Don't Pick Up Your Rental Car at Dublin Airport. Do This Instead.
I'm going to save you a lot of stress, a day of car rental & parking fees with this tip. Do not pick up your rental car in Dublin Airport.
Pick up your rental car in Dublin city centre instead.
Why You Shouldn't Pick Up At Dublin Airport
You land in Dublin but you have to wait in line along with every other passenger who needs a rental car. You get to the counter, you're exhausted & foggy, vulnerable to the insurance upsell. You get your keys and your reward is a cold wait for the shuttle bus to pick up your car.
Now you're in your car, but sitting on the wrong side with a manual gear stick. You're now irritable and have to find your way in Dublin. Early morning rush hour Dublin. Complete with our one way streets, our bus only lanes, the automated fine-spitting cameras.
You finally arrive at your hotel. Relief. But they don't have parking. You find a city car park. Park your car. Haul your luggage through the streets and the rain.
You don't see your car again for 24 hours. 24 hours of paid car rental & parking.
What You Should Do Instead
Get into a nice warm taxi at Dublin Airport and laugh at the banter from the friendly Irish taxi driver who gives you all his best Dublin recommendations. He can use those bus lanes to skip the traffic. The time flies. He drops you at the entrance to your hotel. You're still laughing at his jokes as you check in.
What a nice start to your time in Ireland.
Your First Day In Dublin
You don't need a car in Dublin. You simply will not use it. Dublin is a small & walkable city. Explore it on your own with my one day in Dublin itinerary or I'll show you around on my Dublin Jet Lag Tour
The Hack: The Kilmainham Pick Up
It's Day 2 of your trip and you are leaving Dublin for Blarney or Killarney. You need a rental car.
Take a ten minute taxi to Kilmainham, home to the famous jail and a quiet cluster of rental car companies like Avis, Hertz, New Way.
The taxi driver does the heavy driving through the confusing city streets.
This car rental location is quiet & sleepy. You'll probably have to wake up the staff. After a night's rest, you'll feel human when you're signing the rental contract.
The huge bonus of Kilmainham is its location. Kilmainham is two minutes from the motorway. The kind of road you are used to. One right turn, one left turn and you are on the open road.
This road will lead you to the N7 or the M50 and get you safely out of Dublin.
Note: There are other city centre rental locations too. They all work. The point is: don't pick up at the airport.
Money, Money, Money
This trick doesn't just save you stress, it saves you a day of car rental (€70) and a day's parking (€30). There's a €100 to use on my Dublin Jet Lag Tour.
Heading North?
The one exception to this is if you are heading north from the airport. In that case, do rent from the airport. But don't drive far. Tired driving after a red-eye flight is no joke. Instead, spend your first day in Ireland in a castle, Cabra Castle is just an hour north of the airport, is very reasonably priced and the perfect place to relax after your flight.
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