Two years ago, I visited Dublin and got a taste of Ireland. At the time, I was told that I hadn't seen the best parts of the country. Now, I wanted to take a tour of Ireland and hopefully get to know the best of the island.
Even though this time it was 15 nights, I knew from the start that it would only be a small part of the country. In the end, we decided on four different starting points.
3 nights Cong (Ashford Castle)
4 nights Killarney (Aghadoe Heights)
4 nights Adare (Adare Manor)
4 nights Laois (Ballyfin Demesne)

The first question was how to get to the island. The best flights were with Air Lingus, but the prices were outrageous. In the end, I managed to find award flights with British Airways, which was a relatively good deal. However, flying with Air Lingus is quite limited, as it is a rather basic airline. In the end, I was able to reserve seats at the emergency exit by phone in advance (after about 90 minutes on hold � that's really a high price to pay), but you have to pay for excess baggage (20 kg per person � ha ha) with an award ticket at the airport. You can't do that online.
At the airport, check-in was in the far corner. I had to pay �100 for two extra suitcases, which was okay. If I had booked their top fare for around �1,600, I would only have had 20 kg. This makes the fake business class offered by BA or Lufthansa seem like luxury, and there is no food either.
After security, we went to the exclusive Open Sky Lounge (as an influencer would write), which, as always, was only limitedly exclusive. But it's quite solid.



View of the smoker's box

Well....

Did I mention that we're flying towards the sun?


The flight was uneventful, and we bought a small snack.






Promising.....



An exclusive welcome atmosphere...



Yes, that�s important.....

The rental car was from Sixt. Well, I don't necessarily skimp on that. It had to be a BMW 5 Series or similar, and the rate for 16 days was around �1,725. There was an additional �40 for returning it to the terminal.

Well, I was curious to see what they had. There was a long line at the counter, but when I told the employee I was a Platinum member, they immediately let me skip ahead of everyone else. Sure, that's great for the others. They told me I would get a brand new Audi A6 and that I was the first renter. They then tried to sell me the tank, explaining to the people next to me that the �2 they were paying was cheaper than on the street. Well, a liter costs around �1.70, and when you consider that there are always a few liters left in the tank at the end, it's obviously a great deal. We'd rather fill up ourselves at the end, despite the special price.
The A6 only had 10 kilometers on the clock, but it was from the old series (someone has to take the old cars) and had pretty basic equipment. The car had almost nothing, and the imitation leather made you sweat. The diesel engine, probably the smallest one, performed reasonably well. It was fine for Ireland.



That happens all the time if you don�t have a soft close (funny fact: BMW deletred it completely in the new 5 - thanks, you can keep it)

I think it could have been a little more for the price, but it was OK. Unfortunately, a hotel had pushed a rock halfway onto the parking lot (more on that later), which didn't look very nice.


A few things didn't work (traffic sign recognition, air pressure, etc.), but that's nothing new for cars from the Volkswagen Group (you know what I mean, I love mine at home and can't wait for my new one).

OK, the tire pressure was really too low (thanks, Sixt), but the other warning lights shouldn't have been on temporarily either.
I haven't received the bill for the damage yet, but I do have my final invoice. Who can find the fault?


I complained about this once, but haven't received a response yet. It's definitely rude.
Incidentally, the Toll Pass means that you don't have to pay online on some routes. If there are payment stations, you don't get a ticket, so you have to pay cash. That's how I imagined it would work.
P.S. Can anyone tell me what this very valueable sticker (worth a few Euro I guess) is? Some kind of code to scan?

A little unexpected price rise? The sticker is an RFID tag which I would guess they use for vehicle location in their parking space.

More to follow on the rocky road to ruin?

Yes, around 200 � more. Not nice, hope they correct it without trouble.
It will follow more from the rocky road which hopefully not ends in ruin....

Good news. Sixt confirmed they had an IT-bug and gave me a correct bill and refund. Nevertheless nothing you need.

On the way to Cong, I had planned to visit Clonmacnoise. It is one of the most important monastery ruins in the country. Of course, the weather had to cooperate. On the way there, it got better and we were in good spirits. Right on time when we arrived, it started pouring rain. The first use for the rain jacket. The site itself is a large cemetery with ruins of various buildings, including a few churches. There is also a pavilion that was built for the visit of John Paul II.



































There is also a small museum.






A great place, unfortunately a little wet during my visit.

maybe they �forgot� to add your discount member, I see you did not add any extra cover for zeroing deductible in case of damage, Do you have a 3rd party insurance? I�m always extra cautious while renting car as for each cm scratch they easily charge you hundreds of EUR. Anyway interesting trip, also a good choice to escape the heat in central and south Europe.

Upon first glance at the title I thought this was about a trip to National Car Rental. Then I see pictures of base model Audis with damage and and warning lights which furthered my suspicions. However, upon a detailed review, it appears that you are actually in Ireland, cant wait for the rest of the trip!

The zeroing was quite expensive and I have third party insurance.

The rental car section is mostly done, now follows Ireland.

Hope you have a nice trip and enjoy the typical Irish weather, it is what makes Ireland, not detracts from it. At least thats what I tell myself

Yes, the weather is the biggest pro of Ireland, always authentic

When we went to Ireland in 2023, I also booked with Sixt (although it was way cheaper than your rental for a whole week!) They first gave me a BMW 7 series and I didn't even want to get it out of the parking garage (at the Conrad Dublin location). I went back and swapped it for a Toyota compact SUV which was much easier to get around on the tiny roads out in the country. Hope you enjoyed the Audi. Looking forward to reading the rest.

The advantage is, that I�m used to bigger cars. Enjoy is perhaps the wrong word, but it was OK.