How far in advance do we need to book flights, lodging and a rental car for a trip to Ireland in June?

Question

My husband, two teenage sons and I are planning to spend twelve days in Ireland in early June. After researching various tour package options, we've decided that we would be ahead to book the trip ourselves. How far in advance do I need to schedule flights, a rental car and lodging?

Answer 1

I would book ASAP as June is hitting our holiday season. The sooner you book your flights the cheaper they will be.

As for accommodation, that is something in very high demand and can be almost impossible to find a room if left too late, well in Dublin City anyway.

No major rush to book the car rental but again there is a high demand so I would book 2 months prior to your visit.

Answer 2

Book as soon as possible...especially the flight, because they tend to go up the closer you are to the day of departure.

I would also suggest a travel agent, because they can help you book everything at once. Try and go to different areas both North and South if possible because the country is pretty small and you can see a lot in a short time and every bit is worth it.

Roads are narrow in many parts of the country...some barely fit one car onto, even though they are two way streets. The highways are nice and generous and the main city roads are usually pretty good too.

Finally, get auto insurance if you rent a car. I know you have it here in the states and you policy will most likely cover you in Ireland, but it doesn't cost much to obtain from the rental agency and it will save a whole lot of paperwork and time if you should happen to get into an accident.

Answer 3

Get your tickets now the sooner you get them the cheaper they will be June is high tourist season in June and all the hotels and bread and breakfasts will be booked.  

Kayak.com excellent source of flights

If you are going to Dublin you can get some reasonable hotel rates in Temple bar lots of nice pubs, restuarants and sights to see are in close walking proximity its about 20 EURO from the airport but that is if there is not a lot of luggage.

If you are going into SHannon Airport then look at Galway as a good place to tour in and County Clare has a lot to see right in the general area.  Kylemore Abbey, Cliffs of Moher,  Kerry and Cork are not much further.  

Try http://www.travelireland.org/

Now remember hotels and B and Bs offer a full Irish Breakfast a lot of food.

Make sure you get an international driving permit its 10.00 at triple A and it gives you reduced rates for car insurance while driving in Ireland.

Stop and visit www.charlevillecastle.com

Answer 4

You should book your flights soon.  You can and should get on one of the travel websites and set up an account.  Then you can have it send you travel alerts as to the cheapest flights to a particular destination.  the longer you wait, the less flexibility and choice you'll have for 4 people travelling.

Rental car you can definitely wait on.  Whenever I travel to the UK and Ireland I ALWAYS rent an automatic car.  I drive an automatic transmission car here in the USA, and I find it the only wayt to rent one there.  If you just rent a car in the UK and Ireland, you'll automatically get a manual transmission.  That might not be a problem, but remember you'll sit on the other wide of the car and have to shift gears with the opposite hand than you are used to.

Lodging - Reserve now!  You can always change it up until a certain date, but you dont want to get stuck far out of town.  Most towns in Ireland (Example: Dublin) are wonderful towns to walk around in but don't have many places for people to park in the city center.  reserve early and keep your eyes on other places.

I hope this helped.