gaelen

Message: Hi Everyone, <BR>We're just back from four weeks in Ireland (Dublin, Sligo, Dingle, Waterford) and one week in southern England. All the tips from fodorites served us well. We especially liked staying in self catering houses (we have four children) and using two small rental cars (autoeurope)instead of one big van. I'd be happy to return the favor and answer any questions I can. <BR> <BR>

John

Hi Gaelen: <BR> <BR>I will be going over in September. I was wondering about the car rental. Did you have to take the full coverage, or did the let you use a Gold credit card to secure the additional charges? <BR>JOHN

gaelen

I used a platinum mastercard-visa does not cover Ireland. Mastercard also only cover 15 days of rentals so if you're going for more time you need to break up the rental contract or use Diners Card, which covers 31 days. We liked Autoeurope because of the low price , they used Hertz in Ireland and that was fine, but we had trouble in England with Eurocar. They were not at the airport as promised, were rude and generally not a customer service oriented company. If booking with autoeurope you can ask which car company will handle the rental and just stick to Hertz or Avis.

Leigh

Thank you. I just booked a package that seems very popular. Air, rental car, 6 nights at B&Bs. It is overwhelming as there is so much to see with a limited time. We are flying into Shannon and out of Dublin. Were there any particular regions/ places you particularly suggest? We are planning our driving route. Thanks!

Gaelen

Hi Leigh, <BR>We really liked all of Ireland, but if we had to choose we'd definitely include Dingle. There's a great loop drive you can do in a day described on Rick Steeves site. We also loved Sligo. You can hike to Queen Maeve's grave (45 minutes from parkinglot) which has never been excavated--truly fantastic view. If you tour Carrowmore first it will be even more impressive. Take time to sit in pubs and talk to people. Take more pictures than you think you'll want (we're sorry we didn't get any other the great old men waving by the side of every country road)

Alice

Did you rent a car and would you mind sharing some information as to the average cost per day? (I just created a post requesting information from others.) <BR> <BR>After reading so much about how crowded the Ring of Kerry is with tour buses, I have definitely decided to do the Dingle Peninsula. Did you try a dinner banguet at a castle? Have read mixed reviews about them. Is Waterford worth a stop if you have only seven days in Ireland? I did check out the self-catering houses but was hard pressed to find a location that was central to seeing what we have on our itinerary. They really only pay if you stay at least a week. How did you find yours and did you stay in more than one during the four weeks you were there? <BR> <BR>Thanks a bunch for the assist. <BR> <BR>Best Regards, Alice

Gerald Horgan

if travelling to Ireland check out this excellent website <BR>http://www.irishtravelplans.com <BR>

Linda

Alice, We rented a car from Dan Dooley for 8 days, automatic Ford Fiesta for about $290. We prepaid thru their NJ office by phone. Our Gold Master Card covered the CDW. We asked for a memo from MC, just in case the people at the rental had a question. We rented the car after touring Dublin. Definetly driving is the way to see the wonderful scenery. However the roads are narrow, and the travel speeds are slow, but you do learn to handle it. We did the ring of Kerry and really weren't affected by the tourist bus crunch. We headed out very early and did the whole drive with very little trouble....winding, narrow roads, sheep and bikes, yes, but you go cautiosly and all is well. Dingle is by far the most beautiful. The drive to Slea Head is awesome.We did it east to west and then from the more northern, which I felt was so much more scenic. Connor pass just out side of Dingle town was also terrific and the Cliffs of Mohr just take your breath away. As you can tell by my ramblings it was a trip to remember!

gaelen

Hi All, <BR>We paid about 85IEP a week for our standard shift Toyota Yaris (we rented two to fit all six of us and luggage). We lucked out by booking in March when autoeurope was having a sale. If you're planning for next summer, shop the internet all winter, you'll see even bette deals. We used Mastercard Platinum to waive all insurances. We stayed in three different houses, one week at a time. The irish tourist board site is great for finding accomadations. If you call them they'll send you catalogs with all the houses and b&bs listed. I didn't really care for waterford--we're not at the stage of our lives where we're buying any and we met a guy in Ring with his own small crystal making shop (An Rinn Crystal) so we'd had a great personalized demo of how it's made.