Unlike most of socialist Europe, which claims to provide basic human care for free but won t let you

The best way to get to Ireland in this day and age is via Airplane. I recommend flying into the Dublin Airport. However, check fares to Cork as well. They can be cheaper at times. However, before you buy those tickets you will want to make sure your rental car company of choice services the Cork airport.
As always, before oahu airport rental cars purchasing an airline ticket, remember to double check travel dates and weigh the cost savings between various tickets with layover times, baggage fees and airplane seat selections. Note that on most international flights the 1st checked bag is free.
One could also get there by boat. There are freighters that offer very cheap rates and basic cabin accommodations. I do not recommended this option due to the time it takes and the harsh travel conditions.
There are numerous ways to get around in Ireland, hired car (includes a driver), bus, and rental car. The best option for most is via rental car. Renting a car in Ireland oahu airport rental cars requires some planning oahu airport rental cars and precautions.
When renting a car in Ireland you will want to rent it with a Credit Card that will cover the insurance in Ireland oahu airport rental cars (A Master Card World Elite will cover Ireland rental insurance). Most standard credit cards do not. So many rental car companies will require a letter from your Credit Card company stating that it does cover insurance on rental cars in Ireland ( for example Thrifty oahu airport rental cars does require a letter but Budget does not). So come prepared with this letter.
You may still elect to pay the insurance that the rental car company offers. There are reasons to do this: if you have the money to spare, and do not want the worry and hassle of actually working with the credit card company and getting the insurance claim filed. Also note if you decline insurance the rental agency will place a hold of $2000 on top of the rental costs on your credit card, released back to you after the car is returned whole. If there is damage they will use this hold to pay for any damages and may charge the card for the total cost of the damages up to the cost of the car. It is then your job to work with the credit card company to issue an insurance oahu airport rental cars claim and get your money/credit back.
Before you roll out of the parking lot be sure to carefully review any damage on your vehicle before you take it with the damage noted on the contract (yes, most cars are already damaged). Take pictures of your car as well and email them to yourself so they can be dated.
You will still need to pay Tolls. Be sure to get some Euro before you leave the Airport oahu airport rental cars to do so. The M50 toll road in Dublin is an electronic toll and you will need to be sure that the rental agency provides you a way, and the instructions, to pay this toll as well.
I recommend you get a manual car. Automatic rental cars in Ireland tend to be damaged an under powered. You will want the manual flexibility oahu airport rental cars as well for the different driving conditions and to help out on some of the steep inclines on the mountain roads you may find yourself on.  However, if you do not know how to drive a manual, Ireland is not the place to learn get an automatic.
Most cars run on diesel be sure to put diesel in the car when you fill up. If you accidentally put a few liters of gasoline in it, it should be fine, as long as it was just a few. Just fill the rest of the tank up with diesel and all will be good.
When driving oahu airport rental cars on the left THINK about where you need to go before going there specifically your right turns will cross the other lane. Ireland oahu airport rental cars also has some very narrow oahu airport rental cars roads. This requires that you be prepared to cooperate with other drivers that may be coming directly at you and remember, that you should swerve oahu airport rental cars (turn slightly) to your LEFT and not over correct. Drive slower than the posted speeds until you are comfortable oahu airport rental cars with this unless you want to die.  Native Irish drivers will notice you are a tourist and will be understanding kind of.
Roundabouts. Ireland has a lot of them. Sometimes they put a roundabout in a road just to do so. Read up on them and understand how they work before you find yourself in one. As a matter of fact it is a good idea to read up on all Ireland s traffic/driving laws and regulations before you go there.
Parking in Ireland is free during certain hours, pay attention to the signs. During oahu airport rental cars the paid period you may need to Pay and Display You can buy such Pay and Display tokens in certain shops, most notably the Centras .  Also many Parking areas have Pay and Display meters some only take Credit cards and some only Euro. Many car parks provide a ticket that you pay and validate later when you are leaving do not lose this ticket or you will pay an all day parking price for the mistake.
As I mentioned before you will want to rent a GPS with your rental car. Be sure it has updated maps (ask them when the last update was). You will also want to bring a good map of Ireland, a good map of any cities you want to be in, and detailed maps of the areas and sites you want to visit. And I mean PAPER maps. GPS directions should be verified with your paper maps and your paper maps will be a valuable back up in the event that you can not get your GPS to work, and/or you can not get Internet access.
You will want to bring a Visa, MasterCard, American Express if you have them and your bank s debit card.  The primary card you will want to use is the one with the lowest Foreign Transaction Fee (FTF). Some cards have no transaction fee, and if you can, I would recommend getting a card without one if you can get one without paying a yearly fee for it. A Foreign oahu airport rental cars Transaction Fee is a fee that the credit card issuer charges you for making a foreign purchase (anywhere from 1% to 3%).
Sometimes, you will want to use a credit card and it will be declined. This is most likely due to the fact that your card does not support Chip and Pin which all European cards support.  In places like this you will need to use cash.
Many establishments, and even Bank ATMS, will offer to convert your Euro to Dollars. oahu airport rental cars Never accept this conversion to dollars.  This is a common, and legal, scam. Always request, and choose, to be charged in Euro (local currency). This courtesy conversion is offered usually at some percentage rate (about 3%) this will be on top of your FTF fee. For example if your FTF rate is 3%, a $100 purchase will not cost you $103, but $106.
If you have an establishment that will not offer you the option to pay in Euro, then pay in cash. Don t be mean to the person making the transaction for you they usually do not understand what is going on with the FTF and courtesy conversion .
The best place to get Cash is from an ATM. They offer the best Exchange rate and will usually be cheaper than using your Credit Card (unless you have have a credit card with no no FTF).  Your bank will most likely charge you for an ATM withdrawal, but it will be a fixed amount (usually just $1) and not a percentage.
Because of this it may be best to withdraw oahu airport rental cars a bunch of cash and pay cash for most things.  You will need it anyway; as you will find many places in Ireland that you will want to go any many things you will want to do only accept cash.
You don t have to pay it. So whenever you make a purchase ask for a VAT receipt. You can get a VAT refund later when you are in the Airport or back in the states. Some items and services do not have a VAT tax assessed. It is too hard to remember which ones so always ask for one (a VAT receipt).
I recommend getting an Ireland B B book and using that to set up your itinerary; just note that many good B Bs will not be in the official book listing. No need to pre-book days or weeks ahead if you are traveling during the right time of year. Just make your booking the same day or show up and ask. This offers you the most flexibility in your Ireland travels. However, if you do book a B B and can not show up, have the courtesy to call and cancel.
If you plan on bringing a cell phone to Ireland make sure it is Internationally capable and that you set up an International calling plan for the time period you will be in Ireland.  Your other option is to use payphones, which do not seem too hard to find, or rent a cell phone (which is also pretty easy and probably cheaper than what your Cell phone company would offer).
See above if you expect your smartphone to have Internet access. Otherwise, almost every Hotel, oahu airport rental cars Pub and coffee shop has free WIFI. Just ask them for the password.  Most B Bs will also have free WIFI. Just be sure to verify that with them if this is important to you.
Unlike most of socialist Europe, which claims to provide basic human care for free but won t let you use the bathroom without oahu airport rental cars paying, you don t have to pay to use most bathrooms oahu airport rental cars in Ireland. Pubs will generally allow you to use their bathroom and of course there are plenty of green shrubs and trees in case you have to go on the side of the road.
The North American Chapter of The MacCarthy Clan Foundation is open to members. The objectives of the North American MacCarthy Clan Foundation is to mirror those of the International MacCarthy Clan Foundation based in Ireland.