There is something about finally booking a flight to Ireland that makes it feel real, like I am actually going instead of just dreaming. While it is likely that I’ve been planning the trip for a while, when I get those plane tickets, I get so excited—like can’t-sleep-start-the-count-down-can-we-go-tomorrow excited.
Dreaming of you, Blarney Castle!
But before we buy those tickets, I need to know where we should fly into, Shannon or Dublin airport? Sometimes our budget wants to dictate the answer, but I’ve traveled enough now to know that saving $100 on flights isn’t always the best option. Each airport has its advantages. How do you choose?
I dive deep into the pros and cons of Shannon or Dublin Airport and which one makes the most sense for your perfect trip to Ireland over on Got Ireland (a fabulous Ireland blog, if you didn’t already know! ;-) ).
We flew into Dublin but left to come back home from Shannon, so the experience will be a little different. My first impression of Dublin Airport was that it was so clean you could have eaten off the floors. I was exhausted after the transatlantic flight and the Dublin corridors seemed very long in order to get to checking into the country. There was no problem doing this and it was easy and fast with the Passports and exchanging dollars for euros. Taxis are readily available the minute you want one.
Shannon was noticeable smaller and easier to navigate for that reason. I had rented a car to take from Shannon and this took a little while. A 4 day car rental was nearly $700 and I did this at the airport. I should have researched this more than I did mostly because of the expense and that price was with no insurance!! However, transport any where you need to get from the main terminal was readily available and everyone was very helpful.
Great point about the size of the airports, especially after a long transatlantic flight. When you are hauling luggage and exhausted, those corridors can seem like miles. I hope you had a wonderful trip though!! :-)
Poor Kathy, You got ripped on your car rental, that is, unless you rented a Rolls Royce or a Lamborghini. I just returned from 3 weeks in Ireland in September and paid $400.00 ($20.00 per day) for a nice VW Jetta diesel (Great mileage and performance and less expensive fuel). That is the most I’ve ever paid. I have paid as little as 10-15 Euros/day in the past. By the way, that included insurance. You need to use a “World Master Card” to pay for your rental. That is the only card I know of that will cover your CDW (Collision/Damage/Waiver insurance) which doubles the cost of a rental car in Ireland. Also, call all the rental car agencies and get the best deal available. Be sure there are no hidden costs like “airport fee” or “dropoff fee”, etc.
Jim,
If your comment was supposed to be slightly rude and condescending…congrats…you succeeded.
I don’t think Jim was being rude…he was stating a fact. Some people do get screwed over because they don’t know any better or don’t take the time to do their home work.