I've never been to Europe. Going to Ireland in Sept. Can anyone give me ideas about:
1. where to fly into
2. where to stay
3. is it worth taking ferry to England
4. do I need to rent a car
Thanks!!!!!!!

Either Shannon or Dublin, find the best price. Could do Open Jaw.

B&Bs

No

Yes

You really should buy a guide, it sounds like you need a list of recommended sites to build a trip around. There are a bunch of destination guides for Ireland here:

www.fodors.com/world/europe/

You have not stated budget, interests, time frame or time of year. All of these might influence your trip plans.

thank you!!

My husband and I took a trip to Ireland late Sept/10. It was wonderful! We flew into Dublin, took a cab to the Westbury Hotel near Grafton St. It was great. We walked from there to shops, restaurants and pubs. After two nights we rented a car and headed south. You definitely need to rent a car. Even though driving on the opposite side of the road was new to us it turned out great. Powerscourt Gardens is south of Dublin near the Wicklow mountains. Very picturesque. Highly recommend driving there. Having a car gives you the option of stopping off at little towns wherever you like. We then drove to Kilkenny and stayed at the Pembroke Hotel. Great hotel, location near Kilkenny castle. Next was off to the Killarney area with stops along the way - Cobh - the town where the Titanic last sailed from and the most beautiful cathedral on top of the hill. In Killarney our hotel was the Ross Hotel. Very nice with great breakfast - skip the black and white pudding though! Take a drive around the Ring of Kerry and stop where you like. Golfing is great for a half day as well. The town of Killarney was very nice with a beautiful park for a long walk. We stopped at Blarney castle too - not necessary but very pretty countryside. Make sure you have a good GPS with all the new motorways on it. No problem finding our way around at all.

Ireland is such a beautiful country and the people were so friendly. I hope this helps you a bit in planning of your trip. Have a great time!

Have you been to Switzerland and if so any ideas for that country? Our trip is in late April.

Justjo

Justjo

<i>1. where to fly into</i>

Depends on where you want to go. Assuming you're from North America, Dublin or Shannon are your options, as Michel_Paris said.

<i>2. where to stay</i>

B&Bs are plentiful and inexpensive. There are also hotels and hostels available. In many cases outside Dublin, a b&b will be more comfortable and a better value than a hostel.

<i>3. is it worth taking ferry to England</i>

Definitely not. If you decide to go to England, you should fly - it's much quicker and can be quite inexpensive. But unless you have a long trip planned, I'd stick to Ireland - there's so much to see there.

<i>4. do I need to rent a car</i>
In Dublin, no. Outside of Dublin, you <i>can</i> visit Ireland via public transport, but you will have much less flexibility. The train and bus system is there, but you won't be able to get to smaller towns or even some hotels/b&bs you might be interested in, and you'll be locked into their schedules.

To get better answers, you do need to do some research and decide which towns/areas interest you, how long you will be in Ireland, and what your budget is (I wouldn't tell you to stay in a budget b&b if you're more interested in 4* hotels). There are LOTS of trip reports on Ireland on Fodor's - you can do a search using the box at the top of the page. Those can be great for finding out what other people did and saw, and deciding what you want your trip to look like. Also check out guidebooks from your library.

Ireland is gorgeous and the Irish, in my experience, are extremely friendly and welcoming. You'll love it.

I also suggest an open jaw flight into Dublin or Shannon and out of the other.