Winter trip
 

Hi, my sister and I are going to Ireland over winter break in January. I have already bought out airfare and now have just been told by a tour I wanted to take that they will not be going this January. Now I am thinking that we will just go on our own. Since we're in and out of Dublin I thought we could just work our way around the country via bus. Any suggestions? Is this an easy thing to do? We have 10 days...Thanks! Kristen

Hi Kristen,

I'm in DC too! Anyway, first, let me just make a suggestion: I saw your other post, and it's usually easier if you just "post a reply" to your original post if you want to ask follow up questions - that way all of your information is in one place.

But to try to help, public transportation in Ireland is not as good as other parts of Europe. So it might be easier to rent a car, even if you don't drive often (per your other post). Does your sister drive?

If you were happy with the itinerary that the tour was planning to do, you could pretty much just follow that on your own.

Also, B&Bs won't be full, but some also may not be opened. You shouldn't have a problem getting a place to stay. The best bet would be to hit the tourist information center, if there is one, when you get to a town, and ask them for suggestions. Or you can just stop in places and see if they have vacancies.

Karen

Thanks for all of your suggestions. And yes, my sister does drive, the question is, do I trust her to :)

Karen,

I noticed that the Paddywagon tours has a 3-day southern tour and it hits most of the places that I want to see, but it won't be as much time. We'll just have most of our time in Dublin. Have you heard of them?

Hi, Kristen,
I would definitely recommend renting a car for your trip. Some of my favorite experiences in Ireland were the things we stumbled upon by accident while driving from one place to another. I do have two suggestions if you decide to go this route.
1) Insurance. The roads are narrow, and a lot of people lose side mirrors, etc., so be sure you have good insurance -- some credit cards have exclusions for rental car coverage in Ireland, I think. We used Dan Dooley, and as I recall, got a good deal through them that included insurance.
2) Location. If you and your sister do not drive much, you might want to avoid Dublin for your first experience driving on the wrong side of the road. It was fun for us (exciting and a little nerve-wracking), but as I mentioned we had good insurance. In any event, you might consider taking the train to a smaller town as you leave Dublin, and then pick up your car there.
Your trip sounds wonderful -- have fun!!

Thanks :)

You can look at www.buseireann.ie web site for bus schedules. Or, the Rail Eireann site for trains.
Keep in mind that you won't have lots of daylight in January, probably only from about 8 am - 4 pm. For that reason, you really might prefer the flexibility of a car and not having to worry about bus and train schedules. I don't like to drive in Ireland after dark, so prefer getting where I'm going by mid- to late afternoon.
I agree that you shouldn't have your first Irish driving experience in Dublin!
I've seen Paddywagon Tours several times while I've been over there. From what I've seen, they attract a young crowd and they've always looked like they were having fun.

Rail site it www.irishrail.ie but the rail network just goes between the main population centres and is expensive compared to the bus. Also because all lines branch out from Dublin the rail routes to some places are convoluted. As has been said don't take a car anywhere near Dublin city centre, apart from anything else it's gridlock. In January as well as shorter days weather is colder so we can get icy roads especially in the countryside and they're not always salted or gritted, this is very much a worst-case scenario but something to consider. Have a good trip.

www.vistaphotos.com

kristen
We had a great time with renting a car! Except agree, not in Dublin. I hope you get to Dingle and the Dingle Peninsula, Slea Head Drive and Conner's Pass! Just beautiful! We loved the pubs with their peat fires. You can call Irish Tours at 1-800-223-6470 and ask them to send you a b&b book. You can also go to their website and check out b&b's: www.townandcountry.ie Have fun!

Don't restrict yourself to BusEireann. There's a CityLink bus that goes directly from Dublin airport to Galway hourly at 15-min after the hour (http://www.citylink.ie). I took the 9:15 AM one to Galway and arrived about 1 PM. That way you can use Galway as a base for visiting Connemara and west Clare and then maybe go down to Tralee for a few days and save Dublin's fair city for last.

Thank you all so much for your replies, we really appreciate it. Now, here's another question: can any of you recommend some place to stay in Dublin? I'd like to stay pretty close to city center, but not someplace that's loud and touristy...or too expensive. Ok, so maybe I'm asking for a lot here, but I thought I'd ask anyway! Thanks :)

We stayed at a B&B in Dublin but the Jury chain (reasonable prices and I think 3 stars) has at least two hotels in Dublin. The closest to City Center would be Jury Christchurch.

Am also traveling to Ireland with my sister and have done extensive research on the areas. In Dublin, you could try Longfield's (I saw a rate for Nov. for $158). The Hibernian (sp.) is also a decent property and had some better rates. Both are within walking distance of city center. Good luck and have fun!