Land-Only option for trip to Ireland
Jan 14th, 2004, 06:03 AM
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Land-Only option for trip to Ireland
My husband and I purchased our tickets for Ireland, but now we need to find a company to purchase the land option from. Is there any way we can purchase B&B vouchers on our own, or does that have to be through a Travel Agency? Also, whom do you recommend we rent a car through? Thanks!
Jan 14th, 2004, 06:27 AM
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I am looking for airfare to Ireland. Where are you traveling from and how much did you pay, if I might ask?
Vouchers? I wouldn't mess with them. Some nice places don't take them. Several of the nice B&B's take credit cards.
Contact the Irish Tourist Bureau in NYC and get their B&B books, plus check out the farmhouse B&B's. They're fun places to stay also. We stayed at one in Doolin, and one at Killarney.
I just recently checked the prices for rental cars, as we are going in May. Autoeurope.com has the best prices. Check Dan Dooley and Budget, and Hertz and see for yourself.
Vouchers? I wouldn't mess with them. Some nice places don't take them. Several of the nice B&B's take credit cards.
Contact the Irish Tourist Bureau in NYC and get their B&B books, plus check out the farmhouse B&B's. They're fun places to stay also. We stayed at one in Doolin, and one at Killarney.
I just recently checked the prices for rental cars, as we are going in May. Autoeurope.com has the best prices. Check Dan Dooley and Budget, and Hertz and see for yourself.
Jan 14th, 2004, 07:10 AM
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We're flying from Boston to Shannon. We purchased the tickets directly from Aer Lingus for $371pp. We're going 3/14-24. Thanks for the tip about the MC, I actually called them yesterday and found out they will cover us. Odd how Visa won't cover insurance in Ireland?
Jan 14th, 2004, 07:13 AM
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There are innumerable B&Bs in Ireland and only a small proportion of them are registered with the Tourist Board. They have to pay to register so generally those on main roads don't bother as they can get customers by putting up a sign outside the house. The roads into every town are lined with B&B signs and these places are just as good as those listed by the Tourist Board. I've been told by tourist offices that their places are full when I've passed lots of places with "vacancies" signs.
Jan 14th, 2004, 07:17 AM
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That's odd, I didn't know that about the B&B's. We went to Ireland before and used them and I don't recall there being much trouble finding one, except in the Dingle region, but then we also upgraded to hotels 3 of the 8 days we were there. Thanks for the information!
Jan 14th, 2004, 07:39 AM
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why do you need a land portion....just get the official B&B book for ireland from the info agency in nyc and do your own planning....we were told by many b&b owners that they did not take the vouchers offered from agencies, as they earned less from the stay and it was busy enough not to take them....
its easy to navigate on yuour own...we had only our first nite booked before we went and each day the owner phoned ahead for the next nite...this was march so it was not difficult to get places...but they have great internet access prior to your leaving home to plan ahead
its easy to navigate on yuour own...we had only our first nite booked before we went and each day the owner phoned ahead for the next nite...this was march so it was not difficult to get places...but they have great internet access prior to your leaving home to plan ahead
Jan 14th, 2004, 07:41 AM
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How much does it cost per person to spend the night in a B&B? With the vouchers and car rental (Corolla), it'd be $61pp/pd through CIE. Just wondering which is more beneficial now?
Jan 14th, 2004, 07:46 AM
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irlandes,
You will definately not need vouchers if only because of the time of year you are going. Most people who buy vouchers find that they are extremely limited by them. You will not have tons of crowds to deal with nor will some places even be open at that time of the year. I have to agree with the others; rent yourself a nice car and strike out on your own. You'll be glad you did.
We rent our cars from RentACarIreland. Their main office is in NYC though you can find them online as well. Just add ".com" to the above name. They rent cars exclusively through Hertz which I've found to be the best rental car agency in Ireland out of the many we've already tried.
NOTE: If you stay anywhere in or near Dublin you WILL need to have made prior arrangements with the place where you intend to stay, especially if you want to be in a certain area. Dublin is like this all year long, every year. Start calling NOW!
Enjoy your trip!
Wendy
You will definately not need vouchers if only because of the time of year you are going. Most people who buy vouchers find that they are extremely limited by them. You will not have tons of crowds to deal with nor will some places even be open at that time of the year. I have to agree with the others; rent yourself a nice car and strike out on your own. You'll be glad you did.
We rent our cars from RentACarIreland. Their main office is in NYC though you can find them online as well. Just add ".com" to the above name. They rent cars exclusively through Hertz which I've found to be the best rental car agency in Ireland out of the many we've already tried.
NOTE: If you stay anywhere in or near Dublin you WILL need to have made prior arrangements with the place where you intend to stay, especially if you want to be in a certain area. Dublin is like this all year long, every year. Start calling NOW!
Enjoy your trip!
Wendy
Jan 14th, 2004, 10:09 AM
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Most B&B's from what I've seen on my internet searches are around 30 euro per person give or take a couple of euro.
Just do the math. At 60 Euro a day for your B&B, that leave 60 Euro a day for your rental car.
That's one heck of an expensive rental car. Plugging in your date, autoeurope will rent you a Nissan Micra automatic for $259.00 (assuming you are leaving on the 14th, arriving 15th, and departing 24th). That's $29 a day, and with the CIE vouchers, you would be paying $60.00
Your choice, but I think you are better off without the vouchers & doing the rental car on your own.
Just do the math. At 60 Euro a day for your B&B, that leave 60 Euro a day for your rental car.
That's one heck of an expensive rental car. Plugging in your date, autoeurope will rent you a Nissan Micra automatic for $259.00 (assuming you are leaving on the 14th, arriving 15th, and departing 24th). That's $29 a day, and with the CIE vouchers, you would be paying $60.00
Your choice, but I think you are better off without the vouchers & doing the rental car on your own.
Jan 14th, 2004, 02:23 PM
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Look at the Manor houses of Ireland..you don't have to be a member for their list of places...the map will show you the locations and you can pull up each place..they are delightful places...I am personally familiar with many of them...
Jan 14th, 2004, 02:26 PM
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Here is the map list..click on any of them for information...
http://www.irelands-blue-book.ie/main/map.htm
http://www.irelands-blue-book.ie/main/map.htm
Jan 14th, 2004, 05:17 PM
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gracejoan, thanks for the link.
Getting back to the rental car thingy, I went to sixt and confirmed a reservation only to find out that there was a $43 surcharge added to the price.
I ended up booking 9 days with autoeurope for $203.00 plus I understand at the airport there will be a $22 surcharge. That comes out to $25.00 a day, plus the 13.5% tax. I think I got a good deal.
Getting back to the rental car thingy, I went to sixt and confirmed a reservation only to find out that there was a $43 surcharge added to the price.
I ended up booking 9 days with autoeurope for $203.00 plus I understand at the airport there will be a $22 surcharge. That comes out to $25.00 a day, plus the 13.5% tax. I think I got a good deal.
Jan 15th, 2004, 07:40 AM
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I'm really interested in the "doing the whole thing myself" aspect of it now that Budman has brought the financial differences to my attention. It does make more sense for me to just skip the vouchers and rent a car on my own, however, may I ask if you've had any problems getting a place, and how far in advance you made your reservations? We're thinking of only making reservations for our first night there, St. Patrick's night, and then the weekend in Dingle, and then winging it the rest of the time. Does anyone have any experience with something like that? Thanks very much! 
