how soon to book bed and breakfast in Ireland
 

My family of 4 will be visiting the Dingle Peninsula and Kenmare in June of 2007.

I have read that we should book our bed and breakfast well in advance. But how soon should we book? Should I be making a decision now for early June 2007?

Thank you for your help. Laurie

ttt

Laurie, it's been 7 yrs since I was in Ireland in June, and Dingle is becoming more crowded. I'm topping this so people there more recently can advise you. At any rate, you have plenty of time.

Laurie...there are many views of the need for, and the timing of, reservations. We've been to Dingle and Kenmare. If we were going in June, I would probably be looking for good airfares in January with the idea of getting that complete by February 15 at the latest. Once the air was settled, I would book the B&Bs. Some B&Bs have only 2-4 rooms so your party will need a big part of their available space. Southwest Ireland is beautiful. Enjoy.

Hi Laurie...Husband and I are going to Ireland for 4 weeks next May, and I am already booking our BnBs. The ones we want are quite popular, and there are certain rooms that I want to get. Some people don't care about the accommodations, but we spend so much time exploring the countryside during the day, we like to come "home" to a nice room with a sitting area.

A few that I have sent e-mails to haven't responded, but most have e-mailed back and reserved the room we requested. If you have your itinerary set, I would start booking anytime. It doesn't hurt to be early.

Helen

The only reason to book this early is if you have specific B&Bs in mind and you absolutely must stay there.

Otherwise, there's no need to book this far ahead.

Many B&B's are only open Apr-Sep, so I would guess that you should start booking around April: In the meantime spend your time researching B&B's here and on other sites. Except for Americans, Ireland isn't too crowded until Jul-Aug, so you should have a pretty good selection available for June.

I am going to Ireland in May 07. I have decided on 3 of my B&B's and I could not book any of them this early. All said to get back to them later in the year as they were not ready to take 07 reservations. Yet I would still try to book now when I decide on the remainder of my itinerary. Whatever I can get done now is good for me.

Thanks to everyone for your replies! I guess I will continue researching and will contact these places in a few months.

Laurie