hcoombs

I'm trying to decide whether to purchase a fly-drive-B&B package from Aerlingus or assemble the pieces on my own. I've determined price for flight for two and rental of automatic car. I expect the total of these to be about $1300. The real question is, how expensive are Irish B&Bs on average? Can I spend a night in a Dublin hotel and 5 nights in B&Bs for under $600? Any links to online B&B listings would also be appreciated. Thanks!

MaryZ

Last summer, our B&B costs ranged from 25-45 Euro per night per person,but we didn't go to Dublin.

joolleeb

We are currently planning our own B&B's no package deal. It is working out nicely-there are quite a few B&B's in the 30-35 Euros per person range. Ofcourse there are alot that are more. Make sure you read the actual price-many listings are per person. But we are finding that it is pretty easy to pick places to splurge a little and find places that are a good bargin. When booking your hotel in Dublin try using Hotels.com or other discount internet sights-they do come in cheaper. This is a nice board to use to search town names-often there will be reccommendations for a lot of B&B's that should fit your range. Good Luck!

Budman

I've been doing some research on this board and thru google search engine for my upcoming trip in May. A lot of great advice on this board. Click on my name -- I have started a couple of threads on B&B's.

I have found what I consider to be "above average" B&B's throughout the SW peninsulas for between 30-35 Euro per person (60-70 per couple). Roughly between $75-$85 per night. Good luck.

wojazz3

You should be able to do that depending on how bad the dollar is when you are there. It has actually improved slightly in the last couple of weeks but who knows where it will be then. Also, I'm assuming that you are a party of 2. It would also help to know when you are traveling. If it is soon and you will be in Dublin on a weekend, you should book the room today. You can find that the less expensive places are booked up 4-6 months in advance, especially on the weekends.

My feeling is that, if you are close to break even, book your own. You'll have more choices and all of your money will go to the B&B owner instead of a middle man. Much more often than not, that will make you feel good.

You should not have to pay more than E35 pp per night at a B&B. Most are in the range of 25-35, over and under that is the exception. Geneally figure you should be able to average comfortably with pretty nice B&Bs at about E30.

Your Dublin room will be the most expensive and part though prices are almost always per room. If you are staying on a Friday or Saturday night it will be more than a weekday (usually). For instance, I just checked Blooms in Temple Bar and they have a weeknight special of E39 pp Bed and Breakfast but E75 on the weekends (Fri or Sat). Jury's Christchurch is usually pretty affordable and is conveniently located. I just checked their website for dates in May and the two weekend dayes I checked were sold out. The weekday rate I got was E108. You may be able to get better prices from a consolidator but availablity is a question.

Others may know some graet deals in Dublin, or you could saty at a B&B on the outskirts and take the DART in to the city center.

The most complete site of for B&Bs is www.townandcountry.ie. This site does not contain ratings unless AA has rated them in the past. www.irelandyes.com is run by Michele Erdwig and she sells a book and will recommend B&Bs online. Her book is a very good travel companion for the first time Ireland traveler. It's not full of pictures, but rather info. Her recommendations probably lean to the higher end price wise, but still within or close to the standard range.

I'll stop blathering.

Bill

MaryZ

Another good site for B&B listings is www.familyhomes.ie

Punkyl44

What everyone says is exactly right. All the B & B's we stayed in last August were about 30-35 Euros per night, per person. One or two were 25 Euros PP. No quotes we recieved were higher than 40.

We booked all our B&B's over the internet using a combination of the large BB website recommened above and searching yahoo for B&B's recommended by others in the forum and Frommers guide.

We stayed in Dublin for 3 nights. It was by far the most expensive. We got a good deal at the Hilton Conrad for $150 a night. We wanted to stay somewhere nice our last few nights. However, it was a bit of a walk to Temple from our hotel. Expedia, Orbitz, Travelocity, and Priceline all do hotels in Dublin so you can prob. get a deal if you look hard enough.

Good luck! Ireland is wonderful!

rhkkmk

we did it wothout any package....we were told by several B&B owners that they do not accept the vouchers, as they earn less from them....we stayed at top flight places so they have a constant booking....

rhkkmk

as noted above they charge per person and it is usually 22-35 euros per person per nite...dublin would be more i should think...can't you get along without an automatic car....you can save quite a bit...have you tried auto europe for the car??

NEDSIRELAND

Ireland is expensive, especially Dublin! Figure on 140 Euro per night (breakfast incl.) for a couple at a 3-star hotel. That's $175!

Expect to pay 70 Euros/night for an Ensuite double; 60 if you take what they call a 'standard' room (i.e., not ensuite). In the latter case, that's $75 USD, the former is $87.50 USD. So unless you settle for less it's going to cost you $612.50 USD for 1-night in a 3-star Dublin hotel and 5-nights in B&B's. The Euro / Dollar exchange rate I use is what it is on 6 Feb., 2004:
1 Euro = $1.25

Many B&B Operators don't like vouchers. They get less for them than if they deal 'cash only.' Most also don't accept Credit Cards, so your ATM card and a nearby bank will come in handy.

Welcome to the most expensive country in Europe to visit!

irlandes

I, too, was having a similar debate with myself. Several people on here told me not to bother with the Vouchers as it will limit the places you can go to. I believed them, but it wasn't until a travel agent told me not to bother with them that I really rethought the whole thing. For car rentals and vouchers, it would have been 135+EU per day. With renting a car on our own (30EU per day), we'll still have over $100 to spend on lodging and will still be saving money. Most B&B's that I've seen average around 60EU per night. We're figuring the lodging portion of our 10 day trip will be right around $600.

MileKing

Budman, please post your list here in this thread. I'm curious as to your choices as we will also be in Ireland in May.

I've done a lot of research as well, but have gone higher-end (60-65 Euros pps) and into guesthouses in many cases. Admittedly, we are probably a bit more choosey than most Fodorites. Most of the better B&Bs/Guesthouses discussed in various posts seem to be in that range and not 30-35 Euros pps. (I'd like to see what 30-35 Euros pps buys in Kinsale.)

Most, if not all, of the B&Bs/guesthouses have websites now complete with pictures of rooms. In my view, lack of pictures, particularly of the bedrooms is a recipe for disappointment and we steer clear of those.

Budman

MikeKing, We've booked our first and last nights in Ireland. First night in Kilrush at Hillcrest View - 30 euro pp per night:

http://www.hillcrestview.com/

Kenmore: Staying at Virginia's Guesthouse - 40 euro pp per night - only because I want to stay in town and walk to everything.

In Kenmore, I would have gone with either one of these if not Virginia Guesthouse:

http://www.rockcresthouse.com/
http://www.harbourviewbnb.com/

Last night in Bunratty - 35 euro pp per night:

http://www.bunrattylodge.com/

I'm still haven't decided on Dingle, Killarney, Portmagee, Crookhaven, or Kinsale. Good leads, still doing research and finalizing itinerary.

rhkkmk

budman---you will be delighted with hillcrest view....ask for mr.'s ommlette in the morning,,,,its great

bigtyke

4 years ago, a friend and landed in Dublin on March 18 with no reservations. We got the Town and Country book at the tourist office. We had the agent in the tourist office make a reservation for us at a nearby town and the rest of the time we just picked out a place in the book and went directly there. All the places were fine and were about $25 at that time (higher now because of the decline of the $).

Consider staying in a small town on the outskirts of Dublin and taking the train (or driving in and parking) rather than pay the high price of a hotel in Dublin.

Check several car rental companies and where applicable, check various affiliations to get the lowest price. My friend go the best deal with his Costco affiliation. The car rental clerk was amazed at what a great rate he got. It was at Alamo.

Check with your credit car company to see if the CDW waiver applies in IReland - I think Mastercard is good for this but not Visa. - Quite a savings

NEDSIRELAND

After the European Finance Ministers meeting on 6 Feb (in Boca Raton, where their Euros made things cheap for them) the U.S. Dollar continued its decine.

I attribute this to their failure to achieve consensus and take any positive action to weaken the Euro. So, unless Japan or China intervenes, I wouldn't expect any decline in the Euro vs the U.S. Dollar any time soon.

Package deals paid for in U.S. Dollars are looking better and better. Pints of Guinness will cost more; meals will cost you more but your 'prepaids' will be 'locked in' (i.e., B&B's and car rental).

I negotiated a rate at a B&B in Ennis (County Clare) for later this month and as I follow the Euro-Dollar exchange rate my price gets higher and higher (Friday it was $75; today it's $76.20).

Budman

I can recall the last time we were in Ireland (about 4 years ago), they were still dealing with the Irish Punt. I can't remember the actual cost, but recall that over the 8 days, the most expensive B&B we stayed in during our trip cost $45.00 for the two of us. I kept telling myself & my friends what a bargain that was. That same B&B in Bunratty area is now 70 euro for the two of us. WOW!!

The cost of Guinness then was about $3.25 for a "proper pint." Hate to think about what it will cost this coming May, but I still will be imbibing. My wife is just going to have to spend a little less in her shopping.

wojazz3

Budman:

In November a pint of stout was around E3.35 and a pint of lager was about E3.65.

Bill

Budman

Bill, that's about $4 a pint -- sounds reasonable, compared to what I pay in the U.S. for the imported "stuff." Maybe I will ease up on the shopping bucks for my wife.