I’ve come to the firm conclusion that renting a car is the best way to see this country. That’s not to say I didn’t have some apprehension about trying to navigate the roads here. I started thinking it was a crazy idea to be renting a car after seeing the traffic in Dublin from a pedestrian’s point of view and how cars and trucks speed around the streets that seemingly have no names. Of course, driving on the opposite side of the road was an added challenge.When I first got behind the wheel of the red Fiat Punto we were assigned by the car rental agency, I gripped the wheel in anticipation of certain disaster. But driving on the left side of the road, on the passenger’s side of the car and shifting with your left hand (we rented a manual because it’s like half the cost of an automatic) is like writing upside down and backwards -- it takes some time to get used to, but before long you have it down.
So we left Dublin Sunday afternoon and took the scenic route to Cork through the Wicklow region. In most places the roads are barely wide enough for two cars to pass and often times they’re actually too narrow requiring one driver to pull off the road and let the other pass. Throw in dozens of bicyclists and tour buses and you have yourself a dangerously-real video game.
Now, after a week behind the wheel in Ireland I feel like an expert driver, and I’m starting to wonder how long it will take me to get used to driving on the right side again. But ultimately renting a car and driving yourself around Ireland is the way to see this country. I wouldn’t be caught dead on one of the huge tour buses that cart dozens of tourists around and clog up the roads. The buses also aren’t allowed in certain places like the Skellig Ring, which is one of the must see places Jackie and I explored on our drive.
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