Ireland B&B Check-in/out times
 

I just ran across the post that mentioned many B&B's don't allow check in until 3 or 4 pm. Is this generally the rule in Ireland? What time is usually check out?

I figure I should take this into account for my trip so I dont end up tired and cranky from driving and no place to go for a few hours.

There is no hard and fast "rule". It is a general guideline. Most B&Bs try to be accommodating to their guests and will bend the rules if possible. Check out can be anywhere from 10:30 to 11 mostly. Again each B&B is different.

The time of year you are traveling may have an impact on when you can check in. If it is the season and they are very busy B&Bs will need the 4 hours between 11 and 3 to do their housekeeping. If you need an earlier check-in let them know and they will try to help.

I'll be there at the end of May.

Looking at my itinerary I may end up sidetracked enough for it never to be an issue most times. Checking out from Killarney (or Kenmare...still can't choose between the two!) and driving to Dingle may be my biggest concern with the time gap.

Considering checking in and out of B&Bs...what has everyone found works better? Staying at more places and dealing with switching rooms in order to keep moving and to see as much without backtracking or Staying at fewer places even if you're driving back and forth a bit more to see everything?

I'm planning to stay at 7 different places in 12 nights (but the 7th place is just for the night before the airport) Is that too many?

In late Feb '05 we called ahead, caught BusEireann from Shannon to Ennis and Carmel, at Rose Cottage B&B, checked us in about 9:30 AM. We were able to take a nap and get over jetlag.

A year or so earlier I checked-in to Fitzgerald's B&B in Miltown Malbay at 10:00 AM.

In both cases, I had booked ahead.

Hotels, in general, won't allow checkin until aafter 1:00 PM. B&B's tend to be more flexible.

Here's a handy little guide: http://www.tandctrade.com/frequently..._questions.jsp

Check in between 2 and 6pm. Some will let you check in earlier if the room had not been occupied the night before. ((b))

Here's another one that tells you between 3 and 6pm. I would call ahead and check before you arrive too early.

http://www.townandcountry.ie/faqs.jsp((b))

As to the number of nights to stay in a place, that depends on what you wish to accomplish. In 2004, my wife and I made a big circle clockwise from Shannon up and around to Dublin. Our requirements included the Cliffs of Moher and the Giant's Causeway. After that, anything was gravy :)

We did 8 B&Bs in 13 days. We had reservations for our first night in Shannon, and the final 5 nights - 2 in NI, and 3 in Dublin. The rest were done on a whim.

We took our time travelling and stopped to see the sights along the way. Each day, we called ahead to a select list of B&B's that I had checked out on the internet to see who had openings. At least one of my handful of choices always had a spot.

As long as we kept some forward progress on our route, it was pretty casual, and I never really felt like we were driving too much. (However, since I average about 70 miles a day roundtrip to/from work, my tolerance for car travel might be higher than some).

Our final B&B night count was 1,1,1,1,3,1,2,3. Maybe a bit too much for some, but it worked for us.

Jefe: Right now I'm planning 3 Dublin, 1Kilkenny, 2Kenmare or Killarney, 2 Dingle, 2 Galway, 1 Ashford, 1 Bunratty which being 7 in 12 nights really isnt much different from you 8 in 13.

Originally I was going to only book the first 3 and last 2 nights but the idea of not knowing ahead of time where we would stay really bothered one of my kids. Also I wasnt too sure how hard it would be to find accomodations anywhere near ROK at the end of May. The idea of having a set list to work from does seem very feasible though.

I'm glad to hear that you didnt feel at all rushed even with checking in and out of B&Bs four days in a row. Since I'm planning to drive through Co. Clare/Cliffs of Moher also, I'm curious how far did you end up driving from Shannon before finding a place for your second night?

One thing to understand - the vast majority of B&Bs are very small family/couple run establishments. Often one person going out to work a "regualr" job and the other doing all or most of the cleaning, gardening, shopping etc. It is VERY common for there to be no one at a B&B at all between maybe noon or 1 p.m. and maybe 3:00/4:00 or so. That's when they do the shopping, etc. So if a B&B says checkin is at 4:00 - you may find nobody home at 3:00.

Every time I've booked a B&B they have asked what time I'll be arriving. I guess I've always been reasonable as they've never told me to come later...I don't think it should be a problem with the ones you pre-book, depending on their check-out time. They of course need time to clean the room after last night's occupant. And like the last poster said, it's not like a hotel with a full-time staff on hand.

If you are just turning up early on the off-chance without booking you'll have to take pot luck.

What nona1 says.

If you are pre-booking they will usually ask you what time you will get there -- and then arrange their schedule to make sure someone is home when you arrive.

Chloe2: On our second day, we went from Shannon to Dingle. We drove the Connor Pass, and lingered for a while all along the R560. We hit town sometime in the afternoon and parked near the pier. I made a few phone calls to find a place to stay. Then we did some sightseeing and shopping, with a dinner of fish and chips at Murphy's. :)

There's certainly nothing wrong with having things planned out ahead of time. The "short list" of possibilities worked for us, but if that causes stress for some of your group, no harm in being pre-booked.

Probably our toughest night was night 3 in Ennis. We drove around Slea Head, checking out Dunbeg fort, the beehive huts and Gallarus Oratory. We decided that rather than stay around Kilrush on the way to the Cliffs of Moher, that maybe we could push on to Ennis, getting us to the Cliffs a tad earlier in the morning. -- only problem was, I hadn't really looked into staying in Ennis. However, a quick stop at the Tourist office solved that problem.