Dublin Travel Forum

Hi!
I'll be in Ireland with my mom from July 8th.
We are going to Dublin first then we had planned to rent a car, travel to Killarney (we booked an apartment)and from there visit the region.
We've heard the scenery is great when you drive but then we found out we need to leave a deposit of more than 1000 euros to rent the car. I'm unsure, maybe we'll be ok travelling by train.
If we rent the car:
How long would it take us to get from Dublin to Killarney? are the roads ok?
Is it difficult to tour around the region without a car?
For example if we head to the Cliffs of Moher is there space to park?

Thanks in advance.

I would definitely hire the car. Trains and buses are not as plentiful in Ireland as they are on the continent. It's about 300 kms from Dublin to Killarney and would take about 4-5 hours to drive. The roads are good and getting better all the time. You will still have to negotiate some narrow country roads, perhaps, but we have never found these to be a problem. Just shoo the sheep out of the way and you'll be fine!
There is plenty of parking at the Cliffs of Moher and I think you'll find that to see the Cliffs other than on an organised tour, you would definitely need a car.

I agreee that hiring a car is defitely the best way to explore Ireland. Car hire is tightly regulated, so it would be a good idea to check costs with several firms: they may not all require such a deposit. In my experience, taking a deposit is unusual: just holding your credit card number is sufficient for most firms (but I am a UK driver, of course).

Explore your options and book online to be sure of the vehicle you want when you want it (especially if you ant an automatic).

You can get to the Cliffs of Moher by bus from Galway (and you may be surprised by the large car/bus park and information centre/shop/cafe which is now there), but other places are more difficult to access.

Roads in Ireland are ok, but rural ones can be narrow and twisting. Allow more time than the map suggests for your journey, and be prepared to be stuck behind tractors/lorries/coaches on occasion. It is often difficult to overtake on smaller roads.

Useful info here:

http://www.iol.ie/~discover/driving.htm

http://www.visitireland.com/planning/driving.asp

The routeplanner Iprefer is under reconstruction at the moment, but you can look here for an idea of distances and timings:

http://www.rac.co.uk/web/routeplanner/

Or

http://www.discoverireland.ie/routeplanner.aspx (without timings).

Dublin to Killarney will take 4 hours+. You might prefer travelling by train from Dublin then hiring a car in Killarney.

We hired a car and yes, it was really the only way to go. There is so much to see on the way to Killarney and around the cliffs - where you really do need a car.

Coming from Australia we booked with Europcar and did not leave a deposit - only a credit card number. And the details were all signed off at the time of returning the car with no problems at all.

Have a great time

We, too, rented a car with Avis (July 2007). No deposit required. And yes, it is the only we to go. You can tailor your schedule as you get to destinations- spend more time here and less there, etc.

The roads are fairly good. You lose time driving through towns as the speed limit goes down. But it was still an easy drive. Out in the country, some roads get pretty tight, no shoulder to speak of (i.e. Kinsale from Cork). Oh, yes, if you come from a place that drives on the right side, in Ireland they drive on the left side (steering wheel on the left as well). It took some getting used to, especially with a stick shift.

Go to Kenmare if you have the time. Have fun!

I rented a car and drove through Ireland by myself! If I can do it, so can you! You shouldn't have to pay 1000 euros as a deposit. I believe I went with Budget Rent a Car- if your credit card has auto insurance be sure not to check the box.

Read my tips on driving in Ireland.

I can add to the list of car hirers that everyone has given you and say that Alamo does not require a deposit either. I don't think I'd trust a company that required so much as a deposit (or anything at all for that matter, if they have a credit card number). Whoever they are forget them and try some of the suggestions you have been given by the VTers.

Thanks so much everyone! I checked several sites such as Hertz, Dollar and Avis and they all include this in the policy information in very small letters:

"Deposit required at time of rental is the amount of the insurance excess for the vehicle. Amount varies by cartype, from EUR 700 to EUR 1800."

It got me thinking, thank you for reassuring me, I'm so excited, I've always wanted to go to Ireland, we leave on monday morning!! :)

What they may do is to take the amount off your card, then put it straight back when you return the car. They may not even do that, they may just take your card details...

Enjoy Ireland!

I rented recently with Thrifty Car Rental, and I was given the option of either purchasing SDW (Super Damage Waiver which removes all excess) or having the excess amount pre-authorized on my credit card, in my case €900. This money wasn't taken from my credit card, but was frozen in the same way as it would be if I was staying in the hotel. Once I brought the car back with no additional damage, the money was released from my credit card.

I would be very surprised if all the car rental companies in Ireland didn't do this, and I would be curious if the renters above had SDW.

Hopefully this helps, and renting a car is the way to go.