Passenger van with towable luggage
 

8 golfers flying into Shannon next year from Boston area. Base will be Killarney but would like to rent one(1) large passenger van with a towable luggage cart. Any ideas? This avoids two vans and two drivers, etc. Thanks for ideas. I searched the web and many sites advertise 9-12-15 passenger vans then when you drill down ....nothing. Cheers and Thanks.

Why not get a van larger than you need for passengers, use the additional space for the luggage. That seems far more practical than a trailer. Having towed and maneuvered more than 1 trailer in my day, I doubt I'd want to do it in unfamiliar territory.

With EU law you need to have a special class of vehicles to drive a vehicle over 9 persons (including driver) Trailers also count as an additional class.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drivin...nce_categories

So, 2 vans or a large one with hired driver. With so many to share the cost I'd think the latter would be ideal. If I recall, there was another thread addressing this issue with recommendations of companies.

This is the company that was recommended:
http://www.butlers-buses.com/contact-butlers-buses.php

I second Butlers. They are great. I have done two pub tours with them. Our local pub set it up and the local bike club used them on a biking tour. They do golfing tours also.

You will not be able to drive any arrangements of vehicles/trailer that would accommodate all your stuff.

Hire a bus -- like a 12 or 16 passenger van -- and driver.

The only other real option is renting 3 mid-sized cars or a large saloon (sedan) and a people carrier (minivan) and drive yourselves. . . . which actually would probably be cheaper

With a regular drivers license you can drive vans with up to 9 seats. What counts is not the number of persons but the number of seats.

For a bus with more than 9 seats, you need a special license.

The 9-seaters are pretty spacious, so your luggage should fit in.

I have never heard that rental car companies rent vans with towable luggage carts. Be aware that roads and parking places are much narrower than in North America.

>>The 9-seaters are pretty spacious, so your luggage should fit in.<<

They won't just have luggage -- they will also have 8 sets of golf clubs -- and probably in large, hard travel cases cases.

A 9 person van will be a big PITA to drive in Ireland anywhere off the big motorways, which is to say, just about everywhere. (And it probably wouldn't be big enough for all the people and luggage and clubs, anyway.)

I concur with the advice to rent a vehicle with a driver.

I have driven a 9-passenger van in France, not Ireland, but it can't be much easier here. To begin with, it won't have room for 8 passengers, luggage, and golf equipment - it just wont, even if you all sit with your stuff strewn across your laps. Then there is the BIG question of maneuvering it down narrow streets, and then there's parking, if you can find it, especially with loads of expensive sports equiment inside. Sorry, it's not going to happen.

For anything bigger, you'd need a special license, which you in all likelihood with not be able to obtain - you'd have to fill out copious applications, take lessons and tests, wait months, etc. Trailers are simply a non-starter.

You need two large vehicles - probably 2 7-seater vans.

Agree that hauling some sort of carrier filled with luggage and expensive sport equipment will not only be a PIA - where/how will you park, how can you maneuver it on very narrow local roads?? - but all of your belongs to be open to disappearing anything you stop for any reason.

Two 7 seater vans seems the best option unless you want to hire a small bus and professional driver.

I would look into a service that will ship/deliver the golf clubs to/from your lodging in Killarney.

https://www.luggageforward.com/ship-...bs-to-ireland/

https://www.shipsticks.com/

http://shipyourclubs.com/