seasweetie

When my DH and I went to Scotland (10 years ago in July), we had first and last night's lodging booked in advance, but for the rest of the 13 days, we rented a car, and in whatever town of some size we wound up near towards the end of the day, we'd stop at the Tourist Office and arrange for a room for the night. This worked well for us there. Is there a similar arrangement in Ireland that we could use?

We are planning on renting a car for our entire stay and driving around Southern Ireland. (Approx. 13 days in July 2007.) We like spending each night in a different place, as opposed to using a spot for a base. This trip, though, we will have our 10-year old daughter with us. She's adventurous, but I'm sure we don't want to be caught out on a cool, drizzly night with no place to stay.

Would it be wisest for me to try to plan my route in detail, and book everywhere in advance? Or can I rely on Tourist Offices, particularly at that time of year?

Thanks!

SiobhanP

I wouled book roughly what you can as it is the touris season and not every town will have a tourist office. Also it will help you to get a better place in advance as opposed to not having much choice on the day and taking the best of a bad lot (Not that many are bad but the best always book up early).

yesiree100

I frequently use the tourist offices to book accommodations. In high season, there can be a long wait while they try to find a place for you, but they make the calls for you and and are able to give good directions.

Realize, it's easiest to find a double room, so keep that in mind while you make a decision...if you feel you absolutely need a family room or room with a rollaway bed for your daughter, it might be harder to find last-minute accommodations.

The Tourist Office network covers the entire country. So if you are in a town, you can have them book a room for you in the town you are heading (of course the tourist office in one town might not know details like convenience of location, ammenities, etc of a B&B in another town).

I'd recommend getting to the tourist office before 3pm to book a room for the night. Many offices are not open late, and B&Bs will already start filling up by then.

I doubt you will have to worry about not having a bed for the night, but you might end up having to drive 30 miles out of town if accommodations are scarce.

starfish1

seasweetie, we too have travelled "by the seat of our pants" and loved the freedom it gives. However, we learned some years later after travelling with our two children (and getting booked into some quite sketchy places by the local tourist office)that in the interest of everyone, it is best to know where you will be able to lay your head at the end of a day. It's a ton of work ahead of time trying to plan where you will be and when but makes the trip so much easier when you don't have to stress about trying to find a room. We are visiting Ireland at the beginning of May and have booked all our accommodation and found even then that some of the recommended places were already booked. In July I would imagine the preferred places are booked up well in advance - it also depends on how particular you are about where you stay but we found, especially travelling with children, it's much nicer to have a plan ahead of time. BTW, I thought I was pretty good with the acronyms on this board but have never been able to figure out DH - please enlighten me!

joolleeb

DH=Dear Husband

starfish1

Thank you joolleeb! I am glad it is a term of endearment and also so relieved to be in the know. I kind of figured that's what it was but never knew for sure or where it came from. Thanks for enlightening me.