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-   -   Is my LUGGAGE safe in my car in IRRELAND? (https://www.fodors.com/community/europe/is-my-luggage-safe-in-my-car-in-irreland-564920/)

Melissa5 Oct 16th, 2005 12:35 PM

Is my LUGGAGE safe in my car in IRRELAND?
 
What do you all do about moving from one B&B to the next, with all your luggage in the car? What if you want to stop and sight-see on the way, but you have visible luggage in the car? Do you always stay within view of your car, or do you just take a chance and leave the car unattended?

We will have 4 people so it is doubtful that all the luggage will fit in the trunk. some luggage will be within view.

Usually I never leave luggage unattended in a car. However on driving vacations the driving portion is usually not very scenic for us in the past. But in Ireland many of the drives are scenic, and it is likely while moving from one B&B to another we will want to get out and sight-see.

Didn't have this problem in Italy, as we took trains and took turns watching our luggage.

In Costa Rica we never left the car unattended when it was full of luggage.

Once on vacation in Northern California near the beautiful redwoods I left purse in the rental car and went for a hike. The purse wasn't visible, but somebody broke the window and got my purse. So it does happen.

What solutions have you all found to this problem in Ireland?

In costa Rica some businesses have gotten wise...we came across 2 situations where a shopping mall had hired armed security to watch your car, so we had no problem leaving our luggage there. In another place a restaurant had an alert parking security who watched our car and our luggage. So we did lave it in those 2 places.

any thoughts? We won't be driving in Dublin, so I am mostly walking about parking in little villages or along scenic routes for a walk...

Melissa5 Oct 16th, 2005 12:37 PM

EEEk, sorry about all those spelling errors above! Hope you can decipher me.

Laoghaire Oct 16th, 2005 12:46 PM

Hi, melissa...We have been to Ireland six times, rented cars, stayed in B&Bs, and never had a problem. Always had our luggage in the "boot". To be safe, cover your visable luggage, and leave a newspaper from the area on the front seat. Of course, the license plate usually reflects a rental car. I wouldn't be concerned, just be sensible....Have a Happy and Safe trip....Helen

CU Oct 16th, 2005 02:56 PM

Hi Melissa,
To leave your luggage visable in your car while it is unattended is a big no no.
To leave your passports, tickets and cash unattended in the luggage is a big no no.
Always remember - you have to be careful out there you never know who is watching.

CaymanSue Oct 16th, 2005 03:29 PM

We were in Ireland 3 years ago, and had a "mini van" type vehicle, so our luggage was visible whenever we left the car. Had no problems, and, quite frankly, never thought that we would.

oopsy Oct 16th, 2005 04:21 PM

If you can't fit all of your luggage in the trunk, then you have two options I can think of. One, leave your car to see the sights en route and hope for the best (which is also the most likely, I'm sure). Second, miss some great sights because you are concerned about theft. We go with number one and make sure that we don't leave money, ID, or cameras in the car.

oopsy

Melissa5 Oct 16th, 2005 09:54 PM

Yeah, everyone is saying pretty much what I thought they would. You have to make your own decision. CU has a good point...never leave your passport, tickets, or cash in the car (or credit cards). I'd add one to that...carry some of your prescription meds with you, if you need to take them every day...although they could be replaced, it would cause some inconvenience. (Besides if it gets too hot in the car they could be ruined, says my pharmacist.)

Once you have had something stolen from you, you become more careful. I had a man steal my purse right out of my shopping cart while I was shopping! He asked a question to distract me and when I turned my head I saw him making off with my purse. I had a very bad feeling that he was armed, so I didn't do anything foolish like try to stop him. (Besides, he was lots bigger than me!) Better to lose your purse than your head. In fact I had a very bad feeling about him right BEFORE he stole my purse, but I ignored it.

Too bad we have to worry about this on vacation (or anytime!)

Laoghaire, what's a boot? Is that the trunk?

GSteed Oct 16th, 2005 11:48 PM

Too much baggage?

SiobhanP Oct 17th, 2005 12:41 AM

Boot is trunk. Whatever you do in Dublin City centre do not leave luggage in a car its asking for trouble. If they are covered in the hatch/boot then its better but just use commn sense and don't leave valuables in the car ever.

Melissa5 Oct 17th, 2005 01:54 AM

GSteed, if the rental car is small luggage for 4 people won't necessarily fit in the trunk, even though we take 21" rolling carry-ons plus a small 18" duffel OR back-pack each.
That's for 15 nights. (Or were you making a joke? Brief statements on-line can be misunderstood...)

SiobhanP, thanks, sounds like good advice for most cities. In fact I think we'll turn in the rental car and use public transportation for Dublin. Either that, or...since you're a local, can you answer this question? If we're staying just outside of Dublin (Malahide, Trim, or Slane), and we leave luggage at our B&B, can we safely and conveniently drive to Phoenix car and leave the car there while we take the hop-on, hop-off bus around dublin for a day-tour? What do you think? Is there a certain time when the parking lot for Phoenix Park "closes"? Would Phoenix Park be a safe place to walk back to in the dark? Thanks!

Melissa5 Oct 17th, 2005 01:55 AM

SiobhanP: Oh darn, I meant Phoenix Park, or course, but I typed Phoenix car! Sorry.

gavan Oct 17th, 2005 03:44 AM

Melissa5

Living in Dublin, I can offer the following advice:

Never leave anything in car on view / that will attract attention or is worth stealing - that includes sun glasses, CD's, cell phones, medicines etc. I have known friends who have had their car windows broken for some Euros of loose change visible in the car. Remember like every big city there are desperate people out there.

The Phoenix park has several entrances in / out. Personally, I would not go there at night, unless you are parked very close to an exit. The main ones (Castleknock gate, St James Gate & Ashtwon gate) don't close, but some of the smaller ones do close at night (at 23.00). You should check this out in advance. It might be safer to get a taxi back to your car.


JFlorides Oct 17th, 2005 04:33 AM

Melissa5, I have to second all the others, and I would not distinguish between Dublin and rural Ireland. Last time I was in the Sally Gap in Wicklow (a viewpoint high in the Wicklow mountains where there is a small place for parking cars while you go to admire the view), there was an American family whose car had just been broken into and their valuables taken. Their luggage was visible from outside the car.

Hard as it is for me to admit this, (being Irish!), there are some people who prey on tourists and will target the tourist stops even outside the big cities. If you can't find a car that will fit all your luggage in the boot, either take turns watching the luggage or put all the "extra" luggage into rucksacks that you can take with you when you leave the car.

janisj Oct 17th, 2005 05:25 AM

two comments: for 4 you will probably be more comfortable in a bit larger car anyway. So the boot will also be a bit larger. Not a BIG car since the roads are narrow - but a mid-sized one will normally have a larger boot/hatch. Or even a small estate (station wagon). Estates usually have a retractable cover so the things in the back aren't visible.

And - a 21 inch bag AND an 18 inch duffle for each of you could be reduced. I normally take either a 19" or a 21" rollaboard and handbag whether away 2 weeks or 5 weeks.

SiobhanP Oct 17th, 2005 06:27 AM

The top and bottom entrances (Top beinf castleknbock and bottom parkgate street) are always open. I don't think its a bad idea to [par there but just park down lower near the Parkgate street entrance. I am sure many people do this as there are aleways cars there. Also the Aisling Hoitel has a pay car park and will probably give you a day rate and is near the hop on/off bus. This may be a better idea if you are staying out late. If you are talking about heading back at 11pm in winter I would not like that but its not really bad on the main road through the park inthe early evening. People seem to be jogging day and night or walking dogs. I used to live near the park until 3 months ago! In daylight its not a problem at all.

SiobhanP Oct 17th, 2005 06:30 AM

P.S. don't leave anything on view Gavan is right! My car was done over in my apt garage for change and a crappy stereo that barely worked.

wojazz3 Oct 17th, 2005 06:58 AM

Certainly things can be stolen at any point from a car and the more you can do to cover them, the better. Not making it obvious that you are a tourist is a good idea too. Put your touring map und a seat and conceal bags from shops like the Blarney Woolen Mills. As for what to do in the city, just don't drive. There is no reason to have a car while in Dublin.

I agree that you may need a bigger car. If the folks in the back seat are covered in luggage, that won't make for a comfortable ride. Packing light is also a good thing. It also depends on what the luggage is in the back seat. If it's cool looking travel bags with Aer Lingus tags all over it, then you have a target. If it's just a back pack or something like that (with not travel tags on it), it's perhaps a bit less obvious.

Bill

CU Oct 17th, 2005 09:19 AM

When I am in Dublin I leave my car at my guest house and go into the city by dart train or bus. there is a good public transport service in Dublin. With 4 travelling a taxi fare would not be that expensive and its a lot more comfortable no worries or stress.
Whenever I am travelling I travel light ands if I want an extra shirt or shoes I go to a shop and buy cheap to keep me going.

Melissa5 Oct 17th, 2005 11:38 AM

CU: Will you marry me? :) "If I want an extra shirt or shoes I go to a shop and buy cheap to keep me going." Any man with such a spontaneous shopper's philosophy is the perfect mate for a woman!

Oops, I'm already taken. I married a great guy who gets a little cranky about shopping...But he is outnumbered, as he'll be travelling with 3 women...wife and 2 daughters. So when we want to shop we'll have to send him frog-hunting.

SiobhanP: Ouch, sorry to hear about your car. Yes, it can happen anywhere. We live in a low-crime neighborhood and even here someone broke into our car right in our driveway one night and stole the stereo. Thanks, SiobhanP and Gavan, for the info on Phoenix Park. So helpful to talk to locals. It sounds like parks anywhere...fine in the day-time but maybe a little scary at night. I guess we better not park there because then, if we're having fun in the evening and we want to stay, I will have to worry about getting back to our car safely in the dark.

I'm not sure if we'll be staying near Dublin (Trim or Newgrange or Slane) or actually IN Dublin. Either way, we won't actually try to drive in dublin.

janisj, wow, you're the ultimate light packer (after CU, who gets first place!)

JFlorides, thanks for the honest report. These unfortunate things can happen anywhere...I feel sorry for that family...

Well, I guess we'll do what we did in Costa Rica. We were told by experienced travellers NEVER leave anything in your car in Costa Rica. So when travelling from one place to another we tried to find places to stop where we could still keep an eye on the car.

Also a bad idea is to find yourself the only car parked someplace...no witnesses to discourage thievery. That's when our rental car was broken into when we went to hike in Northern California. Probably the thief was waiting for somebody to park at this trail-head, and he knew just how long their hike would take too! We were the only car parked there.

It sounds like Ireland is like everyplace else. If you leave stuff in your car you might get lucky and nobody will touch it. On the other hand you might get unlucky, like SiobhanP, and somebody will break in just for loose change and a broken stereo!

Thanks everyone for discussing this topic. In Costa Rica some places that want to encourage business have actually begun hiring security guards for their parking lots. Stopped at a little mall (the only one we saw in all of costa Rica) where there was an armed security guard. Inside the mall it seemed like a fairly upscale place, and it had fast food, which seemed funny to us, because in California fast food is NOT upscale, but it seemed that way in this particular mall! We actually spoke to the security guard and he seemed very alert, he said he would watch our things and we believed him. Another time a restaurant on a main road had a security guard in their parking lot in Costa Rica, who also seemed very alert and on-the-ball. Anyway interesting. This restaurant was getting a lot of business from drive-by hungry folks like us!






CU Oct 18th, 2005 11:13 AM

O Melissa for a moment I got so excited.Such a nice proposal. Well I suppose we all have our crosses to bear and what is one more for me. Anyway I have a nice web site for you to ponder

www.ireland.ie/getting_around.asp
It will help you on your way.


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