Planning a Self-Drive Vacation to Ireland **Any Info Appreciated!**
 

Hi Everyone!

I have seen that many of you have done a Self-Drive Vacation around different areas of Ireland. I was considering doing one in March for about 4-5 days, but have a few questions for those that have done so.

~Did anyone use a travel package with Air/Lodging/Car Rental all included? (for example: http://www.shamrock.org/us/independe...ionOptions.php)

~If so, any recommendations on packages? (St. Pattys day is around that time, so I'm trying to stay away from the huge cities)

~If you didn't use a travel company, how did you plan the route, just point at a place in Ireland and put it on your list?

I have a general idea of the regions of Ireland, but just don't really have the time to plan lodging, stops, car rental, etc. I thought it would be good to just have a set destination, drive there, then have time to explore each city we stop at.

Using a Travel Package/Agent is relatively new to me since my last 2 trips to Europe (Italy and Germany) have been planned out entirely by me and my girlfriend. I am not interested in Tour Operators since their schedule can be a little to strict. We are looking for the freedom that a self-driving tour could give us.

Any other info would be awesome. Thanks!

I did this in late March 2002for two weeks with my husband and my father, but we didn't use a package. We found cheap airfare, arranged for a rental car and left, finding B&Bs each day (usually because they were handy when we started looking). Some were great, some were so-so.

As for how we decided a route: Each person was allowed one "must-do," wherever they wanted. Once the three corners of the triangle were determined, we just wandered in that general direction each day.

My father voted for Longford, the family seat, (about in the center of the island, although we've been in the US since the 1760s). My husband voted for his great-grandfather's birthplace, St. Johnstown (near Derry/Londonderry on the border with Northern Ireland). I chose Inishmore in the Aran Islands, just because I wanted to.

While we did not kiss the Blarney stone or drive the Ring of Kerry, we did see Malin Head, the northernmost point on the island and the Inishowen peninsula - gorgeous; the Carrowkeel passage tombs; ruined castles; Trinity College and the Book of Kells; Clonmacnoise; Donegal town; Sligo; Galway and Connemara; Clifden; ring forts; harbor seals; and stayed in a thatched cottage on Inishmore, among other things. Very few of these stops were planned -- we just found outselves in the neighborhood and decided to see them.

This made a great trip for us, but might not please real planners. Some guidebooks might help you narrow your choices, but I will say that getting off the beaten tourist track of Ring of Kerry, Cliffs of Moher, Blarney Castle, etc., has some incredible rewards.

If you choose this kind of trip you will, however, be forever explaining what you saw as opposed to what almost everyone else who goes to Ireland saw. Personally, I don't mind :-)

Have a great trip!

Good question. If you look at the detail of some of the all-inclusive packages on the site you mention you may notice their prices do not include all taxes, the car rental may not include CDW (insurance). Go into these things with your eyes open. If you plan to travel around St. Paddy's day you'd better get moving! Airfare shoots up at that time of the year because of the numbers travelling. I noticed one of the sites mentioned on shamrock.org has a huge amount of information on it's site at www.12travel.com They also have suggested itineraries as do a lot of the other sites. I would try to speak to someone at one of these companies to try to get an idea of what is possible. But be quick it is a very busy time of year.

We have been to Ireland 4 times and have done a package only once. We went to a travel agent for air, car and vouchers for our second trip, and never did it again.

I think for our first trip (it was 10 years ago and my memory is a bit fuzzy on the specific details) we looked at a tour itinerary and sort of made our own plans based on where they were going.

Now that we are more familiar with the country, we have a better idea of driving times so don't push ourselves nearly as hard; I like to spend a couple of days in each town.

If you are limited to only 4 or 5 days, you won't want to cover too much territory. A lot of where you go will probably depend on where you are flying in and out of. There are currently lots of post for Irish itineraries, so do a couple of searches for good suggestions. Good luck!

Several yrs. ago my wife and I did a one wk.u-drive trip to visit the fantastically beautiful Emerald Isle. We flew into Dublin(can recommend the Harding Hotel and lunch or dinner @ Wagamamas for Asian food).Lots to do there. Our adventure led us south to Waterford, then west to Dingle (charming & colorful village - Sraid Oine B&B great place to stay - good location & friendly pubs.) On the way north we visited Cliffs of Moher & Connemara & Kylemore Abbey,Galway and back to Dublin. Bewleys Hotel @ the airport is a reasonable place to stay if you have an early flight home. Ireland is a wonderful place to visit and fun to drive yourself. Driving on the "other-side" of the road is a bit tricky until you get used to it!AND DO ALLOW PLENTY OF TIME TO GET FROM POINT "A" TO POINT "B". Check out the Rick Steves Travel bk. & video on Ireland.
Cheers!

traveler:
My family and I went to Ireland in May of 2004 you are welcome to look at our travel blog here: spaces.msn.com/cartersblog We loved the freedom of getting out on our own. It added to the adventure of the trip. We did a lot of research on the web and travel books. We are fans of Fodors, obviously, but also Rick Steves and others. We flew into Shannon and traveled about leaving from Dublin on the return. Relax. Have fun, I'm a bit jealous.