Highly recommend NewWay car rental in Ireland. All inclusive rates. We reserved a Full size sedan but got a small SuV for 4 people
It was fine to drive on the roads, esp if you are off the main touristed roads, but five in such a car will indeed be very tight with luggage unless you all just bring a carry on roller bag.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Buses. Trains. Local drivers. Pack lightly. Rethink your itinerary. All of these are better options than expecting rural Irish roads (stone wall on one side, ditch and hedgerow on the other, tour bus and/or sheep in the middle) to make room for not one, but two (2!) SUVs.

Yes.

The arrogance of Americans never ceases to astound me.

I’m going to guess you’re not Irish.

I’d echo what a couple PPs said about looking into other options (hiring a driver, etc.). DH and I rented a car on our trip to Ireland in 2019. We managed fine — it was a manual transmission, which we both know how to drive, but doing so on the opposite side of the road while shifting with your left hand was a whole new ball game. The first day was pretty hairy. We also came across several accidents with cars overturned, on their sides, etc. Some locals we spoke with said accidents involving tourists are incredibly common.
We got the extra insurance and thankfully ended up not needing it. We also had a smaller size vehicle and it seemed like it would have been tough to navigate the narrow roads with anything larger. Good luck!

Even if your credit card covers insurance, be sure to get the full coverage. It might cost extra, but those stone walls just sometimes pop out of nowhere!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Buses. Trains. Local drivers. Pack lightly. Rethink your itinerary. All of these are better options than expecting rural Irish roads (stone wall on one side, ditch and hedgerow on the other, tour bus and/or sheep in the middle) to make room for not one, but two (2!) SUVs.

Yes.

The arrogance of Americans never ceases to astound me.

The arrogance you have assuming that the Irish just can’t possibly deal with two SUVs driving down the road around the same time.

Anonymous wrote:The main issue will be getting used to driving on that side of the road and the roundabouts. For some reason I've seen several american friends just panic at roundabouts. Just keep moving and remember which side the traffic is coming from and you'll be fine.

So true. When we visited Ireland my DW kept yelling four letter words at me each time we approached a roundabout.

“LEFT! LEFT! LEFT!”

😀

Anonymous wrote:I want to echo what others said about luggage. A lot of European rental cars that fit 5 people do so at the expense of the trunk space. The trunk will then only for 1-2 pieces of luggage. We're a family of 6 and I've had this issue with both taxis and rentals outside of the US. Always confirm there will be sufficient trunk space.

Yes this is a good point- family of 4 and we usually rent compacts- in Europe most of those are hatchbacks- we have 4 carry-on bags only, and usually 3 can fit in the hatchback, and one has to sit between the kids. It's fine, and worth saving hundreds versus bigger cars, including gas costs. But be aware that basically every car size there is a step down in what you are used to in the US. A compact car here is a small car with a trunk with more than enough room for 4 carry-ons.

I want to echo what others said about luggage. A lot of European rental cars that fit 5 people do so at the expense of the trunk space. The trunk will then only for 1-2 pieces of luggage. We're a family of 6 and I've had this issue with both taxis and rentals outside of the US. Always confirm there will be sufficient trunk space.

A lot of these replies are nuts. My dh is irish and we have a place, as well as all of his family, there, so we go there frequently. Only one of my relatives has a small car - the rest all have decent sized suvs. We are not talking about suburban sized, but more X7, range rovers, etc. The only time any of us have ever had an issue would be with tight parking spaces, and then you just park elsewhere. We generally rent a land rover with 3 rows and have never had an issue, and we go about 3-4 times/year. Rent whatever would be comfortable for your family. The main issue will be getting used to driving on that side of the road and the roundabouts. For some reason I've seen several american friends just panic at roundabouts. Just keep moving and remember which side the traffic is coming from and you'll be fine.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Also, we were in Ireland during peak summer travel, so this may have been why, but the car rental process was the slowest and most chaotic I have encountered almost anywhere, and we had to wait a long time for a car to become available despite our “reservation” and it wasn’t the type we had reserved. Stressful after a red eye. I don’t know if that is a common experience though.

It is very common.

Even more common at BOS Logan.

Yes, a reservation is more of a suggestion for these companies.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Also, we were in Ireland during peak summer travel, so this may have been why, but the car rental process was the slowest and most chaotic I have encountered almost anywhere, and we had to wait a long time for a car to become available despite our “reservation” and it wasn’t the type we had reserved. Stressful after a red eye. I don’t know if that is a common experience though.

It is very common.

Even more common at BOS Logan.

Anonymous wrote:Also, we were in Ireland during peak summer travel, so this may have been why, but the car rental process was the slowest and most chaotic I have encountered almost anywhere, and we had to wait a long time for a car to become available despite our “reservation” and it wasn’t the type we had reserved. Stressful after a red eye. I don’t know if that is a common experience though.

It is very common.

Anonymous wrote:Buses. Trains. Local drivers. Pack lightly. Rethink your itinerary. All of these are better options than expecting rural Irish roads (stone wall on one side, ditch and hedgerow on the other, tour bus and/or sheep in the middle) to make room for not one, but two (2!) SUVs.

Omg they’ll be fine. Like locals have never ever come across two suvs on the road before 🙄

Also, we were in Ireland during peak summer travel, so this may have been why, but the car rental process was the slowest and most chaotic I have encountered almost anywhere, and we had to wait a long time for a car to become available despite our “reservation” and it wasn’t the type we had reserved. Stressful after a red eye. I don’t know if that is a common experience though.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Buses. Trains. Local drivers. Pack lightly. Rethink your itinerary. All of these are better options than expecting rural Irish roads (stone wall on one side, ditch and hedgerow on the other, tour bus and/or sheep in the middle) to make room for not one, but two (2!) SUVs.

Yes.

The arrogance of Americans never ceases to astound me.

...as well as the rudeness of posters such as yourself.