Oh, things are never what they seem…
I could make this trip sound like a fairy tale…and it was definitely something out of the ordinary for us. I hope my photos will convince you of how beautiful we found it, while you are enjoying my complaining…
In the end, our Ireland trip was worthwhile, but there were some bumps in the road. I only tell you so you won't hate me, a, and b, so you will realize that this is how life is. No one is living in a fairy tale, even when they blog about stuff, even the people who win the raffles!
I mean, unless it's just us. Maybe all the other people on blogs are living in a fairy tale…I hate them.
Let's start with arriving at the Hertz counter to get our rental car.
Now, did you know that your major credit card will provide insurance for a car rental in all countries in the world? That's right. You don't have to buy collision insurance from the rental company, because your MasterCard, Visa, or American Express card will take care of you.
Except in Jamaica, Israel, and, you guessed it, Ireland.
That observation tower was built in Victorian times and they charge you to go up. Boo. We already paid to get in! |
So I reserved the car before we left, for around €400 for 2 weeks, with my AAA discount. I understood that certain charges would be added for the maximum amount of insurance (absolutely necessary for driving with maniacs, no offense dear Irish people, on the wrong side of the unreasonably narrow road, not to mention the sheep), extra driver, and taxes. But I was not prepared for staggering out of the plane at 2 am Central Massachusetts time to be confronted with a bill for…
Twelve hundred Euros — almost $1600!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Not thrifty.
Not frugal.
Not in my plans.
Standing on the cliffs looking back the other way. |
Liscannor Bay in the background, beyond the Cliffs of Moher on the right. Note the cows on the pasture above the cliffs… |
So I collected my bleary self and considered.
True, in my fog I had signed the little itty bitty no-account piece of paper. You know that feeling when you're just so at a disadvantage that you can't help yourself from doing what you know shouldn't be done?
Try not to sign things.
The Chief just looked at me like, what can we do? My dear husband's genetic programming does not include bargaining in a foreign land in the middle of the night or for that matter at any other time.
Mine, however, is a little different.
There were at least 6 other rental companies with their little booths, most of them with no customers. I'd read that some companies are a bit shaky — you might not get a new car, or they might scam you on the insurance (for that matter, these complaints were made of Hertz).
Still, I figured, let's just see.
So I went up to one nice (French, go figure) lady. “How much to rent this kind of car with this insurance, extra driver, and gas?”
€978.
Better, but still.
Gasp.
Do you realize what I could do with €1000? Right here at home??
What did I have to lose? I went to another booth with a particularly forlorn looking agent twiddling his thumbs. How much?
With a €1200 deductible on the insurance, €397.Including the gas.
Oh. Kay. Now we're talking. I went back to the Hertz guy and told him that I wouldn't be taking his car.
I'm sorry, the light kept changing, the clouds kept shifting…it is such a crazy place. I can't help myself… |
“But we have a deal!” he scolded me, trying to play his cards as best he could.
“No, sorry, I'm not paying your outrageous price, and this fellow over here is giving me the same car for €397. So I'm going with him.”
“But you signed!”
“No, sorry” — brazening it out — “…unless you can match his price.” He sees the game is up.
“Of course I can match it, we have a deal!”
“Okay, then…”
Bridget at Bridget's Well, which is quite near the Cliffs. |
And indeed, with convincing me that it's a good idea not to have a deductible (and after 2 weeks of challenging the left side of that car against every hedge, ditch, and stone wall in Ireland, I concur), we ended up with a bill of €600.
There you have it: My one frugal tip for travel in Ireland. Pit the infernal car agents against each other.
So we got in the car, heeded all the “Links fahren! Drive on left!” stickers plastered therein, crunched the gears, spent about 10 minutes driving in circles (a harbinger of things to come) and set out to find our “country house.”
Shelley says
Well done! I did something similar when my Dad died…actually had his body taken to a different mortuary when I realised how much the first one was going to rip us off. It was strange and hard but I knew my Dad would have been proud of me – he still had a very nice funeral!
I live in England now and drive on the left all the time but the first time was in Ireland near The Burren! It's lovely to see it again; our visit was pre-digital. I scared Bill to death with my driving, but we survived!
Milkmaid says
I can't wait to read more. Your photos are stunning, and your writing is real and, as usual, humorous. Please keep it coming!
margo says
Oh I love this! I'm so impressed with your chutzpah! And the photos are just incredible – don't skimp for us, no way.
Can't wait to see the “country house.” Seeing as this isn't a novel I'm reading, I'm just can't predict how it will turn out.
Melanie B says
The Cliffs of Moher: one of my favorite places in the world. Loving all the photos. I went there back in college, way before I had a digital camera. And I still took almost an entire roll of film just of the cliffs. Sigh. I want to go back. Maybe we could win a raffle too.
NorahS says
I am breathless with anticipation!!! The pictures are stunning, as are you, dear Leila! Good for you for getting a better deal. I can't wait to hear what happens next!
mary says
Leila, you are so brave for driving in Ireland! Yowwwwwwwwwza, I could never do that. Just thinking about it makes me feel confused.
I am really liking these Ireland posts!
By the way, that pic of you and your hubby is gorgeous, frame worthy for sure.
mary
Pippajo says
Good for you for haggling with them! I would have shrunk into my socks and felt guilty about the $1600 for the rest of the trip!
Your comments about driving made me chuckle. We rented a car for a few days while in The Cotswolds and I thought we were going to die horrible, fiery, mutilated deaths. The Viking, who was very confident in his abilities, did all the driving and kept scraping the left side of the car on everything in our path! We did (comparatively) fine unless we were trying to get into or out of a major city (Bath, Gloucester, York) at which point we got lost and wound up doing as you did, driving in endless circles. Driving in Europe is not for Americans who are faint at heart! In fact, The Viking, who learned to drive and honed his skills in NYC and therefore thought he could drive ANYWHERE, declared he would never willingly drive in a European city ever again!
Can't wait to hear the rest!
Sophie says
Yes, the cliffs and the people who sit on them! How can anyone do something that dangerous? Boggles the mind.
Leila says
How about walking on the edge?? In a high wind??? I'm telling you…
womanofthehouse says
Gorgeous photos! I'm enjoying reading about your trip and am “eagerly anticipating” the country house. Can't wait!
freerangegirl says
Well done for not getting played by the car agents! Something similar happened to us in Sicily on our honeymoon at 3 in the morning when a car agent wanted another £1600 to insure us on top of what we'd already payed!
Cant wait to hear more of your trip, I really enjoy your blog – and if you have any more nonsense in Ireland hop over the water and come to Yorkshire – we'll look after you!
Debbie says
I await with bated breath your description of the “country house”, in the hope that it is a charming and romantic cottage.
I do hope you will make one travel exception at some point, and come visit us in South Bend!
Love,
Debbie
Leila says
Ah, Debbie, I can rely on you to write “bated” and not “baited” — you are my hero.
Let me say that I suggest you breathe normally, however, if what you are waiting for is charming and romantic. In fact, maybe you should read something else for a while…
polly says
well done!!!!!!!!!!! and especially after just hopping off the plane. I've been there and done that and it is oh, so ugly. My first day in europe ever involved popping a tire just outside of heathrow after not having slept all night, then having to go back and get a new car from the snooty aggravating mean car agents. And then…driving to devon…and all those roundabouts…(though eventually we got the hang of them, they are so fun!).
the photos are magnificent. I've never been to ireland but they scream IRELAND! to my imagination.
Heidi says
I had no idea you could play them off each other! My husband and I spent a couple weeks in England a few years ago and the additional fees on the car rental right at the beginning pretty much ruined the whole trip for us – we blew almost our whole vacation budget at the rental desk! Next time, maybe I'll have the nerve to find a better deal.
Susan says
Leila! You are killing me with your cliff hangers! Waiting eagerly…
Susan
Joy says
Enjoying your photos (gorgeous!) and your story as well. Good for you to haggle over the car price. I'm looking forward to the “country house” which, I suspect, wasn't quite what you were expecting. 🙂
Hillary says
Our honeymoon was a bed-and-breakfast tour of Ireland, and we rented a car to do it. Lovely time. Driving was terrifying. I refused to do it. We spent most of the time on the west coast and, like you, I took MANY pictures of the Cliffs of Moher. How could you not?
LissyLou says
How have i not found your wonderful blog before!! love it, will lok forward to reading through when i get some time.
LissyLou xx
bloggedissue says
Beautiful landscape.