Questions about Dublin, Ireland

[Talent312]

Please tell me what you didn't care for about Fitzpatrick Castle.

What I think he meant: The exchange rate was not very good... at the facility.

We rented a car in London at Gatwick (no IDL), took a ferry, looped around Ireland & a ferry back.
Our Irish Highlights: Waterford Crystal Factory, Killarny Nat'l. Park, Cliffs of Moher, Galway and Dublin.
There's a decent HO/HO bus in Dublin (but I dozed thru, after too much beer).

.

 

[Laurie]

I still feel hesitant due to possible after rental charges for minute damages. Can any of you share which car rental companies you used in Dublin or Ireland? and if you would rent from them again?

We used EuropCar through AutoEurope during out stay at Fitzpatrick, and no, I wouldn't use EuropCar in Dublin again.

 

[Conan]

What I think he meant: The exchange rate was not very good....

Yes, and now that we're back from Fitzpatrick Castle I can agree it's a great place to stay. The lovely town of Dalkey is a 30 minute walk (uphill coming back) or 5 minute drive away, and the light rail from Dalkey gets you to Dublin. Also don't miss the walk up Killiney Hiil, less than a kilometer and wonderful views.

We spent two days in Dublin (National Museum, National Gallery, Book of Kells, and, because everybody does it, the Guiness Brewery).

We drove out on other days to:

Powerscourt Gardens 17 km south via M11 (wonderful) http://powerscourt.com/gardens
Wicklow National Park 40 km south via M11, N11, R755 (easy scenic hiking)
Kilkenny Castle 140 km southwest via M9 (closed when we got there but an interesting city)
Rock of Cashel 200 km southwest via M9 (don't miss!) https://www.lonelyplanet.com/ireland/cashel/attractions/rock-of-cashel/a/poi-sig/491650/359751
Newgrange 65 km north via M1 (spectacular) http://www.newgrange.com/
Trim Castle 70 km northwest via M50 (well-done guided tour) http://www.irelands-hidden-gems.com/trim-castle.html

 

[dsmrp]

We used Hertz at Dublin Airport for a 7-day rental for our stay at Fitzpatrick Castle this past October. The reservation confirmation said "Amount to be paid at time of rent 137.87 EUR" (we reserved a Volkwager Passat class wagon and I considered this a good rate). The airport process was easy, and they gave us a free upgrade to a very nice Audi, I believe an A4.
...
The only peculiarity is that at the counter I was required to pay 165.72 EUR. The explanation they gave was there's an additional 30 euro charge "insurance admin fee" for REFUSING the optional insurance coverage. I said that wasn't in my contract but the agent said "it's in the fine print." After getting home I emailed Hertz Customer Care and to my surprise they refused to refund the extra 30 euro.

Until recently only Chase credit cards covered Ireland, but I think American Express now covers there as well.

Driving in Ireland wasn't bad at all. Generally there's an expressway that gets you near where you're headed, and even the final legs on local roads are not as narrow as we've experienced in England. To drive on the left you do need to learn that the center line is always on your right. So a left turn is to the near lane, and a right turn is to the far lane (again keeping the center line on your right). That just leaves the rotaries/roundabouts, which are everywhere, and after the first dozen or so you learn when to yield and when to proceed.

Thank you ALL very much for your replies.
I will check out Hertz's rates and terms; I think I looked at them briefly.

I have seen in the terms of other companies a 25-30 EUR 'administrative fee' for putting a 3000-5000 EUR hold on your credit card when you opt out of their CDW coverage. That's utterly ridiculous to charge you for making a charge that only benefits them!!!
Just another means of pure profit because they're not getting it otherwise Oh well, I'd rather pay 30 EUR and have my CC cover with higher limits $75K and no deductible.

Fortunately DH is used to rotaries having grown up in New England. But in US they're going counter-clockwise, and with left side driving in UK the rotaries will be clockwise. Should be fine tho', at least the drivers there know how rotaries work, unlike some west coast drivers we've encountered...

Our Irish friend also told us about the Heritage Ireland site: http://www.heritageireland.ie
which is useful for identifying areas & places we might be most interested in.
She also gave us a list of Dublin area recommendations, which I'll post later when I get home.

 

[dsmrp]

Here are my Irish friend's recommendations of Dublin area things to do. I'm sure most are listed in the guide books:

"Things to do/see in Dublin in no particular order. Dublin is divided by the River Liffey that runs west to east into the Irish Sea. Dubliners refer to themselves as Northsiders or Southsiders depending on what side of the Liffey they hail from. Traditionally the South side was where the more wealthy folks lived but that has changed a bit over the years."

Guinness Brewery http://www.guinness-storehouse.com/en/Index.aspx
~excellent self guided tour, free pint, and great view of the city from the top

Kilmainhan Gaol http://www.heritageireland.ie/en/dublin/kilmainhamgaol/
~interesting insight into Ireland’s history and war of independence, this jail has also been used in several prison movies including the original Italian Job!

Garden of Remembrance http://www.heritageireland.ie/en/Dublin/GardenofRemembrance/
~my favorite garden in Dublin, I always stop by there, beautiful sculpture of the Children of Lir

Trinity College http://www.heritageisland.com/attractions/trinity-college-library-dublin/ and http://www.tcd.ie/
~beautiful campus to stroll around, the Book of Kells is on view here, The Buttery was a really cool campus bar with some food, but I was disappointed to see it had been remodeled into a restaurant and lost its old world feel.

The Brazen Head http://www.brazenhead.com/index.php
~oldest pub in Dublin dating back to 1198! Good pub food, live music, always an interesting people watching spot.

Temple Bar http://www.visit-templebar.com/
~fun part of the city, great music, shops, restaurants & bars. Just off the quays, one of the older parts of the city. There’s always something happening here. In college I used to frequent the second-hand clothes shops here. Walk down Crown Alley towards the river and you end up at the Ha’penny Bridge.


Ha’penny Bridge http://archiseek.com/2010/1816-hapenny-bridge-dublin/#.UDKHYqmPVas
~my favorite bridge in Dublin (we have a lot of bridges). This one is a foot bridge and is always full of people. The video for Thin Lizzy’s song ‘Old Town’ had Phil Lynott singing on this bridge.


Grafton Street http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grafton_Street
~pedestrian-only street on the south side, between Trinity & St. Stephen’s Green, funs shops and cafes, always plenty of buskers (street musicians), Glen Hansard, Rodrigo y Gabriela and Damien Rice started out on this street!


St. Stephens Green http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Stephen's_Green
~ Pretty park in the city, always a great meeting place on the south side. On the north side we would always say… meet you in front of the GPO (General Post office)


General Post Office (GPO) http://www.anpost.ie/AnPost/History+and+Heritage/History/GPO+Dublin/
~built back in the 1800s, this is still a working post office and a really cool building with quite a history. It was partially destroyed during the 1916 Rising (war for independence) and you can actually see some of the bullet holes in the huge columns outside.


National Museum of Ireland http://www.museum.ie/en/homepage.aspx
~in particular the Decorative Arts & History building http://www.museum.ie/en/intro/arts-and-history.aspx Great history of the country, beautiful artifacts.


Jameson Distillery Tour https://www.jamesonwhiskey.com/us/visit-us
~the Old distillery is in Dublin and is a fun tour.

 

[GrayFal]

Here are my Irish friend's recommendations of Dublin area things to do. I'm sure most are listed in the guide books:

"Things to do/see in Dublin in no particular order. Dublin is divided by the River Liffey that runs west to east into the Irish Sea. Dubliners refer to themselves as Northsiders or Southsiders depending on what side of the Liffey they hail from. Traditionally the South side was where the more wealthy folks lived but that has changed a bit over the years."

Guinness Brewery http://www.guinness-storehouse.com/en/Index.aspx
~excellent self guided tour, free pint, and great view of the city from the top

Kilmainhan Gaol http://www.heritageireland.ie/en/dublin/kilmainhamgaol/
~interesting insight into Ireland’s history and war of independence, this jail has also been used in several prison movies including the original Italian Job!

Garden of Remembrance http://www.heritageireland.ie/en/Dublin/GardenofRemembrance/
~my favorite garden in Dublin, I always stop by there, beautiful sculpture of the Children of Lir

Trinity College http://www.heritageisland.com/attractions/trinity-college-library-dublin/ and http://www.tcd.ie/
~beautiful campus to stroll around, the Book of Kells is on view here, The Buttery was a really cool campus bar with some food, but I was disappointed to see it had been remodeled into a restaurant and lost its old world feel.

The Brazen Head http://www.brazenhead.com/index.php
~oldest pub in Dublin dating back to 1198! Good pub food, live music, always an interesting people watching spot.

Temple Bar http://www.visit-templebar.com/
~fun part of the city, great music, shops, restaurants & bars. Just off the quays, one of the older parts of the city. There’s always something happening here. In college I used to frequent the second-hand clothes shops here. Walk down Crown Alley towards the river and you end up at the Ha’penny Bridge.


Ha’penny Bridge http://archiseek.com/2010/1816-hapenny-bridge-dublin/#.UDKHYqmPVas
~my favorite bridge in Dublin (we have a lot of bridges). This one is a foot bridge and is always full of people. The video for Thin Lizzy’s song ‘Old Town’ had Phil Lynott singing on this bridge.


Grafton Street http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grafton_Street
~pedestrian-only street on the south side, between Trinity & St. Stephen’s Green, funs shops and cafes, always plenty of buskers (street musicians), Glen Hansard, Rodrigo y Gabriela and Damien Rice started out on this street!


St. Stephens Green http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Stephen's_Green
~ Pretty park in the city, always a great meeting place on the south side. On the north side we would always say… meet you in front of the GPO (General Post office)


General Post Office (GPO) http://www.anpost.ie/AnPost/History+and+Heritage/History/GPO+Dublin/
~built back in the 1800s, this is still a working post office and a really cool building with quite a history. It was partially destroyed during the 1916 Rising (war for independence) and you can actually see some of the bullet holes in the huge columns outside.


National Museum of Ireland http://www.museum.ie/en/homepage.aspx
~in particular the Decorative Arts & History building http://www.museum.ie/en/intro/arts-and-history.aspx Great history of the country, beautiful artifacts.


Jameson Distillery Tour https://www.jamesonwhiskey.com/us/visit-us
~the Old distillery is in Dublin and is a fun tour.

This is a wonderful list of things to do
All I would add is a day Tour to the Passage Tombs, a World Heritage site. http://www.knowth.com/ http://www.newgrange.com/
Just fascinating. You go to both sites from one visitors center.
And a half day trip to the Wicklow Mountains.

 

[Glynda]

Here are my Irish friend's recommendations of Dublin area things to do. I'm sure most are listed in the guide books:

Thanks! That's a great list. We are going back to Dublin in August and it will come in handy. It's been quite a while since we were there.

I wonder if pickpocketing is still a problem on Grafton Street. That is the only place in the world we've traveled to that we were aware of a pickpocketing attempt. Five little Gypsy girls circled around my husband, one sticking a newspaper in front of his face while others tried to get their hands in his pockets. One almost succeeded but he spun around which pulled her hand away and they ran.

 

[GrayFal]

Thanks! That's a great list. We are going back to Dublin in August and it will come in handy. It's been quite a while since we were there.

I wonder if pickpocketing is still a problem on Grafton Street. That is the only place in the world we've traveled to that we were aware of a pickpocketing attempt. Five little Gypsy girls circled around my husband, one sticking a newspaper in front of his face while others tried to get their hands in his pockets. One almost succeeded but he spun around which pulled her hand away and they ran.

I was there in October and did not see evidence of “groups” as you describe as we have seen in the past. I make DH carry his wallet in his front pocket when traveling and I always use a zippered cross body bag. Sadly petty theives are a part of most tourist destinations. We had a great time!

 

[Glynda]

I was there in October and did not see evidence of “groups” as you describe as we have seen in the past. I make DH carry his wallet in his front pocket when traveling and I always use a zippered cross body bag. Sadly petty theives are a part of most tourist destinations. We had a great time!

I read pickpocketing warnings for many places we travel but this was the only actual experience we've had (that we were aware of anyway). Since then, hubby wears a money belt under his shirt.