IRELAND - INTRODUCTION

We planned our 15-day trip to Ireland several months in advance to create an itinerary that would let us see a multitude of tourist attractions across various regions of the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.

We researched the main attractions in each region and noted their GPS coordinates.

After that, we used Google Maps to create a packed but realistic daily route. We printed all the itineraries, and they proved extremely useful since some attractions weren’t listed on the GPS a friend lent us, and some roads aren’t clearly marked.

This way, we were able to stick to our daily schedule.

Three months before our departure, we rented a car directly from Autoescape’s website for 136.44 € over 14 days. The rental was with BUDGET, and the car we got was a ŠKODA Citigo.

This rate includes unlimited mileage, collision damage waiver (CDW), theft protection (TP) with a 1,500 € excess, and unlimited third-party liability coverage.

Some roads in Ireland are very narrow, so a compact car is much appreciated. Don’t forget that driving is on the left, and there are plenty of roundabouts.

Luckily, my partner finds driving this way easy, and our travels went smoothly.

It’s worth mentioning how courteous and patient Irish drivers are—it’s truly phenomenal.

Two weeks before our trip, we booked our accommodations at various places like B&Bs, hotels, and university campuses through Hotels.com. We’ll talk more about each of them later.

When we arrived at Dublin Airport, going through customs was quite tedious. There are two lines: one for EU citizens and another for other foreigners. The wait for non-EU travelers is significantly longer.

The car rental isn’t directly at the terminal. You have to take a shuttle to the rental center. Once there, a company representative finalizes the contract and hands over the keys to our rental car.

And off we went on our adventure!

It’s also important to note that some roads have tolls. For most of them, you pay directly at a toll booth, and the fees are usually under 2 €.

However, the M50 motorway around Dublin works differently—it’s a prepaid toll. You’re charged when you drive between Junction 6 (N3 Blanchardstown) and Junction 7 (N4 Lucan). A large purple sign warns you as you approach one of these junctions.

Cameras automatically record your license plate, and fees are applied based on your vehicle category. For a standard car, the fee is 3.10 €.

You have until 8:00 PM the next day to pay at an authorized retailer or online at https://www.eflow.ie/.

We prepaid these fees directly on the site mentioned above.

If you don’t pay within the required time, you’ll be charged substantial penalties.

For dining, most grocery stores and gas stations offer a great selection of hot and cold meals at very reasonable prices. That’s why we mostly bought our food at places like SuperValu, Lidl, Spar, and Centra.

We invite you to keep reading about our adventure in the next section.

Bonjour, nous serons cet été en Irlande pendant le festival de musique folk de Ballyshannon. Est ce que quelqu'un peut nous en parler ? Faut il prendre des places à l'avance pour les concerts ? Y a-t-il des groupes et de la musique partout dans la ville ou uniquement dans le cadre de concerts payant ? Les tuyaux et bons plans sont les bienvenus. Merci d'avance. Bruno

Bonjour

Je vais passer une semaine en irlande au mois d'aout et j'ai préparé un circuit grâce à de supers sites que j'ai trouvé sur le net… Si quelqu'un peut m'en dire plus sur mon itinéraire je lui en serait reconnaissant et surtout si un site sur lequel je compte m'arrêter n'est pas indispensable:

Jour 1 : arrivée à Knock airport….> direction clifden pour notre 1ere nuit à Clifden

Jour 2: journée dans le connémara (rando dans le parc en partant de letterfrack, puis abbaye de Kylemore et peut être la presqu'île de Renvyle puisl'incontournable skyroad en fin de journée) Journée peut être un peu chargée?????? 2ème nuit à Clifden

Jour 3: Clifden jusqu'à Galway via la route du littoral Ballyconneely, roudstone et Spidal Puis 3eme nuit à Kinvara

Jour 4: Kinvara jusqu'à Doolin (via LE BURREN :corcomore abbaye, Ballyvaughan, cahercronelle stone fort et Leamoneh castle) Apparemment Doolin est un incontournable pour la musique Celte ?????? Nuit à Doolin

Jour 5: Falaises de Moher puis Lahinch direction SLIGO pour voir le comté de Donegal (dormir près de Mullagmore Head)

Jour 6: Ballyshannon - Donegal - Slieve head Nuit vers Sligo

Jour 7: Sligo - Ballina - Killala - downpatrich head (ballycastle)- Achill island Nuit a Achill Island Peut être beaucoup de KM pour Sligo….> Achill Island ??????

Jour 8: Depart de Achill Island jusqu'à Knock airport via Newport

Voilà !!!! 😮

Bonjour, J'ai l'intention de visiter l'Irlande en camping car au mois de juin pour 3 semaines, débarquant à Rosslare, on veut faire toute la côte ouest, en passant par Cork, Bantry, kenmare, toujours longer la côte , Tralee, Dingle, Kilrush, remonter sur Calway, la côte et westport, , Keel, Ballina, sligo; Donegal, Ardara, et redescendre à Ballysshannon, et direction Dublin, Arklow et enfin Rosslare. Pouvez vous me dire ce que celà représente en kilomètres, et en consommation de carburant ( faisant du 12l/100kms, et s'il est possible de me dire toutes les merveilles à visiter, les campings recommandés, Je vous remercie d'avance. Amicalement Christian