying Ryanair is a less degrading and debilitating experience than being a ferry footpassenger</b>

Unless you actually want to lug your suitcases the entire route march from the terminal to the ship, to the deck and the whole damn thing in reverse at the other side. Or recreate your forbears' migrant experience (most European 19th century migrants to the New World transhipped through Liverpool. But even they didn't have to walk as far as modern ferry footpassengers)

The ferries are all scenery-devoid. If you want the view of Liverpool waterfront from the river (the closest to scenery anywhere on the Northern Irish Sea ferries) fly to Liverpool, drive into town and get a ferry to Birkenhead.

And ALWAYS ignore a local who tells you x days are insufficient to see anywhere. If x days is all you've got, it's all you've got. But almost always believe locals advising you what you can sensibly fit into those x days.

maile

Many thanks for your replies. I've decided to fly into Belfast, rent the car, vacation home for a week just above Donegal ( we did spend a month touring Ireland about 15 years ago and I just wanted to spend more time in the northern region), take back the car in either Derry or Belfast and rent another in England for the Lake District. I know Flanneruk is not in favor of a ferry .... But I've heard terrible things about Ryanair .. I suppose there is no pleasanter way to waste a day. I just hate being herded on a plane for such a short trip. Reading the added expenses on the Ryanair literature is rather funny ... So much for oxygen? Will they take up a collection for fuel mid flight like that Indian plane today. And my husband will never ever experience the joy of traveling light. The ferry seemed to be such a good alternative. By the way, we will be staying in the South Lake district area.

janisj

The ferry will be even worse than RyanAir and you'd end up in the wrong place for the southern Lakes.

But if RyanAir is too dreadful to contemplate, you can fly from Belfast City or Belfast International to Liverpool on Flybe or easyJet.

bilboburgler

You could also fly into Leeds without touching the terrible Ryanair

Tony2phones

Irish ferries are worse than Ryanair, I will not use them since traveling as a foot passenger a couple of years ago. P&O are reasonable enough and Stena line quite pleasant. If you fly consider the options based on your baggage costs not the service perception. I use Ryanair constantly but am aware of their charges and restrictions.

Servisair who are the UK contract airport staff are not the most pleasant people especially when working towards the Ryanair baggage trap bonuses. Ryanair's own staff are usually quite respectful.