WHEN TO GO
The guidebooks say April is driest month (not August, like you would expect) so we went in late May, early June and had zero rain for the first week, and then only off an on rain for our last 2 weeks - until last 2 days when there were amazing downpours. The few days we had in Northern Ireland saw heavy rain, but the locals said that the previous weeks had been beautiful. Overall, a couple days of heavy rain during a three week trip isn't too bad, so I am happy with the weather we had. Remember, Ireland is brilliant green because it gets a lot of rain, so be prepared.
Travel during May and early June is also less crowded than the peak July and August time. The guidebooks talk about endless buses along the Ring of Kerry and the Dingle Peninsula, but it was not an issue with us. Our boat trip to Skellig Island only had 9 out of a maximum of 12 passengers - during the peak season it is advisable to make reservations for the Skellig trip well in advance.
Because Ireland is so far north, visiting in June means that you will experience days that are quite long - you can go out after dinner and do more sightseeing. We saw the Cliffs of Moher at about 8:00 PM at night, and sun was still up. It is also light quite early in the morning, but because most of the Bed & Breakfasts did not serve breakfast until 8:00 AM, we did not get earlier starts.
DRIVING
Don't drive when you are in Dublin. There is no where to park. We stayed at Anchor House B&B in Dublin, and from Anchor House we easily walked to Trinity College, Museum of Archaeology, St Patricks Cathedral,Dublin Castle and Temple Bar
Roads in Ireland are narrow, and there are walls and vegetation right up to the edge of the road. Shoulders are most nonexistent, especially on the smaller roads. Everyone drives too fast - the posted speed limits seemed quite high to me - 80 KPH for a narrow winding road with blind corners? Despite the fact that the speed limits are high, it takes a while to drive through rural Ireland because the roads are so twisting. I used this site to get estimated distances: http://routes.aaireland.ie/# Traffic circles are unnerving, especially there is more than one lane entering the circle.
Expect that travel times in Ireland will be longer than they are here in the USA. Because of the winding narrow roads, you will be driving slower than normal, so it takes longer than you expect to cover ground. However, there is a lot to see and you are on vacation, so slow down and enjoy!
EXPENSES
I kept a detailed record of where we spent our money on this trip. Thank goodness we bought our plane tickets early, the price of flying in 2012 really skyrocketed with oil embargo of Iran. We kept our food costs low by skipping lunch (we had large breakfasts at the B&Bs) and eating cheap dinners - pizza, fish & chips, fast food.
The biggest expense by far is the car. I was surprised by how cheaply the rental cars are listed on the websites - for example, our 3 weeks rental of a Ford Focus with manual transmission was quoted a price of only 170 Euros! But when you get to Ireland, you find you MUST purchase auto insurance for 25 Euros a day, and that this insurance covers almost nothing (it has a 1200 Euro deductible, so unless you total the car, it covers nothing.) Plan on getting the "premium" auto insurance (which has "only" a 200 Euro deductible) which costs 30 Euros per day. WARNING: your credit card, which normally provides auto insurance when you use their card for an auto rental, will NOT provide coverage in Ireland! We found this out after putting a small dent in the back bumper and got socked by a tremendous bill.
You will need a lot of cash in Ireland if you stay at the Bed & Breakfasts. Most B&Bs only accept cash payment. If you are an AAA member, you can get Euros from them before you leave the USA without paying an onerous exchange rate. You will need Pounds Sterling in Northern Ireland (same currency as England). AAA will also change back your unused Euros and Pounds when you return
Depending on how many sites you visit, you may want to pick an OPW (Office of Public Works) card. This provides discounts or free admissions to a lot of the public places. You can pick these cards up in Terminal 1 of the Dublin Airport. You can also get the Ireland Heritage Card (which is free) from the same information desk in the airport. The Ireland Heritage card covers different destinations than the OPW card.
We bought our plane tickets six months in advance. I never did see prices get much lower than the price we paid, so for us, buying well in advance worked out well. Also, knowing the exact dates of our travel made it easier to plan the rest of the trip.
We stayed in the Holiday Inn Express in Dublin the last night of our trip because it had a free shuttle to the airport, this allowed us to turn in the rental car a day earlier. It had a nice breakfast buffet - eggs, sausage, toast, pancakes, and it is only a couple blocks walk to the Thrifty/Avis/Enterprise car rental lots, so you can turn in the car and walk back to the Holiday Inn.
Item | Price | Description |
| Plane Tickets | $1715 ccard | Two round-trip tickets to Dublin on Delta (via Atlanta) |
| Airport Shuttle | $50 ccard | Shuttle Express to SeaTac |
| Waterford Parking | €2 cash | |
| Cahir Parking | €2 cash | |
| Amber Gas | €60 ccard | 38 liters of diesel in Killarney |
| Topaz Gas | €67 ccard | 41.9 liters of diesel in Ennistymon |
| Rossaveel Parking | €5 cash | |
| Texaco | €66 ccard | 42.9 liters of diesel in Kilkenny |
| Trim Castle Parking | €2 cash | |
| Top Gas | €51 ccard | 33.2 liters of diesel in Dublin |
| Derry Parking | £1 cash | |
| Giant's Causeway Parking | £6 cash | |
| Ford Focus from Thrifty | €950 ccard | €24 per day for CDW auto insurance! |
Transport Total | $3290 | |
| Anchor House B&B | €69 cash | One night in Dublin |
| Ferndale B&B | €70 cash | One night in Enniskerry |
| Trooperstown Lodge | €75 ccard | One night in Laragh |
| Dunroven B&B | €50 cash | One night outside of Waterford |
| Ard Ri House B&B | €70 cash | One night outside of Cashel |
| Avondale B&B | €80 cash | One night in Cork |
| Larkinely B&B | €160 cash | Two nights in Killarney |
| Skellig Side B&B | €70 cash | One night in Cahersiveen |
| Cill Bhreac House | €65 cash | One night in Dingle |
| Trildoon House | €65 cash | One night in Doolin |
| Marless House | €132 cash | Two nights outside of Galway |
| Cillcoman Lodge | €66 ccard | One night in Westport |
| Treetops B&B | €70 cash | One night in Sligo |
| Arches B&B | €65 cash | One night outside of Donegal |
| Mountain View B&B | €60 cash | One night outside of Kilkenny |
| Abbey House | £60 cash | One night in Derry |
| Beulah B&B | £60 cash | One night in Portrush |
| Brier's Country House | £65 cash | One night outside of Newcastle |
| Holiday Inn Express | €62 ccard | One night near Dublin airport |
Lodging Total | $1843 | |
Food Total | $452 | |
| Two OPW cards | €42 ccard | Office of Public Works cards give discount admission to many sites |
| Trinity College | €20 cash | Walking tour of college grounds |
| Powerscourt Gardens | €13 ccard | Discount using Ireland Heritage card |
| St Canice's Cathedral | €8 cash | |
| Waterford Crystal Factory | €12 ccard | 2 for 1 Discount using Ireland Heritage card |
| Cliffs of Kerry | €8 cash | |
| Kenmare Stone Circle Admission | €8 cash | |
| Skellig Experience | €10 ccard | |
| Boat ride to Skellig Michael | €70 cash | Joe Roddy & Sons |
| Dunbeg Stone Fort | €6 cash | They charge admission for everything around Dingle! |
| Gallerus Oratory | €6 cash | They charge admission for everything around Dingle! |
| Harry Clarke Stained Glass | €2 cash | They charge admission for everything around Dingle! |
| Burren Center | €10 ccard | |
| Dysert O'Dea | €8 cash | |
| Ferry ride to Aran Island | €50 ccard | Boat ride to Inishmore |
| Bike rental | €23 cash | All day rental 2 mountain bikes |
| Glenveagh Bus | €3 cash | One way ticket back to parking when rain began |
| Florence Court | £4 cash | 2 for 1 Discount using Ireland Heritage card |
| Marble Arch Caves | £9 cash | 2 for 1 Discount using Ireland Heritage card |
| Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge | £11 cash | |
Entertainment Total | $416 | |
Grand Total | $5981 |
RESOURCES
Pick up the Ireland Heritage card and a buy an Ireland Office of Public Works card for 21 Euros. Both are available in Terminal 1 of Dublin airport. The longer you stay in Ireland, the more times you will use OPW card and save money. Try this site: http://www.heritageireland.ie/en/
Get a good map of Ireland. We use maps by Rough Guide for Ireland and for Dublin and they are truly valuable.
I found that the Moon Handbook was the most valuable guidebook. Rick Steves book has some surprising omissions - no mention of Slieve League? Knocknarea?
Rick Steve's book skips everything in Killarney National Park except the Muckross House.
Here are the booklets that come with the OPW and Heritage cards. They list all the sites where the cards can be used.
All the graphic images are my own design, but the textured background is taken from a site, EOS development, that offers non-profit users free use of their graphics. Click below to visit their site.
