Hagan

And then there are those of us (growing as we age, I'm sure) who just do not want to drive in Ireland, but there are so few posts offering suggestions for public transportation. I know it can be done, using 3 or 4 cities for bases and then taking day tours to places of interest - I've read a few trip reports here and on other sites. But most often all I see is "You have to rent a car and drive, that's the only way to see this country."
Well, if you're a senior with vision problems and/or no experience driving on the other side of the road, that's just not a possibility. Yet we still want to see things that WE want to see, not on a tour that stops at every shopping venue with long hours on a bus.
PLEASE start respecting our requests for advice on this, and don't hound us that the only way is to rent a car.

flpab

My first trip to Ireland was when planning a trip via the internet was just starting so we winged it pretty much the whole trip. We knew where we were staying the first two nights in Dublin and think we stayed there the last night before flying home. Yikes, can't even remember now. Anyhow, we did great driving and stopping when we were tired. We had no problem using the little guide book to find accommodations.

We knew that the next trip we would try to stay two nights in each place because we were tired of packing and moving each day. We saw a lot that first trip but just know I would not attempt it again.
I now love to use public transportation. It is an adventure to me and takes away a lot of the stress. I have used it totally in Ireland, France, Scotland and England. We did half and half in Germany this trip but Germany is very easy to drive in we think.

janisj

flpab: >>Yet we still want to see things that WE want to see, not on a tour that stops at every shopping venue with long hours on a bus.
PLEASE start respecting our requests for advice on this, and don't hound us that the only way is to rent a car.<<

IME no one 'hounds' folks. What you need to do . . . IF you don't want a regimented/shopping-centric tour and can't drive is - - - hire a driver-guide and go where you darn well please.

Hagan

Janisj, I was just looking into that very thing, and the quote I got today is for $700 a day for a driver and car. So unfortunately, THAT isn't going to happen.
flpab, I'd love to hear about your trip using public transportation in Ireland. Did you write a review?

janisj

Oh - heck - there are MUCH cheaper drivers than that.

flpab

I think you should drive if you want, take a train if you want. I have never done a tour like CIE. Some people love that but it is not for me. My husband has rented a motorcycle and traveled all over Germany and loved it. We rented a car in Ireland, Belgium, Germany, France and Italy and did great. We had some of the best trips when 20 of us rented a driver and a small bus and let them drive us. We were a pub group from Fl so no one wanted to be the designated drivers.

Hagan, we have done trains and buses in Ireland. We based ourselves in larger cities and did day tours or took the buses and trains. You can take the train to many places in Ireland. Some of the smaller towns have limited bus schedules but we did ok. I did Italy in the spring with nothing but public transportation, trains, buses and ferries.

But if you want to drive then by all means drive just don't let the fear of it keep you from traveling.

flpab

Hagan, we have a local pub that does regular trips to Ireland and each trip we used http://www.butlers-buses.com/ they do a lot of smaller groups also. We decided where we wanted to go and they drove us.

Janisj, that was Hogan not me that wrote that about wanting to see what we want to see and not hounding.

Hagan

Thanks, flpab. We did rent a car for a week in Tuscany some years ago, but generally stick to public transportation in Europe.
I think we'll go with 3 or 4 main cities, bus or train, and then do day tours from there. One of us is legally blind, one has nightmares from driving to the Cinque Terre and refuses to drive on any trip again, and then there's me. We really just want to relax and enjoy the scenery now!

janisj

oops - yes I see that now . . . sorry for the confusion

Hagan: Public transport works great lots of places (in a lot of areas in Europe trains/buses are easier than driving)

It is just that in Ireland the rural scenic bits on the west/SW coast are not well served -- can be done w/o driving but it just takes more 'work'/planning.

bean11

Hagan,

We hired a driver in 2011 for only the days we needed him. I didn't think it was expensive at all. He offered countless suggestions and was invaluable as well as charming. Basically, he got us from Galway to Killarney, day trip around Dingle,to Cork then Kilkenny, and finally Kilkenny through Waterford back to Dublin. No driver needed for Dublin or Galway. I think it cost us about $4000 per couple for the driver for 5 days, 8 nights in Hotels, transfers,and Aran Island Ferry. Not cheap, but affordable if more than 1 split the cost.