Head to Ireland in a week, was wondering if busing around is fine or rent a car? Thought car might be a bit cheaper but I've read a few things about insurance sometimes not being covered depending on credit card companies or something like that and all that ending up being quite pricey though it still may come out around 1k euro for under 2ish weeks. Just wondering if it's worth the headache.
>>2704211Never taken the bus in Ireland, but driving there kinda sucks
>>2704212The bus connections work OK, worst case theres some knucklehead in the same car during a ride. Traffic seems kinda rough over there. I had no trouble getting airport connection to Dundalk and back. The main trouble was that theyre fucking stupid.
>>2704212>>2704216thx thx, I'll probably opt for the bus save myself the trouble.
>>2704211renting a car in ireland is fine. you will be covered by the rental company's insurance but by default it will have quite a high excess, probably around €1500 or something. you can pay extra for zero excess but really the best thing to do is just drive carefully. of course even that doesn't prevent some turd just driving into you, but if you can afford international travel and car rental you should have an emergency fund for unusual situations like that anyway.however public transport in ireland is usually pretty good in major towns but obviously if you want to go anywhere obscure then options will be more limited and you will have to plan ahead.also be aware that ireland has a higher than average number of bus loonies
>>2704230loonies are cool with me, looking to go to galway, cliffden, inisheer, doolin, dingle, limerick. think dingle is a bit out of the way but I think it should be dooable. It wasn't so much for the money as I didn't want to cheapen the experience.
It's your standard cost vs. convenience argument where the bus would be cheaper but going across the country will restrict you a bit (not nearly as bad as the trains mind). If you went from Dublin to Cork, Galway, Limerick etc. you'd be fine, but getting to Donegal or Mayo I'm pretty sure you'd have to take two buses (granted you'd need connections for a lot of out there sites bar the famous ones with direct buses like the Cliffs of Moher). Cars would be more expensive but very likely quicker. You would have to contend with tolls as well on some motorways.>>2704216>>2704238To avoid that issue on the buses, avoid the nationalised bus services (Bus Eireann, Go Ahead) and get the private coaches that are both more direct and tend not to have junkies and knackers. I've had to deal with the stench of people who haven't showered in ages, the smell of weed, heavy tobacco and alcohol smells and the drawn-out screed of druggies talking to each other on the nationalised services. If you're going to those destinations you could get buses from Dublin and directly reach Galway, Dingle (long journey) and Limerick, the others will require connections using local buses (look up LocalLink or private operators).
>>2704211Why isn't (London)Derry on that map?
>>2704211You can use bus and rail easily. I circled the island that way. Also go to Killarney. Also bus tours to Moher are cheap and to get to le tourist places in Ni there's a good tour in Belfast that does the Giants causeway carrick a rede for 25 quid. Can't recall the name but should find it unless the price has gone up
>>2704211>>2704893Also you're spending 2 weeks in Ireland? It's a nice country but you will run out, unless you REALLY like rainy hills and drinking overpriced beers in tourist joints. The cities whilst nice can be quite samey.
>>2704211Buses in Ireland are OK. I would still hire a car especially if you want to visit the scenic coastal/rural areas. There you’ll be doing a lot of waiting as the timetables are more of a suggestion than anything else. Maybe part of the charm for you. You can buy hire car excess insurance for like €50 from an insurer vs the hire company. Much cheaper and does work, though you still have to front the excess to the hire company and claim it back from the insurer. (I had a €6k mishap in Norway and it was all sorted in a week). roads in Ireland (and UK if you go north of the border) are narrow, many single track and the locals drive like nut cases. But you’ll be fine
>>2704211car
>>2704403belfast
I have a work contract coming to an end, and I'm thinking of doing Ireland. I've got a good price to do an Icelandair flight with a week-long stopover in Iceland. I want the whole endeavor to be about a month, so I think 1 week Iceland, 3 weeks Ireland. But I'm unsure how I want my time in Ireland to look like. I'm considering about a week in Dublin, one in Cork, one in maybe Belfast or Galway or Limerick. One anon's suggestion of Belfast for Giant's Causeway sounds good. Does anybody else have any must-do items that necessitate one city or another? Also, any opinions on lodging for any of the above? I think Airbnb and VRBO are completely run by one monopoly company in Dublin because a few weeks is like $3,000.
>>2708299cut dublin it's a kip now. do Cork, Galway and Belfast
Don't bother getting a car. There's nothing worth seeing in that shithole anyway.
I'm from Ireland. Check out the bus service called 'Rural link', it covers many off the beaten track locations nationwide.But as others have said a car will be better. Drivers arent that bad, that anon above is full of shite. But yeah its prob pricy.....I'd city hop via buses for a few days then rent a car in Cork and drive around the south of the country. West Cork is great. Smaller towns in the south east like Kilkenny, Tramore and Wexford are worth a stop.I hope you are not travelling here between October & April, the weather ruins everything and everyone is grumpier because of it.
