Reservations suggested
 

My spouse and I are travelling August 31st to Shannon and will be in the country until September 12th, leaving out of Dublin. We have our first night's hotel reserved. Is it necessary to have a place reserved ahead of time for the balance of our trip? We are not seasoned travellers except in the US.

In my experience no - especially if you go the Bed-and-Breakfast route - this is becoming off-season after August and B&Bs are ubiquitous - we never had any trouble finding them as we drove around - many on approaches to cities and nice ones in the countryside as well. Put angst to rest and wing it.

I booked each night of my 2 weeks this fall just because I had my itinerary already planned out and figured I might as well book to get the places I'd heard so many great things about. Besides, I'm traveling solo and my boyfriend is concerned about that so this way he'll know where I am (or should be!) and can call to see if I showed up at the B&B or have been hauled away by gypsies. I'm glad I did for Doolin--I had a heck of a time trying to find a place with availability! It took my 6 tries to find a place! Maybe b'c of the Lisdoonvarna Matchmaking festival (yet another worry of my dear boyfriend!)? Also, the Ryder Cup is in Kildare near the end of Sept, so it might start getting booked up around there as well. Check ahead to see what holidays/festivals/etc might cause a town to be booked up and go from there. Have fun!

I like knowing where my first and last bed will be. We traveled in Northern Ireland and Donegal in October and the Tourist Centers are very helpful in finding accomodations. You shouldn't have any trouble. Hope your boyfriend survives your vacation. LOL

If you have special places you want to stay, it is always best to book early, even in September. The top rated B&Bs will be the first to fill up.

Book Dublin ASAP! If you plan on popular places (Dingle, Doolin, Killarney, Galway, Kilkenny, etc.) on a weekend (Fri/Sat) book ahead.

Sept is not off season. As sullivan suggested the best places fill up first. Another consideration, how much time do you want to take away from your sightseeing and spend on searching for a B&B or hotel? If you are particular it could eat up a few hours every day. I would rather spend my time sightseeing.

The actual Ryder cup matches don't start until 9/21 or 22 and the practice rounds a couple of days before that. I don't think there will be that many people that would be there for the Ryder Cup coming that early.

Thanks so much to everyone for their comments about reservations. We have been planning this trip for over 2 years and have read the books, but, nothing is better than recommendations from travelers who have "been there and done that."

I used to be a 'spur of the moment' traveler and in many places still am. But in Ireland, I simply have no tolerance for spending my time there wandering from B&B to B&B. I'd rather be in the pub!

Especially in September I'd have all my reservations ahead of time.

agree with rose completely!

Bill