Help me! Trip for 4 to Ireland on a budget

[amsafko]

Here's the situation. My daughter is competing in a music competition on harp that, should she place 1st or 2nd, she gets to go to Ireland to attend a music school for a week and compete there as well. We won't know until the end of May whether she will get this opportunity and the program in Ireland is in August. I already had a trip planned to the Rocky Mountains and Yellowstone so that would need to be put on hold should she get to go. There will be 4 of us (our dds are ages 8 and 6, our son age 3 will be staying home - not something I like but really would probably be for the best). Problem: I know nothing about Ireland, let alone planning it in a cost effective way. Anyone have any suggestions/tips/advice about airlines, car rentals, lodging (we would be around Cavan County). We did go get our passports, just in case.

Any help would be really appreciated.

 

[MichelleinMaine]

Haven't been to Ireland, but a tip from my days as a car rental agent. Think hard about doing the budget thing booking a stick shift car. Most people realize they drive on the "wrong" side of the road. I got more complaints from customers though that we didn't point out the gear shift is on the "wrong" side. (Eg you have to shift with your left hand.)

With those, not knowing where you're going, unfamiliar traffic signs, potentially a clock of sheep in the road... IMO worth it to spring for the automatic!

 

[mom2threecuties]

I'd check travelzoo. They have some great prices on package deals (airfare+hotel+car) for Ireland from time to time.

 

[bonoriffic]

I agree and don't get stick for a rental car. Driving on the wrong side isn't bad, but adding shifting in is just one more thing. Also the roads are very narrow, and you will reach a narrow bridge just as a tour bus is coming at you.

Don't plan too many long stretches of dross country driving. It takes longer than you would think as the roads outside of Dublin aren't the greatest and are slow. On paper it looks shorter than it is.

From where you would be Dublin and Galway are good side trips. Galway is a great college town with a pedestrian only city center. Dublin obviously has the big tourist spots.

August is Ireland means the sun sets at like 10pm and the weather is great.

 

[CTdiznymom]

My dd actually won a trip to Ireland last year and had a fabulous time. One suggestion I can make is to have a GPS. It was an absolute must as most roads are poorly marked if marked at all. She was with one other person, and they had a rental which was very small (think vw bug) they requested an automatic which they paid extra for, but worth it. Finding a large car may require some doing. They stayed in B&B's and family run cottages mostly. They did stay in a Hotel in Dublin which they thought was nice. I'll ask her what else she would suggest and get back to you. She loved it there, and would return in a heartbeat.

 

[bumbershoot]

Well, that's probably the most expensive time to go, so save up now! Won't her program have places to stay, etc, for you?

I drove a stickshift in Ireland. And I didn't have a very good navigator; she relied too much on the "quick intake of breath" method of letting me know that I was doing something wrong. That's not helpful! So if you'll have a car, practice navigating with words. Quick words, definitely, but words. And the driver can practice being Zen when the navigator tells them something they already know.

But anyway, you're on the right side of the car, on the left side of the road, and it's your left hand doing the stickshift...the one saving grace was that the pedals were the same! Whew. On the third day of driving I felt what can only be described as a "click" in my head, and then it was absolutely like I'd been driving that car on those roads all my life. Then again, I was only 26 at the time...not sure I could learn it again that quickly now!

I like looking at Rick Steves tourbooks, reading his website. He has a "graffiti wall" on his site where you can read things others have written about traveling in different countries... I always want to like the message boards on lonelyplanet.com, but ultimately they haven't been helpful for me.

If you buy other guidebooks, just know they might not be totally accurate. I got Frommers back for my trip, and it was the most recent one, but it was pretty outdated when it came to what was acceptable for women (said you can't sit at the bar, said you must order half pints, or you'll be ignored and made fun of...that just wasn't an issue in Sligo and Galway!).

It's a lovely lovely country with wonderful people, and I'm totally jealous. Especially because we went in the low season, so i could have my October birthday there, and the weather was just like western WA (rainy and green)! You'll get to have summer weather there if she gets in!

 

[luvmy3jewels]

We are headed to Ireland in less than a couple of weeks. I've found the tripadvisor forums to be especially helpful since there are usually locals lurking around to help with specific questions about what to do, where to eat/stay, etc.

I didn't really research very much before I planned our trip, so we are flying in/out of Dublin. Since then, I have found out that the western coast is much more scenic (Galway, Ring of Kerry) and I wish we were flying into Shannon instead. I found our hotel rooms through Orbitz, but I would recommend checking all of the travel websites frequently in order to find the best deal (you can even bid on rooms through Priceline).

As far as driving goes, from what I understand public transportation (trains, buses, etc) is fairly widely available. If you rent a car, make sure you get insurance coverage because from what I have read many people end up needing it because of road conditions.

In regards to flights, I would check the cost of flights from all airports within a days driving distance of your home (particularly since you will be paying for 4 tickets). I found with our trip, it was much cheaper for us to fly out of a major international airport (Dulles) than the smaller international airports that are closer to home. We are having to spend an extra night in a hotel, but fortunately I was able to win a cheap room on Priceline and the hotel provides free parking and shuttle service to/from the airport (so the room paid for itself from the savings in parking at the airport).

Best of luck to your dd!!

 

[Mrs D]

Ireland is such a wonderful country to visit; I'd go back in a minute!

Become familiar with the B&Bs. The large association of B&Bs is called Town & Country. They are very clean, quaint and cozy. It is not the sterile environment you will get in a hotel where everything is the same. Staying at a B&B is quirky, but it provides a wonderful opportunity to get to know the owners, learn about their background as well as meeting other travelers.

I agree to upgrade to an automatic transmission.

 

[NotUrsula]

As far as driving goes, from what I understand public transportation (trains, buses, etc) is fairly widely available. If you rent a car, make sure you get insurance coverage because from what I have read many people end up needing it because of road conditions.

Well, yes, ALWAYS get full insurance cover.

As to public transit, while it is available, it is S-L-O-W in the West. Near Dublin you can get around in a timely manner, but in the rest of the country you will waste a LOT of time getting around if you take the bus. The train lines only connect the major cities and those in a straight line between them; I can only get within 90 miles of home on a train, the rest if the way I'd have to take a bus, and then walk the last 4 miles. (Of course, the house is way out in the sticks. Beautiful sticks, but sticks nonetheless.)

Generally it is best not to try to drive within Dublin if you can avoid it. The traffic is bad and the road signs are confusing to an American.

I always drive a left-hand stick in Ireland, but then, I drive a stick in the US, too.

When planning your driving, be careful about blithely assuming that you'll drive all over creation seeing every tiny attraction. The roads are slow, and if you get behind a truck it will take forever. Also, gasoline (petrol) is VERY expensive. A full tank of gas for what in the US would be a compact car will run you about $150. Minimize your luggage and get the smallest car you can cram yourselves into -- roads in the West of Ireland are NOT meant for large cars, and if you end up with one, you'll have all kinds of trouble manueuvering and parking it. (I got stuck with a minivan once at the Dublin airport -- that car was a living hell. Among other things, I blew out two tires on it hitting a granite curb on a crowded roundabout. The insurance doesn't cover tires, so that was $400 that I wasn't counting on spending.)

 

[debbiecarr98]

Frommers had a discussion board that I found particularly helpful when I went a few years back.

 

[mommycrawford]

JFK and Boston are hubs for travel to Ireland, but I would contact Aer Lingus and tell them your stuation, and ask for their thoughts.....I know years ago, you could rent the student rooms at Trinity college, in Dublin when school was on break. (The student rooms were fantastic because college was initially only for lords, and such.)

Let me know how things work out....Luck to your daughter!

 

[shamrock30]

I've been to Ireland twice, but the last time was about 6 or 7 years ago. Hotels were generally expensive, so we always stayed in B&B's. We chose ones that had rooms with an ensuite bath. Not all of them do. We also stayed in a cottage for part of the trip, both times. These can be bargains sometimes, especially if they are privately owned and not part of a "holiday cottage" complex.

 

[Earstou]

We went to Ireland and England last summer. Loved it! Want to go back!

One thing I found was to go to the UK or Irish websites instead of the American websites. For instance, Premier Inn offers specials on it's Uk site that are not offered on it's american site. Hertz had better prices on it's UK site. I would type in something like "Hertz in UK" when searching. I also had found a code for Hertz that was good in Europe. Did a quick search but didn't find it right now. Most car rental codes I found only worked in the US.

I signed up for emails from Premier Inn also. It's a budget hotel, but every one we stayed in was very clean and fairly new. I can post some pictures if you're interested. They alert you to sales like this one for 29 pounds (or euros, depending which country) a night:http://www.premierinn.com/en/it/offers/premier_offers.html?DCMP=EMC-alert_25feb10rmngen
We rented a car (stick) and dh did all the driving. He swears he won't drive there again. Driving has never bothered him before, but I wonder if the fact that he is in his 50s now is part of not liking to drive there.
Definitely get a GPS and a map. We went with just the GPS but wished we had a map too. The roads are often unmarked, plus we would drive thru towns and never even know what the name of the town was! No signs with the towns name on it. With the roads being so narrow, you do not want a large car. Parking can be very difficult, with narrow spots. I can't imagine trying to park and drive anything larger than the small car we had! Speed limit on many roads is only about 40 mph or less, plus the roads are winding, so it takes a while to travel. Major roads are better, but you often need to get off them to get to where you are going.
We stayed at the Best Western Premier Academy Plaza Hotel in Dublin. It was a bit more expensive, but it was nice and located near O'Connell street, a major tourist area. The sightseeing bus stops right across the street and the airport shuttle has a stop close by on O'Connell. The only downside was that it appeared to be a couple of older buildings connected together, but I only noticed this while walking from the elevator to the room. Our rooms were wonderful and staff was very helpful!
Probably our number one attraction was Giant's Causeway on the north Antrim coast. Absolutely stunning! Plus it was a nice break from touring buildings and cities. http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=Giant's+Causeway&FORM=IGRE#
Just north of Dublin, there are some attractions in the Boyne area that we did on our way to the Antrim coast. Bru na Boinne, a megalithic chamber tomb older than the pyramids. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brú_na_Bóinne
Monasterboice has three Irish High Crosses, two of which are said to be the tallest and best in Ireland. http://www.sacred-destinations.com/ireland/monasterboice.
Mellifont Abbey is a ruined 12th-century Cistercian monastery near Monasterboice in County Louth. http://www.sacred-destinations.com/ireland/mellifont-abbey
Also there is the Hill of Tara and Trim Castle, which we did not get to.
I have an active teen who wanted to be outside and moving about, so that is why I chose some of these things. At the Abbey, Monasterboice, and Giant's Causeway, he could move around at will and be active. We did tour museums and historic sites in Dublin, but he got tired of seeing "old things".
We also visited Peatlands Park just south of Lough Neagh (the lake near Belfast. We enjoyed it, very peaceful, but I wouldn't go out of my way to see it. The website said they had peat-cutting demos (I wanted to see peat) but they only do it for arranged school groups.http://www.bbc.co.uk/naturescalendar/autumn/wetlands/peatlands/peatlands_access.shtml

 

[amsafko]

Thanks so much for the recommendations! I have a great starting point now. I'm most concerned about the driving now though. I am really worried about how dh will handle maneuvering the roads. Thanks for the warnings.