I'm planning a bike trip to Ireland next summer. The way I'd like to do this is take my road bike. Likely to be a 7-day adventure with an itinerary something like this: Day 1,
fly into Dublin, pickup my rental van (this gives me a place to lock the bike overnight), drive to first hostel, saddle up the bike and spin a short ride, (maybe 30 miles), dinner at local pub, turn in at decent hour. Day 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 would follow day one; however, without the lost time to air travel. I'd drive each day to a new location, check into the hostel, spin rides anywhere from 40 to 70 miles long, and enjoy the nightlife at a local pub. Dump the van back at the airport and head back home day 7. Anyone done this in Ireland? Yes!!!! I'd love to hear from you.

i suppose it's a novel way of seeing the country.i met an english man who cycled wright around the coast in 7 days ,but he had his wife and family with him for support ,he was nearing his journey end when i met him he said he enjoyed every pedal stroke.if you check out boards.ie you should get loads of good info on your plans( cycling forum.)
expect to pay around 35 euro a night for b/b.hope this is some help.

Do you really need a van? Fuel is not cheap in Ireland. You might want to consider renting a hatchback, folding down the rear seats and taking off the front wheel of the bicycle to put it inside.

Last year (spring 2009) I spent a couple weeks in Ireland using the bike and trains. The rail network will get you just about anywhere you want to go, and you can take your bicycle on most trains. I had a big enough saddlebag and handlebar bag to hold clothing and camera, and I toured from hostel to hostel. I spent a good bit of time in the southwest corner of the country (Kerry, Iveragh peninsula, Beara Peninsula), and spent some time visiting family in the Dublin area.

I brought the bicycle on the plane fully assembled/unboxed, and rode it to and from Dublin airport, which is very easy to do. Check the rules for whichever airline you're using VERY carefully before you try this, and check the fees for bicycles just as carefully. British Airways has about the most reasonable fees for bicycles, other airlines charge up to 150 euro to bring a bicycle.

Bring fenders and good rain gear, the stories about the weather are all true.

I've cycled in Ireland a fair bit. I agree with Markf about the van. But I'd go further - do you need motorised transport at all? For a seven day tour without any camping, you could get enough gear in a saddlebag plus bar bag. And Ireland isn't a huge country - you can probably ride from hostel to hostel or, if you want to go much further afield, take the train.

You'll enjoy it. Ireland, especially the west, still lives up to its reputation for humour and hospitality.

You can put a bike on trains and coaches so you dont need to ride a circular trip.
Make sure you ride the SW corner from Cork to Galway.
I have been several times in Ag and Sept and always found a B&B or independant hostel.

I have never used these guys, but might be worth considering -- though they are now in several countries, they're based in Ireland and still have a bunch of routes there.

They have "self guided" tours where they map out the routes and making lodging reservations for you.

https://www.irondonkey.com/

I'm Irish and I live in Ireland.

I think you are mistaken if you think you can arrive at some small town in Ireland head to the nearest pub and expect readymade nightlife just waiting to happen. Life in small town Ireland especially midweek can be as dull as anywhere else in the world.

You don't need a van to lock your bike into every night. It will be perfectly safe at the hostel.

Forget the van, come to Dublin (I'm a Warmshower host and I'll host you provided you don't hire a van), then get a bus (cheaper than train) to Cork and head southwest to west Cork and Kerry, then up towards Galway.
Get the bus back from Galway to Dublin and fly home.

If you just want to party and drive a van you'd do better to stay at home.

I've done self-contained tours with Iron Donkey. I definitely recommend them.

They'll give you routes and will arrange the hotels for you. You can easily store the bikes at the hotel. They also offer an optional luggage transport service, so they can pick up your luggage and get it from one hotel to the next.

I got a shoulder season flight, , last week of Feb, assembled the bike at Dublin airport,

someone at nearby petrol station showed me a Lay-by to put my tent up
.. north of the airport was where I went,

Then next AM, into the city, then to the SW coast, and rode north up the coast.

Mode .. self contained ,

Camping and Independently owned Hostels. I've had to live Cheap, so that was my travel budget too.

You can always take the bus , to go far, in a short period of time.

I found they have motor in the center buses , there, that have a Monster luggage
luggage hold in the back, they can take a whole assembled bike in them
and still plenty of room for half a dozen backpacks on top...

I think the small car is a good idea for several reasons. One is since presumably you have to meet a flight on the way back, it gives you the elasticity to meet that schedule, if you make a mistake, get injured, push you itinerary, have horrible weather, you can in an hour do a day's cycling distance by car. On a short trip with deadlines that is actually pretty smart.

Second, having lived off and on in Ireland, I have been there in droughts, and in torrential, cold, sideways, rain. Maybe not the same day, but you never know. You could easily get 7 days of weather where cycling was something only a fanatic would do. You could adjust your plans or even go to a different part of the place where the weather promises to be better, if you had direct access to a car.

On the righteousness point: 1) the flight over will burn so much gas, but apparently you don't get kicked off the couch for that; 2) Been a while since I lived in Ireland, but the pollution profile of their cars was way worse than over here, belching black smoke. Clarity starts at home; 3) nobody would say anything if the guy was going on an organized tour with car support.

I do agree based on living in Ireland, that a big American style SUV is probably not a good choice. A small car that slips through the narrow roads is all you need, and you didn't have to used to worry about people in Hummers running you down on the way to the Big and Tall store. But there have been many changes in the last 10 years, so I don't know for sure.

we do often get four seasons in one day but nothing that would stop you cycling ,i know i'm cycling here all my life.
read caretakers post he's100% correct,your not going to get sessions in pub's every night weekends yeah but mid week you would be lucky.

I've cycled Ireland 3 times. 2 times on my own, upsupported, and once with 4 friends. For the group, we rented a vehicle for support. Even with 5 of us, we got along with 1 small economy car. We simply rented a rack for it from the the car rental company. Of course, we never used the car for all of us + bikes, one person was the designated driver, and we had the option for up to 2 + bikes to ride. We used the car to travel around in the evening, etc. In any case, you certainly don't need a van, and a large vehicle is difficult on Irish roads.

With only 1 week, you are best off doing some research on where you'd like to ride, so you don't waste time in unprofitable messing around. I don't think your plan is necessarily a bad one, but driving in Ireland can be slow, and if you think you're going to drive 100 miles every day and get in a good day of riding, you're mistaken. On our trip, our driver was constantly surprised at how we cyclists covered ground nearly as fast as she did. Average driving on scenic Irish roads will go at about 35 mph--believe it! Don't plan on covering the whole country, but 1 or 2 sections of it. You really need to decide what parts of Ireland you want to see.

If you were to use public transport, you could get to many places from which you could ride some nice areas, but public transport will often not take you to the remote scenic areas themselves.

You say you plan to use hostels. That's fine, and the location of the hostels will dictate the areas you ride in--there are lots of hostels in Ireland. If you really mean B&B, that's also fine, and as someone said, it will cost about 35E/night for an average B&B.

Also, if you haven't checked into car rental rates, be prepared for a big shock. It's extremely expensive in Ireland--another reason for a small car. Be sure to check into insurance, which is not the same as in many other countries.

I gotta say, I don't think it's really that necessary.

You can always catch a bus back to Dublin in a few hours, it's a pretty small country as you know. In a true disaster I'm sure you can somehow catch a ride to a population center and therefore to a Dublin bus.

I'm not sure what "righteousness" you're talking about, to me it's more that it's rather inefficient. Rather than ride from one city to the next, it sounds like he's going to do relatively small loops every day. So he'll lose hours every day driving and dealing with the car.

Even carrying gear it's much better use of your time to just throw your gear on the bike and go from one town to the next, you'll see a lot more of the countryside that way.

"I'm not sure what "righteousness" you're talking about"

Mostly the idea one would host the guy but only if he didn't have a car. Which is reasonable in terms of the Warmshowers criteria, or possibly a lack of parking... Possibly.

Efficiency wise, I'm sure you are right at some level. I lived in Dublin for a year, so I wouldn't want to spend at least two of my days traveling the congested routes of that town. It's a great place so a person who has never been might not want to miss it. On the other hand, take a rock climbing example. You could use local transit and do Dalkey Quarry, or rent a car and do Donegal to the North, and probably hit virtually every other significant crag in the place during your trip. There is a reason we have cars. It really comes down to whether cycling is the ideal or the objective. If I was on a fly fishing trip to Ireland, I wouldn't limit myself to areas within transit o Dublin, though the Liffey has some schooled trout

Let's say you end up doing a cycling loop in any case. I'm not sure the logic that every loop best starts at the airport is valid. And any other place you choose that is more than 20 miles from the airport, will be faster by car than transit. Will it cost you more money to use a car, sure, but if that was such a big deal you won't be jetting it. Still been a while since I rented a car in Ireland...

I was there last September.. Seek advice on where the better bike paths are. . I didn't find them.. We saw a few cyclists about. Sure looked dangerous to me with the narrow shoulders, blind curves, and busy roads.. We stayed in West Ireland this time. Limerick south towards the Ring of Kerry.. Considering the roads I saw, I would not bike there..
Maybe there are better areas to cycle. I didn't see them. But, if you aren't cycling- it's a great place to vacation..

I may have come across as a little unwelcoming in my previous post and if I did I apologise.

When I read the OP it was with an equal sense of horror and amusement. Horror that someone would consider driving around Ireland doing 40-70 mile loops as a bicycle tour and amusement that anyone would expect 'nightlife' just waiting to happen.


Cyclezealot and I have discussed this previously on Regional Forums (Europe) and while I choose to do most of my touring in France rather than at home in Ireland I don't agree that cycle touring in Ireland is anymore dangerous than touring in say England or Italy. Urban cycling in Ireland and particularly Dublin is challenging and should be approached with care especially when you have just come from a country where everybody cycles on the right side of the road.

I have hosted thru. Warmshowers many cycle tourists from the U.S., France and Italy usually both on their inward and outward journeys (I live 8kms. from Dublin Airport). They have always reported having had a great time in Ireland and never complained about the danger.

My Warmshower guests have led me to reconsider my future plans and I now intend to include more cycle touring at home here in Ireland.

That's an interesting concern. I never worried about riding there, but it may have changed. i remember trips where there were no cars on the road. One used to at least be able to trust that the North would be a slice from the 50s, but I see movies from there and hardly recognize the landscape in the cities.

^^^
This.

We rented a house in Ballyvaughan (right across the bay from Galway) and I did day trips out from there.
Your country is fantastic. I'm wearing one of your sweaters (jumpers) now.
I will say that tour buses scare the **** outta me. The rest of the traffic was fine. Tour buses, not so much.

Don't understand why Cyclezealot is so negative about cycling in Ireland. Sure, the roads in and out of the big towns are very busy but once clear of the towns it's possible to find small secondary roads that have little or no traffic. Earlier this year I cycled for two weeks in the NW, mostly Donegal and Fermanagh, and had a wonderful time staying in hostels. I plan to return in 2011 and do the Burren and Connemara region.
Apart from the Scottish Highlands I can't think of a better, more interesting and friendly country in which to cycle than Ireland.

I agree, except that I don't think urban cycling in Ireland, even in Dublin, is any more challenging than elsewhere. I find it difficult to understand the apparent American preoccupation with "shoulders". Few country roads have meaningful shoulders, and this is true of large areas of Europe, not just Ireland. One simply rides on the road in the usual way. And Limerick and the Ring of Kerry is great cycling country, in my view.

My wife and I did a nine-day tour in Kerry, Galway, and Mayo this summer. We booked a self-guided tour through Iron Donkey, with a couple of modifications from their standard routes, and we were very pleased. We took a bus from Shannon to our first overnight, and then after our last day of cycling we took the bus from Westport to Shannon (changing in Galway City). It was a great trip despite an uneven contest between Irish roads and the first set of tires I had.... I had no problem riding on the country lanes; when we did encounter drivers they were careful and courteous. For more details you can take a look at my tour journal on Crazyguyonabike.com.

I'm planning a fully fully-loaded tour for next year in Ireland. I have four weeks. I will be camping and hosteling all the way. I would like to stop in some of the bigger cities and stay for 3 or 4 nights and to sight-see and check out the night life as I go. I will be flying in and don't have to leave from the same airport that I arrived.

Is four weeks to long for Ireland or should I include a ferry trip to Scotland? Any suggested cities to start and end my tour in?

Four weeks isn't too long, no; especially if you are going to pause in some of the bigger cities. Do Northern Ireland as well as the Republic - the North West is spectacular. If I were you I'd fly into Belfast and out of Dublin, spending two or three days in each. In between I'd go right round the coast, lingering in Connemara (County Galway) and the South West. Stay in Cork for a couple of nights and ask around to find decent music. On your way up the east coast cut inland and go to Kilkenny. It's a nice town to visit, and Kilkenny to Dublin via the Wicklow Mountains is one of the best day's cycling I ever did in my life - but my route was about 120 miles so if you're fully loaded, take two days. Wicklow is fabulous cycling country.

Hope that helps. The Irish contingent in here will have other ideas, no doubt, but that's my idea as a frequent visitor, In fact, I just might do it myself LOL.

Btw, if you do Northern Ireland as well as the Republic, remember that in the North they use pounds sterling and in the South it's Euros. But it's no problem, you can change anything anywhere.

Spent 8 weeks March and April, cycling up the west coast of Ireland , though I did stay in one place for a week or so.

Camped in moderate weather, stayed in Hostels during storms. the independantly owned ones
let you remain inside during the days , unlike IYHA controlled ones that put you out during the middle of the day.

Four weeks sounds fine for the type of tour you're planning. If you are coming from N. America (?) and want to fly in and out direct you have two options, either Dublin or Shannon (near Limerick City). Belfast and Cork airports only have flights to U.K. and Europe. If you don't mind a stopover in say London, Paris or Amsterdam you will have a wider choice of cities in Ireland to start/finish.