Taking a car to Ireland for a few days

Will be going to Ireland to cousin's birthday. 5 passengers. Will be going
for around 4 or 5 days.

Options a

1 = Drive to Birmingham and fly Ryanair from Birmingham to Dublin. Hire a
car in Ireland. However, my aunt says that car hire is likely to be very
expensive in Ireland.

2 = Take our car and drive across England and Wales (from Nottingham) to one
of the ferry ports, either Pembroke or Holyhead, going by Irish Ferries or
Stena to Rosslare or Dublin.

Which do you think will be best, bearing in mind we will be taking the
cheapest option. Any special deals on the ferries? What's the approximate
fares?

Marcus

"Marcus Fox" wrote in
message ...
Will be going to Ireland to cousin's birthday. 5 passengers. Will be going
for around 4 or 5 days.

Options a

1 = Drive to Birmingham and fly Ryanair from Birmingham to Dublin. Hire a
car in Ireland. However, my aunt says that car hire is likely to be very
expensive in Ireland.

2 = Take our car and drive across England and Wales (from Nottingham) to
one
of the ferry ports, either Pembroke or Holyhead, going by Irish Ferries or
Stena to Rosslare or Dublin.

Which do you think will be best, bearing in mind we will be taking the
cheapest option. Any special deals on the ferries? What's the approximate
fares?

www.irishferries.com www.stenaline.ie are the sites for the ferries ,
suitable car hire companies are the usual suspects (hertz, avis, budget)
also try www.dan-dooley.ie

To be honest taking your own car will probably work out cheaper and save
hassle in the long run. The Pembroke - Rosslare trip takes about 3-4 hours
and is ok.

"Marcus Fox" wrote in
message ...

1 = Drive to Birmingham and fly Ryanair from Birmingham to Dublin. Hire a
car in Ireland. However, my aunt says that car hire is likely to be very
expensive in Ireland.

Don't just listen to what your aunt says. Go find out for yourself, check
the websites of the hire companies. I hired a car from Europcar. However
there are others at Dublin airport, I expect the Dublin airport website will
give you details of which companies operate there.

2 = Take our car and drive across England and Wales (from Nottingham) to
one
of the ferry ports, either Pembroke or Holyhead, going by Irish Ferries or
Stena to Rosslare or Dublin.

Sounds like the best option on first examination. However I worked something
similar out for myself once and found that the cost of the ferry plus extra
fuel to drive that far, outweighed the cost of the flight and the hire car!
It's likely only feasible if your on a reasonably long stay.

Which do you think will be best, bearing in mind we will be taking the
cheapest option. Any special deals on the ferries? What's the approximate
fares?

The ferries, as the car hire, and the flights, have websites which will tell
you the fares and let you book online

Good luck!

Marcus.

Bring your car. You will find deals at www.irishferries.com and book online.
The ferry is comfortable.

Tom



"Marcus Fox" wrote in
message ...
Will be going to Ireland to cousin's birthday. 5 passengers. Will be going
for around 4 or 5 days.

Options a

1 = Drive to Birmingham and fly Ryanair from Birmingham to Dublin. Hire a
car in Ireland. However, my aunt says that car hire is likely to be very
expensive in Ireland.

2 = Take our car and drive across England and Wales (from Nottingham) to
one
of the ferry ports, either Pembroke or Holyhead, going by Irish Ferries or
Stena to Rosslare or Dublin.

Which do you think will be best, bearing in mind we will be taking the
cheapest option. Any special deals on the ferries? What's the approximate
fares?

Marcus

In message , Marcus
Fox writes
Will be going to Ireland to cousin's birthday. 5 passengers. Will be going
for around 4 or 5 days.

Options a

1 = Drive to Birmingham and fly Ryanair from Birmingham to Dublin. Hire a
car in Ireland. However, my aunt says that car hire is likely to be very
expensive in Ireland.

2 = Take our car and drive across England and Wales (from Nottingham) to one
of the ferry ports, either Pembroke or Holyhead, going by Irish Ferries or
Stena to Rosslare or Dublin.

Which do you think will be best, bearing in mind we will be taking the
cheapest option. Any special deals on the ferries? What's the approximate
fares?

For convenience for that many people I'd probably suggest taking your
car -- if you're going from Nottingham to Dublin then the Holyhead to
Dublin or Dun Laoghaire routes are best (though if you prefer the sea
voyage to driving, consider Liverpool to Dublin (I think the Mostyn to
Dublin service has stopped now)) - see www.irishferries.ie and
www.stenaline.com

Normal ferries take about 3 hours from Holyhead, high-speed ferries
about 1 hour 40 minutes (higher fares, of course). Bear in mind what
time of year you're intending to travel as the sea can get a bit bumpy
in the winter and sailings may be suspended. Also, the HSS ferry on the
Holyhead-Dun Laoghaire route is usually out of service for 3 or 4 weeks
in late January/early February for its annual maintenance.

--
Arwel Parry
http://www.cartref.demon.co.uk/