memichele

Will be there 7 days in July. Terrified of driving..unless someone can assure me I won't get killed. Options? Seems the train will limit where we go. Are the buses filled with 80 y/o+? Help!

El_Nebuloso

We chose to drive, and while the roads can be narrow in places we had absolutely no problems whatsoever. I much prefer to drive and set my own schedule and itinerary.

majorvonhapen

DRIVE! public transport is not our forte here in Ireland!

You'll have no problem driving.
Could I respectfully make a suggestion?

When I drove in Italy for the first time, I was quite nervous.

Then I thaught, to put in the corner of the rear window/shelf of the car a big hertz welcome pack we got when collecting the car.
It had a huge 'Hertz' written across it.

It was clearly visable by drivers behind me.

I found drivers kept their distance, and gave us a break when we had to slow down or change lanes, etc.

If you do try this, REMEMBER to take it down when you park, as to avoid attention.

Enjoy your holiday!

M.

CAPH52

Driving is definitely the best option. There are places you're just not going to be able to go without a car.

Having said that, it is possible to have a nice trip without renting one. Especially that time of year when all of the tour companies will be operating. And, no, the buses are not all 80 year olds!

My daughter did an internship in Galway her junior year of college. She took the bus and train back and forth between Dublin and Galway many times during her four months there. And I took them when I was there visiting her. The buses are used by a much wider part of the population there than here, I think.

Do you have an idea of where you want to go, what you want to see? That'll make a big difference in terms of how well you can do without a car.

colduphere

I read an article that said one quarter of people killed in car crashes in Ireland in 2006 were foreigners. Once you have seen three accidents, you might want to pull over to the side (the left side) .

memichele

thanks colduphere....i think i might just pull over to the side after seeing two...so i won't be number 3!

i love the idea about the hertz sign..i'll do that for sure.

i had the impression ALL the roads throughout ireland are very narrow. if they are only narrow here/there in places..i think i'll be okay!

thanks everyone!

Padraig

colduphere wrote: "I read an article that said one quarter of people killed in car crashes in Ireland in 2006 were foreigners."

I very much doubt the truth of that article. Yes, of course some of those killed in road accidents here are foreigners, but I think more of them are resident foreigners than tourists.

The impression so often given here that roads are narrow is largely due to the fact that some of the routes used by tourists are narrow. That's because so many tourists want the mountain and coastal scenic routes, where it would be unreasonably difficult and expensive to develop wide carriageways (and it would change the character of the experience, in my opinion, for the worse).

colduphere

Padraig is too sharp for me. The problem was with foreign nationals residing in Ireland, not tourists. But I doubt reading the article will make memichele feel much better.

http://tiny.cc/nUOWV

NEDSIRELAND

memichele (in pertinent part) writes: "... Are the buses filled with 80 y/o+? Help! ..."
A Septuagenarian, I visit Ireland often and rely pretty much on BusEireann http://www.Buseireann.ie Ireland resident 'Seniors' ride free.
You might also look into http://www.PaddyWagontours.com for a younger group of fellow travelers