Manual or Automatic Rental in Countries that Drive on the Wrong (Left) Side of the Road
 

On 2015-10-15 03:51:02 +0000, sms said:

The freeways were fine, but we went on some very narrow mountainous
roads, some too narrow for two vehicles to pass each other.

Agreed that manual is easy to get used to, but instinct for the left
side of the hard is the hard part. And second the narrow roads -- get
the more narrow car you can get. Fortunately the single lanes has
slow, infrequent traffic, and one driver or the other pulls over
somehow to allow the other car to pass -- usually the call closest to a
pull-over spot.

I'd like to suggest in particular, the penninsulas on the western coast
are spectacular for driving. Beara and the Healy Pass were the best.

--
Dan Stephenson
http://stepheda.com
Travel pages for Europe and the U.S.A. (and New Zealand too)

Manual or Automatic Rental in Countries that Drive on the Wrong(Left) Side of the Road
 

On 10/17/2015 6:55 PM, Dan Stephenson wrote:
On 2015-10-15 03:51:02 +0000, sms said:

The freeways were fine, but we went on some very narrow mountainous
roads, some too narrow for two vehicles to pass each other.

Agreed that manual is easy to get used to, but instinct for the left
side of the hard is the hard part. And second the narrow roads -- get
the more narrow car you can get. Fortunately the single lanes has slow,
infrequent traffic, and one driver or the other pulls over somehow to
allow the other car to pass -- usually the call closest to a pull-over
spot.

I'd like to suggest in particular, the penninsulas on the western coast
are spectacular for driving. Beara and the Healy Pass were the best.

The most exciting trip was when we ended up going over Conor Pass rather
than taking the road I had planned to take. I later learned more about
Conor Pass at
http://www.dangerousroads.org/europe/ireland/1891-conor-pass.html.

Manual or Automatic Rental in Countries that Drive on the Wrong(Left) Side of the Road
 

On Monday, October 19, 2015 at 7:41:59 PM UTC-4, sms wrote:
On 10/17/2015 6:55 PM, Dan Stephenson wrote:
On 2015-10-15 03:51:02 +0000, sms said:

The freeways were fine, but we went on some very narrow mountainous
roads, some too narrow for two vehicles to pass each other.

Agreed that manual is easy to get used to, but instinct for the left
side of the hard is the hard part. And second the narrow roads -- get
the more narrow car you can get. Fortunately the single lanes has slow,
infrequent traffic, and one driver or the other pulls over somehow to
allow the other car to pass -- usually the call closest to a pull-over
spot.

I'd like to suggest in particular, the penninsulas on the western coast
are spectacular for driving. Beara and the Healy Pass were the best.

The most exciting trip was when we ended up going over Conor Pass rather
than taking the road I had planned to take. I later learned more about
Conor Pass at
http://www.dangerousroads.org/europe/ireland/1891-conor-pass.html.


Thanks for that website .. found that a road we drove in Norway (with a manual
tranny) happened to be listed on it:

http://www.dangerousroads.org/index.php/europe/norway/1054-stalheimskleiva-norway

....subsequently, it made Maui's 'Road to Hana' a piece of cake!


-hh

Manual or Automatic Rental in Countries that Drive on the Wrong (Left) Side of the Road
 

"sms" wrote in message
...
On 10/17/2015 6:55 PM, Dan Stephenson wrote:
On 2015-10-15 03:51:02 +0000, sms said:

The freeways were fine, but we went on some very narrow mountainous
roads, some too narrow for two vehicles to pass each other.

Agreed that manual is easy to get used to, but instinct for the left
side of the hard is the hard part. And second the narrow roads -- get
the more narrow car you can get. Fortunately the single lanes has slow,
infrequent traffic, and one driver or the other pulls over somehow to
allow the other car to pass -- usually the call closest to a pull-over
spot.

I'd like to suggest in particular, the penninsulas on the western coast
are spectacular for driving. Beara and the Healy Pass were the best.

The most exciting trip was when we ended up going over Conor Pass rather
than taking the road I had planned to take. I later learned more about
Conor Pass at
http://www.dangerousroads.org/europe/ireland/1891-conor-pass.html.


ISTM that this road is only going to be dangerous if you act the complete
idiot

tim

Manual or Automatic Rental in Countries that Drive on the Wrong (Left) Side of the Road
 

On Wed, 21 Oct 2015, "tim....." wrote:

sms wrote in message
The most exciting trip was when we ended up going over Conor Pass rather
than taking the road I had planned to take. I later learned more about
Conor Pass at
http://www.dangerousroads.org/europe/ireland/1891-conor-pass.html.

ISTM that this road is only going to be dangerous if you act the complete
idiot

No. I drove over the Conor Pass in June 2006 (starting from Dingle). It was
truly scary. It was all fog. On the south side the pavement was new, so
there are no road markings. Fortunately the rain gutter was white concrete
and I followed that. Then coming down the other side it was single track,
and a very tight squeeze for the cars to get by. We crept by each other, in
the selected places that were a little wider.

Don. www.donwiss.com/travel/ (e-mail link at home page bottom).

Manual or Automatic Rental in Countries that Drive on the Wrong (Left) Side of the Road
 

"Don Wiss" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 21 Oct 2015, "tim....." wrote:

sms wrote in message
The most exciting trip was when we ended up going over Conor Pass rather
than taking the road I had planned to take. I later learned more about
Conor Pass at
http://www.dangerousroads.org/europe/ireland/1891-conor-pass.html.

ISTM that this road is only going to be dangerous if you act the complete
idiot

No. I drove over the Conor Pass in June 2006 (starting from Dingle). It
was
truly scary. It was all fog.

well how does that make the road scary in good weather?

I drove down the (almost) perfectly flat A2 in the fog yesterday

it too was scary

tim

Manual or Automatic Rental in Countries that Drive on the Wrong (Left) Side of the Road
 

On Tue, 3 Nov 2015, "tim....." wrote:

"Don Wiss" wrote in message
On Wed, 21 Oct 2015, "tim....." wrote:

sms wrote in message
The most exciting trip was when we ended up going over Conor Pass rather
than taking the road I had planned to take. I later learned more about
Conor Pass at
http://www.dangerousroads.org/europe/ireland/1891-conor-pass.html.

ISTM that this road is only going to be dangerous if you act the complete
idiot

No. I drove over the Conor Pass in June 2006 (starting from Dingle). It
was truly scary. It was all fog.

well how does that make the road scary in good weather?

It was good weather down below. The pass is so high up it is in the clouds.
So by fog I meant all cloud. I would think that the pass is often in the
clouds.

Don. www.donwiss.com (e-mail link at home page bottom).

Manual or Automatic Rental in Countries that Drive on the Wrong(Left) Side of the Road
 

On 11/4/2015 4:07 AM, Don Wiss wrote:
On Tue, 3 Nov 2015, "tim....." wrote:

"Don Wiss" wrote in message
On Wed, 21 Oct 2015, "tim....." wrote:

sms wrote in message
The most exciting trip was when we ended up going over Conor Pass rather
than taking the road I had planned to take. I later learned more about
Conor Pass at
http://www.dangerousroads.org/europe/ireland/1891-conor-pass.html.

ISTM that this road is only going to be dangerous if you act the complete
idiot

No. I drove over the Conor Pass in June 2006 (starting from Dingle). It
was truly scary. It was all fog.

well how does that make the road scary in good weather?

It was good weather down below. The pass is so high up it is in the clouds.
So by fog I meant all cloud. I would think that the pass is often in the
clouds.

While I like vacations where I can not have to have a car, in Ireland
you're kind of stuck renting a car if you want to go to anywhere
interesting. It can get expensive too, since most credit cards exclude
Ireland for CDW, though a couple of World Mastercards include it. You
have to bring a letter proving that your credit card provides coverage,
but fortunately the credit card issuers know exactly what you're looking
for when you call them and ask for this. With the narrow roads, and the
vegetation scratching the car, it's easy to get some damage.

My Irish friend was spot-on when he told me the place I would forget
about the left hand driving--it's tee intersections. Had one close call.

I did enjoy using the bike share bicycles in Dublin. My son and I had
had it with museums so we left my wife at some boring museum and went
out on bicycles.

I was very pleased that Ireland honors one of the best U.S. presidents
in history along one freeway
http://irishfireside.com/2014/06/09/curious-tale-irish-rest-stop-named-us-president/.

Manual or Automatic Rental in Countries that Drive on the Wrong(Left) Side of the Road
 

Steven Scharf:
While I like vacations where I can not have to have a car, in Ireland
you're kind of stuck renting a car if you want to go to anywhere
interesting. It can get expensive too, since most credit cards exclude
Ireland for CDW, though a couple of World Mastercards include it. You
have to bring a letter proving that your credit card provides coverage...

I have a credit card that includes CDW coverage in all countries.
(It's from the Royal Bank of Canada and is designed with good travel
benefits.) Earlier this year at the city office of Avis in Dublin,
I was not asked for any written proof of this when I declined CDW.
Looking at the rental agreement, it appears that there's a declaration
I was supposed to sign to the effect that I had insurance, but I don't
seem to have had to do that either.

but fortunately the credit card issuers know exactly what you're looking
for when you call them and ask for this. With the narrow roads, and the
vegetation scratching the car, it's easy to get some damage.

My rental agreement does say that Avis's CDW coverage specifically
excludes damage to the upper part of the vehicle caused by "hitting
low objects, such as bridges or branches".
--
Mark Brader First, the next time you buy a house, get one that
costs exactly $100,000. It makes the math easier.
Toronto -- John Gilmer

My text in this article is in the public domain.