Two of us will be arriving in Shannon on May 24 and traveling southwest possible staying in the Dingle area the first night. We have 4-5 nights to enjoy the area then arrive in Dublin on the 29th. Can you give us any tips on how to find a cheap B&B that is clean and neat, don't need anything fancy. We usually spend the day out and about and just need a clean bed to fall into at night and nice breakfast would be good. How do you know the price before you get up to the door?

Also we would like to rent a car when we arrive in Shannon at the airport. Anyone find any good deals recently? We only need a compact car.

Has anyone any info on the heritage card, how you use it, where you purchase it and what is the price? Is it a good idea to get one?

Thanks for any helpful tips seening we are leaving soon.

Bertha

What is CHEAP to you?

You are going to pay around 70 Euro a night for two for any decent B&B. Any cheaper than that and I would be suspicious. Have you thought about a Hostel. Link to the Town & Country web site for listings of B&B's all over Ireland with web sites and prices listed. If you order their booklet I believe they include alot of discount coupons. Rental car prices are about the same on all the sites I have visited. I have delt with Dan Dooley the last few years and found them slightly cheaper than the larger companies and I have always gotten good service. Rent the smallest car that fits you as the roads will be much narrower than you are used to. If you are flying Aer Lingus I believe they have a link off their web site for car discounts, worth a look. Have fun

For my upcoming trip to Ireland (end of May), I checked a fair number of rental companies, including Dan Dooley. The best price I found was through Auto Europe (www.autoeurope.com), a consolidator that finds you a good deal with one of several rental cmpanies.

Good advice from Johnod and tim on rental cars. I've used different companies almost every year. The prices are variable. Be sure to compare apples to apples i.e, what is included (CDW, Super CDW, the deductible for CDW, airport dropoff charge etc). In addition to the companies that they have mentioned, you can try budget (.ie in Ireland), O'Scannlain.com, and irishcarrentals.com off the top of my head.

John's right about the rooms though you can get decent ones starting at about E28 pppn. Hostels will be cheaper though nothing private. You can get the Town and Country book from the Irish tourist board in NY or pick one up when you get to Ireland from a local tourist office. I think it's free from the tourist board. That book will have the approx rates for each B&B, but those are subject to change by season. That's the only way you'll have an idea of the cost before you walk to the door. You could always reserve in advance which would give you a set price, but it sounds like you plan to wing it. Try to start looking for a room at about 4:00 PM. Normal check in time is 4-6 PM.

The Irish Heritage card can be purchased for most Irish heritage sites and the cost is E20. That may or may not pay off for you since you will only be there for 4-5 nights. There are some sites in Dublin that accept it also. Be aware that if your first stop is King John's castle in Limerick (not one of my favorites) they do not sell the heritage card. You can purchase it at the tourist office in the city center. Here is the link to the heritage card. http://www.heritageireland.ie/en/HeritageCard/
You could also consider the Ireland at a glimpse (2for1) card. You can find info on them at: http://www.take-a-glimpse.com/ but purchase the card at: http://www.ireland-withpatpreston.co..._a_glimpse.htm It will be much cheaper there.

Hope this is helpful.

Bill

Thanks John, Tim, and Bill. Your feedback is very helpful. Will look into those web sites you. The 2 for 1 card sounds interesting, first I heard of it. Do you know the web address for the Town and Country? Am not real computer savy but am slowly learning my way around.

Hostels sound like an interesting adventure also. Has anyone stayed at one, and if so, what was your experience? You are right, we do plan on winging it from day to day. Gives us more freedom to spend time at places we find interesting without having to meet deadlines. Seeing it is not peak season we are hoping to find lodging along the way without to much trouble.

I have a friend that is meeting us in Ireland in a couple of weeks and is staying at some English hostels now. He's just touring around on his own. So far, from what I know, his experiences have been fine. Generally dorm type rooms.

The Town and Country address is http://www.townandcountry.ie

Bill

For my upcoming trip I've booked hostels in Dingle, Ennis, and Dublin. Where I had more than one choice for a particular location, I relied on descriptions in Rick Steves' 2005 Ireland guidebook and the latest Lonely Planet Ireland guidebook. Visit www.hostels-ireland.com for very helpful information on hostels all around the country. Private rooms are available in many of these hostels. Some provide no breakfast, others offer a continental breakfast, and others serve a full Irish breakfast. Most have kitchens where you can prepare your own meals.

Thanks to all of you for your wonderful and helpful info. Sorry it has taken me so long to post this after our trip. We had a wonderful time. We did rent a car from Dan Dooley and were very satisfied. Our B&B's were all very lovely and had great breakfasts...27.50 PP. The locations also were great, easy to find and in nice areas.

We traveled Aer Lingus thinking it would give us an Irish flavor before we reached the country. Well, that was MOST disappointing. They acted like robbots doing their job, without their heart in it, some of the stewards & stewardess were actually rude. It was the worst flying experience I can ever remember. I would not recommend that airline to anyone. Thank goodness, the people in Ireland itself were absolutely wonderful.

Thanks again to all of you for all your helpful input!

Gratefully, Bertha2

Regarding Bertha 2's comments re Aer Lingus, it's interesting how flying experiences can vary so much. In our case, Oct.'04, we were so pleased with Aer Lingus (roundtrip between JFK and Dublin). The entire flight crew on both flights were so pleasant, the planes were clean, the food better than USA flights, and the seats very comfortable in coach (sitting in the two seat section by the windows).

The attendants were dressed immaculately, hair and makeup beautifully attended to, attention to passengers so courteous -- made us think of how it used to be on USA flights.

Say it isn't so if Aer Lingus has changed....