My husband and I arrive at the Kerry airport in October for a three night stay in Killarney. Our B&B owners suggested we rent a car given what we hope to see in the time we're there. Does anyone have any recommendations on car rental companies? Or advice about insurance?
...One minor detail, I'm a "beginner" manual-transmission driver - and my husband would rather not me test my skills in Ireland. Alas, we'll be renting an automatic.
For a bonus - any advice on the best way to get to Dublin from Kerry?
Heather, we just got back from Ireland two days ago. We stayed in Killarney for two nights. I rented an automatic mid-sized car from auto europe. I had the CDW insurance included and did not opt for the extra daily fee to lower my deductible to 100 Euros. I should have as I came too close to a stone bridge and really scratched up the passenger side of the car, so I was charged my 1500 Euro deductible.
We stayed at a lovely B&B - by far the most gorgeous place we stayed, but there was no heat and we were freezing. The owner acted like it was our fault we were cold and never considered turning on the heat to take off the chill. Every other B&B we stayed at had heat available if needed.
If you are in Killarney on a Monday night, the White Gate hotel and pub has dancing by the locals - it was great fun to watch!
I agree that a car is the way to go. We enjoyed our time in Killarney. From there we drove to Blarney for a night and then Kilkenny for two nights, before heading to Dublin.
To answer your question on getting to Dublin - we used a GPS (TomTom) that was terrific, and also printed out routings at theaa.com that were also very helpful. My husband had the Michelin map, so we were more than prepared!
Killarney to Dublin is @ 190 miles - a lot of traveling without stopping. Hopefully you will be stopping along the way to see sights, etc.
Killarney to Dublin is @ 190 miles - a lot of traveling without stopping. Hopefully you will be stopping along the way to see sights, etc.
And I hope this won't be one of your day trips, for it would be a bad day of just driving; and Dublin traffic can also be very bad. Tune your car radio to listen to the sweet tones of the broadcasters discussing topical events and passing on the news of traffic congestions around the country. It took us a couple of hours to get out of Dublin, and this was in the relative quiet of an off-peak December.
With three days in Kerry I would not be going further than the Dingle peninsular, Ring of Kerry, and Cork.
John "There are two types of problems: those that solve themselves, and those which you can do nothing about" Isabel Allende's grandmother
Posts: 1582 | Location: Mullumbimby, NSW, Australia | Registered: 26 March 2003
