Ireland is full of so many amazing things to see and do. Depending on your travel style you can book a bus tour to take care of all of the driving and navigation, leaving you to sit back and relax. But if you’re like us and prefer getting the full experience and maintaining flexibility in your itinerary, you may be mulling over the idea to drive in Ireland.
This is how we like to travel on all of our trips, but there are some tips we wish we’d have known before our trip. See our tips below based on our experience.
1. Drive on the correct side of the road!
Ok, so we actually knew this one before our trip, but it’s really important so it’s worth including here. Remember to drive on the left side of the road when you drive in Ireland. Even though we knew this ahead of time, we still had to remind ourselves everyday because we’re used to driving on the right in the US.
2. Rent a small car when you drive in Ireland
Obviously, you need to get a car big enough for all of your passengers and their luggage. That said, our first mistake was getting talked into a cheap upgrade to a SUV. While the roads do actually have enough room for SUVs, we were much more comfortable when we switched back to a small car. The roads are so narrow that it’s a lot easier in a small car.
3. Make sure you get an automatic car if necessary
Manual cars are still the norm in most of Europe, so the car rental companies have limited numbers of automatics in their fleets. It had been several years since either of us had even tried to drive a manual car, so we called ahead to make sure an automatic would be available.
Sites like Booking.com allow you to filter rental companies by features, like an automatic transmission.
4. Double check at roundabouts
Roundabouts certainly weren’t new to us, but they aren’t as prevalent in the midwest as they were in Ireland. On top of that, most of the roundabouts we’ve encountered in the US were in low traffic areas. In Ireland, they were all over the place, even in high traffic intersections.
Just make sure you double check since many people fly through them, and make sure you’re checking to the right. We may have looked the wrong way before pulling into the roundabout once or twice, fortunately no accidents occurred.
5. Street signs are often on nearby buildings or walls
One the first day we were driving the narrow streets of Dublin trying to find our Airbnb. We didn’t have a GPS yet and couldn’t see street signs anywhere. We later discovered that the street signs were attached to building or walls, oftentimes hidden by vines and plants.
Overall, it does give the city a nicer look not have poles with street signs everywhere, but it does make it harder to find the signs quickly. This leads into the next tip.
6. Use a GPS to help navigate when you drive in Ireland
We rarely go anywhere without using a GPS these days. It’s just too easy to plug in an address on Google Maps on our phones. I highly suggest doing when you drive in Ireland if you have an international data plan on your phone. If you don’t have a phone with a data plan, consider getting a GPS with your rental car.
7. Ask for directions, but don’t expect it to always help
We’ve all had it where our GPS is on the fritz, or loses service at the worst possible time. If that happens, don’t be afraid to ask locals for directions. In our experience people in Ireland tend to be extremely kind and willing to help.
While they will help, it was always 50/50 if the directions would make a difference. The roads are just hard to navigate for first-timers, but that’s part of the adventure. You’ll get frustrated, but just try to roll with it and plan buffer time for getting lost into your day.
8. Kilometers per hour or Miles per hour
Both. In Ireland, they use kilometers per hour on speed limit signs, but in Northern Ireland they use miles per hour to post speed limits. Make sure you’re paying attention to this detail if you cross over the border when traveling between Ireland and Northern Ireland to ensure you’re complying with the speed limit.
9. Refuel with the right type of gas
Make sure you refuel your rental car with the correct fuel type to prevent large repair fees. We always just assume normal unleaded gas when we rent cars in the US. However, our rental car in Ireland took diesel fuel which we had never seen in a small car before. We’ve only encountered diesel trucks here in the states.
Diesel is actually more popular in vehicles in Ireland than standard fuel, so make sure you know before you fill up with the wrong type.
10. Get the insurance – play it safe!
Make sure you get the rental insurance if you need it. We believe it’s best for us to always play it safe, so if you don’t have insurance that extends to foreign rental cars, make sure you get it at the rental company.
No one wants to face a mountain of repair fees if an accident happens, which is entirely possible when driving in a foreign country. Especially one with narrow, curvy roads in typically rainy weather.