Way off topic: our trip to Ireland in May

[oleg]

Hi,

Me and my wife are coming to Ireland in the end of May. We'll have 10 days for both: Dublin and a tour around Republic.
We've never been in Ireland before, but we've been dreaming about the visit for a long time, so our expectations are quite high .

You can help us with answering various questions. Or just remove the thread if it's too inappropriate .

1) I've roughly estimated price per double room at 60 EUR per night. Now, after checking through websites, it look like ~ 70EUR is the cheapest variant for places along the road (not in Dublin).
The questions are:
- is that right?
- if we speak about the end of May, is it possible to make reservations by phone 1-2 days in advance? Or should we book every accommodation in advance, let's say now.

2) We are going to post updates about the trip to twitter/facebook/google buzz or similar services. As I understand, we should not expect wi-fi in hotels for 60-70EUR, so we will need a prepaid SIM-card with data services enabled. Any suggestions?

[Vaderfiord]

In case you don't get any replies on here, you might try Trip Advisor http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowForum- ... eland.html

[pajo]

For May, I would definately book a lil in advance, wouldnt do it only a day or two before hand. Most hotels have free wi-fi in the lobbies now, and a few have it in the rooms. I know all the Days Hotels do (or all that I know of) (Days are usually o.k on price aswell). Also, a lot of bigger shoppping centres, and coffee shops and the like have wi-fi.

If you do go looking for a modem, as far as I know, they're all contract based, though I could be wrong. There isnt much choice in who you go with, tho I would say keep away from vodafone.

[Malo]

My parents did a trip around Ireland in June a few years ago...they never booked in anywhere in advance (but they also stayed in B&Bs rather than hotels)...they said a trip along the scenic route along the south coast and theninto Kerry was a lovely trip, which took them about a week.

[oleg]

Thanks for your help, I appreciate it.

[Cathal]

You've got mail and PM

[brendan]

B&Bs are usually cheaper than hotels and can be picked up on the day. Do a web search on 'Bed & Breakfast' and you should get an idea of prices and how hard it is likely to be in a given area.
For Dublin D4 hotels can be very cheap (eur29 a night at times) or some of the hostels offer private rooms at about eur40 per night - Jacobs hostel beside the bus station is clean with good rooms and less noisy than many of the others.

Wifi is widespread but can be expensive enough if you are in a hotel. Not sure of prices but look at O2, vodafone, Meteor and the other one is it 3? - check their websites for rates etc. Vodafone have a kiosk in the airport so that would be easiest - cant vouch for quality either way.

I will be out of the country myself at that time but I am pretty sure that you could arrange to meet up with people in different parts of the country; certainly Dublin should be possible and if you are near Limerick or Cork there are people based there...of course there is Kilkenny as well (Hi Pajo!) which is also on the tourist trail. I guess it depends on how you want the trip to roll.

I am fairly sure that you have your museum list sorted but if you want suggestions start a thread on that maybe...

[finnobreanan]

I've made two trips to Ireland now and am planning my third for next year. Brendan's advice is spot on. Be sure and order an Ordnace Map with the Heritage Sites. You'll have a great time!

[pajo]

I cant stress enough, dont touch vodafone.. evil ripoff artist people with crappy reception.. mind u, 3 arent much better.. meteor/02 are probably ur best bet. any of the hotels I've stayed in over the last while have all had free wifi, in the lobby/bar area at the least. dont know about IN the rooms, but I cant imagine you wanteing to spend too much time cooped up in your room

Kilkenny is a must see area I have to admit.. LOADS to see! And by all means, I'm sure any reenactors around the country would be happy to meet up and show a friendly face

[oleg]

Hi,

Thanks for your comments. Now the trip becomes more clear. We have a preliminary route
http://goo.gl/maps/3Nnr
Sorry, Pajo, Kilkenny is not in our shortlist at this time. It will be the first day of the trip and it will take time to get adopted to the wheel at the other side of the car . Kilkenny remains the second preference, if the weather will be too bad for Glendaloch.

We're going to use 2 GPS devices - Garmin and Nokia to navigate through. I'm checking different options: buying a map from Garmin or using one of openstreetmap.org compilations. Paper map should be available in a rented car. If you have any suggestions regarding maps and their quality - you are welcome.

Situation with hotels/BnBs is getting more clear. I've booked accommodation in Dublin and now looking for places along the way.