Grantier

Bob, thanks for the suggestion to do a text search. I hadn't done that before so learned something new.
I may make the self catering reservations soon and wait on the B&B's until we get there. Do you think they will be booked up if I wait?
Where are you going in April? Jenny

Itallian_Chauffer

Heading to SW Co. Cork, mostly. Will probable base this trip in the Baltimore, Skibbereen, Union Hall area, or there about. There will be PLENTY of B&Bs available w/o reservations in April, but if you have a 'MUST STAY' place, you might want to book that ahead. You don't need to do it here and now, though. Most big towns have year 'round Tourist Information Offices that will book B&Bs for you for about 2 Euro. The advantage is that they will have the most up to date listings and you can wait until you are sure of where you expect/want to stop for the night (something hard to do from a distance of 6000 miles and three months.
Another neat SEARCH trick is to 'CLICK' on the screenname of any poster (yourself included) to see all the posts that that individual has started or contributed to. For instance, if you clicked on my screenname and then scrolled down through the entries, you could locate my trip reports from both 2004 and 2005.
That kind of search will give you a better idea of how useful a poster's recommendations / opinions are relative to your expectations and interests.

Bob

Grantier

Thanks, CU, for the heads up on the hotels. I was able to find reasonably priced family rooms in the larger cities. That, plus the weekly rate for a self catering house, helps balance the cost of the B&B's. If the B&B's didn't charge per person, they would have been fine.
Thanks, Bob, for your suggestions. I've got homework to do.
Appreciate all the help from everyone.

d1carter

Grantier:
My wife, teenage son (15) and I had the adventure of a lifetime last May. We flew into Shannon and flew out of Dublin. We stayed in one hotel and the rest of the twelve days in BB's. All accomodations were just fine. Sounds like we may have done your trip in reverse. We prebooked all our rooms by email and phone. We were not disappointed in any of them. We took small gifts for our BB owners and we still stay in touch with some of them. The BB's were great for local information and the homey atmosphere was wonderful. Our son was even decent to us most of the trip! Good luck and remember to relax and have a good time.

Grantier

Thanks, diCarter. I'm feeling kind of fickled now. I'm rethinking the itinerary and wanting to spend more time where it's green and lush (trees). We found we enjoyed the area around Chartres, France better than Provence, since we live in a high desert area where it's fairly barren.
Glad to hear the b&b's worked out great. Sounds like you must have reserved ones with a double and single.
Do you have any advice on renting a car? I want my son to be comfortable so don't want to get too small a car. I've heard good recommendations for Dan Dooley but the rates seem quite a bit higher than Hertz. I know I've read discussions on this subject so need to research that next.
I've slowed down some on my research as I was getting abit compulsive about it. Jenny

d1carter

Grantier:
We rented a car, from Hertz, and had reserved an automatic(important) since I was not ready to drive on the "wrong" side of the road and shift gears with my left hand. Well, Hertz didn't have an automatic at check-in so we got an upgrade to a Picasso hatchback with 5 speed. It was great. Small car but was very roomy and comfortable. The roads in Ireland are very narrow when you get out in the country. That's what we wanted to do. I adapted very well and very quickly. It does take a little getting used to. It just added to the adventure. Let me know before you go what your plans are. You're going to have a great time.
Don Carter