What type of rental car did you get for the narrow roads in Ireland and did you like it?
 

Okay, there's only the two of us ( and luggage).

Someone on another thread said as soon a you pick up your rental car in Ireland the first thing you do is fold back the side mirrors............

So, what is the narrowest car with the most comfortable seats?????????? (for 50-60 year old backs!)

My sister and I traveled around Ireland by car in 2003 and 2004. My sister is a notorious over-packer, and because we were traveling around quite a bit, we wanted a car that could contain the luggage in trunk. This eliminated hatch back cars.

We also needed an automatic car because neither of us knows how to drive stick shift and we did not want to learn in Ireland. We rented a Toyota Corolla. Because this was back in 2003 and 2004, Corollas were smaller than they are now.


Because the roads are so narrow off the main highways, you do really need the smallest car that will be acceptable to your needs.

We rented through Irish Car Rentals and they were very forgivng about small dents and scratches.

I drove a Fiat Clio last year. It was comfortable for my bad back and had more than enough room for 2 people with luggage. The time before we also rented an economy car and the comfort level was fine.

We rented a Nissan Micra through Auto Europe. We found it quite comfortable (for 60-70 year-old backs). I didn't fold back the side mirrors, though I've also heard that it's a good idea.

We lost three of our hubcaps. Because of the narrowness of the roads, the car frequently brushed vegetation at the side of the road. I would advise either taking off the hubcaps or tying them on the wheels.

The nice thing about this little Nissan was that it had a very tight turning radius. I liked it a lot.

Last year, we had a Nissan Micra for the 2 of us + luggage. We liked it a lot – it was comfortable, had good gas mileage, it was small and easy to drive (automatic). We rented from Dan Dooley and all hubcaps were secured to the car. Did not lose any hubcap, although we had a flat.

You might feel the need to fold in the mirrors the first day, but by the second day, you’ll be fine. Enjoy your trip, Ireland is a wonderful country.

The recurring concern about driving on the narrow roads of Ireland seems to me to be excessive. Most of our roads are not particularly narrow, although I do recognise that a few tourist routes are narrow because of the terrain they pass through. But you can always find spots where vehicles can pass one another: you just have to pay attention to the issue, and be prepared sometimes to back up.

I don't drive a small car; I don't fold back wing mirrors; I have never scraped a car on ditches or hedges; I have only once ever lost a hubcap (I saw it go, but I was on a motorway at the time, and couldn't stop). Hubcap ties are advisable for driving anywhere.

For me, it's no big deal because I am used to driving here. For the tourist, you need to concentrate for a while and tune into how things are done here -- the particular additional skill on narrow roads is spotting passing places and using them well.

Padraig: No, Irish roads are not all that narrow -- but they ARE much narrower than the vast majority of Stateside roads. Even in rural and mountain areas, US roadways are generally much wider.

So w/ the added issue of driving "on the wrong side of the road", Irish roads do seem very narrow to most visitors.

My point as well. I have rented cars in Ireland a few times. Give me a small car. It is not in my experience a matter of finding a place to pass. It is that the Irish truck driver coming the other way at 50 mph on a fairly narrow road (to us North Americans) is taking 5/8 of the space.

Get a diesel. You can drive forever on one tank of gas.

Take electrical ties and tie the hubcaps on. We lost a hubcap.

All the cars are pretty small. I'm not sure if they have Mercedes A Class there, but that is a great peppy little car.

I don't remember what we had. It was blue! (I'm such a girl.)

The FIRST thing you do with a rental car is inspect it very closely. Do not accept a car with bald tires or a chipped windscreen (those chips can spread like a spiderweb). Most insurance does not cover tires or windscreens. Note any damage on the contract and have it signed by the car company. Check the boot to be sure you have a spare tire and jack.

You fold in the mirrors when you park, especially on the street where cars are going by. While you are diving you need the mirrors to see what is in back of and around you.

I was in the garage of a car rental company and they had spare hubcaps stacked up to the ceiling. They must get a deep discount on them.

We have hired a Peugeot Autosleeper Boxer 2.0 Diesel and am not too fazed about narrow roads as we are used to driving on the left - however, we will definitely be driving apprehensively and carefully and most likely be sticking to the main roads wherever possible.

"Irish roads are not all that narrow -- but they ARE much narrower than the vast majority of Stateside roads. Even in rural and mountain areas, US roadways are generally much wider.

So w/ the added issue of driving "on the wrong side of the road", Irish roads do seem very narrow to most visitors.""

Eh?

To most visitors, Irish roads are a normal size. To most visitors, Ireland drives on the proper side of the road.

To the very small minority of visitors to Ireland who come from insular, right hand driving, space wasting, countries and can't get it into their self-centred heads that they and their compatriots form a tiny (and rapidly declining) proportion of the world's tourists, Ireland's roads may seem odd.

But those of us who form the vast bulk of Ireland's visitors just get off the plane or ferry, hire a car and drive off without any of this "oh dear, it's all so difficult" wimpery.

According to CSO's official data for 2006, 43 percent of the Republic's visitors came from the right-hand driving Continent (not deducting Malta and Cyprus, which may not be THAT huge), 52 percent from Great Britain, and the remaining 5 percent from other areas of the world.

I wonder what kind of math they teach in the UK but 43 percent hardly qualify as a "very small minority".

Having said that, I would also say that country roads in Ireland are not really narrower than similar country roads in France, Italy, or elsewhere. Some visitors from the US seem to over-estimate the space their car needs on the road or how much "comfort zone" is needed to the oncoming traffic.

My pet peeve about driving in the ROI is signage. Especially when driving off the main highways, the mix of old black and white signs in miles and new signs in km, the directions where the (the old) signs point to, and often missing prior indication of directions before you hit the intersection, makes it a bit more difficult to navigate. But it's more a minor nuisance than a major issue, especially when you have a good map.

For inter-urban travel, you have regular or extra-wide 2-lane highways, some 4-lane motorways in the Dublin and Limerick area.

But since most or Ireland's natural beauties are found off the main highways, you will probably drive more often on narrower country roads. But traffic is less dense than in many other central European countries.

I would say that any compact rental car is just fine. Quality of seats does not necessarily go along with the size of the car. It's more a matter of how much luggage you will haul around if you need a larger car or not.

Well read a few forums where the Brits and others who drive on the "wrong" side of the road worry and stew & do lots of "oh dear, it's all so difficult" wimpery about driving on the continent. LOL!

It is normal to worry about driving in a completely different environment.....ALL people do that because it IS harder.

We find many German and Netherland people where ever we go...from Turkey to Morocco to Montenegro and all over Europe with their cars,motorhomes and caravans, but the Brits seem to drive only to France and Spain. Read on caravan/motorhome websites how afraid so many are to drive on the continent! Ireland license plates are as rare as American plates on the continent. The French love to go to Greece by car and Italians love to go to Croatia, but there is not an isolated place anywhere that you won't find a German driving around. ;)

Most of the countries on the continent of Europe drive on the "right" side and have their steering wheels on the "correct" side and they too worry about driving in Ireland or UK. I have heard many an Australian worry about driving on the continent because it is opposite to how they do it at home.

Most Americans do not travel to Europe because their own country is huge, diverse and with some of the most beautiful places in the world. One could travel for years and years and not see all the magnificent sites.I once traveled for 6 months in the U.S. and barely made a dent. Add Canada and Mexico, the Carribean & Latin America and you can see why some never care to get to Europe.

On a crowded planet..space is a wonderful thing and one thing I miss in Europe ( and I have found out I can adapt to much less).

I am looking forward to seeing more of North America after traveling the world and even have more respect for it's awesome beauty after traveling for 16 months straight as few places can come close to the pristine beauty of my home state of California which is larger than many European countries.

I am also looking forward to seeing Ireland ( amongst other countries) this summer ( I have driven all over England and Scotland which was easy in a small car).

This thread caught my eye because we will be driving in a small motorhome ( with steering wheel on the continent side)!!

I can not imagine the roads will be worse than Greece or some of the tiny old towns on the continent, are they? I actually have never heard of any concerns about Irish roads until this thread. I assumed that they were typical European roads.

Errata:
Just noticed that I also did not get my math straight: The 43 percent I mentioned reflect the added number of visitors to the ROI from the Continent, AND from the U.S., AND from Canada.

sheesh - I meant <b>NA</b> visitors. Thought it was clear since the prior paragraph mentioned the US twice and &quot;wrong side of the road&quot;. It was pretty obvious I was talking about US visitors.

Of course, UK visitors would not think the roads narrow, nor be on the wrong side of the road . . . . . . .

WTnow wrote: &quot;Ireland license plates are as rare as American plates on the continent.&quot;

That is something of an overstatement. But it does require a bit more time and effort and a lot more money for an Irish driver to get to Italy than it does for a German.

You find us more often in the north and west of France where we find narrow roads on which we can feel at home -- you know the sort, those roads where there is no concern about which side to drive on because the car fills the whole road.

&lt;it does require a bit more time and effort and a lot more money for an Irish driver to get to Italy than it does for a German.

So true! There were TONS in Venice campsites, but I was actually talking about all the Germans in Turkey, Morocco, Czech Republic, Slovenia, Croatia, Santorini etc. They seem particularly adventuresome because whenever we were in a very isolated area...there they would be!

I was actually surprised that we saw so very few Irish license plates anywhere and that Brits were rarely seen outside of France or Spain. I am sure there are more, but we only saw one Irish motorhome ( and one American RV....our friends who shipped it over and we met in Cappadocia Turkey).

The Irish one was in Barcelona.

We have run into ( large groups) Irish tinkers twice ( once in Paris and once in Granada campsites) but they do not have Irish plates. I did not know what they were at first, but could now easily spot all the new Caravans, vehicles and modus operendi.

When comparing Irish vs German number plates in Italy or elsewhere it may also have somewhat of an effect that the population and thus the number of registered vehicles slightly differs ;-)

It isn't just that the roads are narrower than Americans are used to, it is also because there are usually hedgerows growing right up to the road, vertically (or sometimes coming into the road) and you never know when one of those hedges are simply a thin veneer for a stone wall. Often they are. Not great for sliding against!