Rent a car in Dublin to see countryside of Ireland?
 

My husband and I are going to Dublin in November. He wants to rent a car to see the countryside/small towns. We are from the US. Is this a good idea? Our hotel has valet parking for 25 EUR/day.

How long are you going for, and where do you want to go? Public transport is pretty decent, and there are lots of places you can get to with it, but not deep in the countryside. If I were trying to explore out in the country I would probably spend one or two nights not in Dublin, rather than dealing with traffic and parking.

Also Irish roads have improved vastly in the last 20 years or so, but your drive times will be much slower than in the US, for the most part, and driving on the other side can take some getting used to. Also automatics aren't terribly common, and usually have to be reserved in advance.

We spent some time in Dublin last December and had a lovely time. We used public transport, walked a lot, got a couple of cabs, and were briefly driven around the outskirts by a relative, but never felt any particular need for a car. My DH felt he'd be okay on the other side if he had a day or two to get used to the traffic flow, but he's comfortable with stick, and he rode shotgun with both the cabbie and my cousin Gerald.

We haven't decided exactly where we want to go. We are in Dublin for a business trip for 2 days and have 3.5 extra days to see Ireland. The idea of renting a car and seeing more of Ireland just came up today.

We probably need to stay based in Dublin because we are using hotel points for our stay. Is it possible to take a day trip in the countryside and return to Dublin the same night?

Personally I would opt for Public transport and Tours. You could do a lot of driving in 3 days and lots of people do come over and do just that. I call it the white van mentality and often ask if they work for UPS/DHL or suggest they could make a few bob just dropping parcels on the route.

Take a tour of Wicklow. Possibly a long day Belfast-Giants Causeway tour. Get on a local train and have an evening up in Howth or down in Bray, November will be dark at after 6 but it might give a feel for what's within an hour of the city.

It's possible, but probably pretty crazy making. We sat in Gerald's car in traffic for an hour trying to make our way from Phoenix Park to his home in South County Dublin on a Saturday afternoon on December. Dublin traffic is kind of sticky sometimes. Plus 25 euros is a lot of money to spend on parking. Of course it's your money, but you could have a modest lunch for that.

I like Tony2phones suggestions. We didn't take tours, and had planned to go to Bray and never got that far since it was atypically cold when we visited, but someone who wanted to see more than Dublin could do a lot worse. There is quite a bit to see and do in Dublin too, although a lot of tourists either skip it or gloss over it.

What hotel chain are you using, if you don't mind my asking? Their Dublin outpost is unlikely to be the only one that takes your points, and depending on what you want to see, another city, such as Cork, might be a good base for a day or two.

I know Ireland looks small on a map, but drive times are longer (sometimes a LOT longer-a couple of years ago Gerald drove my father on an odd pilgrimage to Graigenamanagh, and I thought we were never, ever going to get out of that car) and there is a lot to see.

I wrote a trip report last year about the December trip (myself, DS, and DH-not my father's wanderings). Let me see if I can figure out how to link to it.

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...n-hfa-teen.cfm

Hopefully that works.

Thanks for the great information! We are using Marriott points at the The Shelbourne Dublin.

It actually looks like there are only a few hotels available in Ireland. The Ritz-Carlton Powerscourt seems to be one of them, however, and while not that far from Dublin, would be a lot more convenient for getting out into the country in a car, especially the Southeast. I have NO idea how it stacks up vis a vis your points.

For Dublin, the Shelbourne is a great location, not to mention a beautiful historic hotel, and is just a block or so from where we stayed (the Fitzwilliam).