Southampton to Dublin

We're spending a week in Ireland after our BI cruise next June, in Galway for 3 nights and Dublin for 4 nights We will be renting a car for the Galway part, return it at Dublin, then later fly back home from there.

My original plan was to fly to Shannon out of LHR. But I now find there's also the option of flying directly to Dublin from Southampton (flybe.com), which will save us the trek to London. We'll of course have to rent the car at Dublin and drive to Galway, but that shouldn't be an issue.

Flybe doesn't have fares for June yet, but there's a flight around 11ish which we should easily make. My question is how difficult or otherwise is it to fly out of Southampton, any dos and don'ts? Would love to have your opinion on this alternative, thanks in advance:)

Yes, flying out of Southampton makes a lot of sense.

Easy on your pocket, easy on your time & easy on your worry-beads.

And plenty of wiggle-time with an 11am departure.

A laid-back little airport, just the one terminal with 2 coffee shops, departure lounge is right next door to the check-in hall, then you walk out to the aircraft.

Nothing like the zoo at LHR.

It's about 8 miles from the port, 20 mins by road.

Somewhere under £20 by pre-booked cab eg http://www.westquaycars.com or something over £20 for a cab from the rank at your cruise terminal.

Or there are 3 to 4 direct trains per hour from Southampton central, fare just a few pounds. But add a taxi fare to central station & it'll cost almost as much as a pre-booked cab all the way.

Most of FlyBe's aircraft are high-wing turbo-prop, & they fly at low altitude so you get good views. 2 + 2 seating, not luxurious but OK for a short flight.

It's a budget airline, & like all budget airlines the prices are fluid - rising very steeply for late bookings.

Do run through a dummy booking to check the total cost including luggage. The cost of add-ons doesn't vary, so since your date isn't showing yet you can run a dummy booking for any date to see the effect of add-ons on the fare.

IIRC Dublin is treated as "domestic", so latest check-in only 30 minutes (but not 29 minutes) before flight time.

JB :)

The only downside is the £21.00 charge for a large checked bag. You will save a fair bit if you can get the luggage down to one 23kg bag and one carry on. Be sure to pay when you book your flight as they charge more otherwise.

Basic yes, but it's only a hour and a half in the air.

Thanks a ton for the detailed replies, I was hoping the two of you would chip in with advice! So flybe it is, will try a dummy booking to price the flight with bags, etc. Do they charge for a carry-on also as some budget carriers do?

We are a large family group taking the cruise and some of whom won't be going to Ireland, so will try and send a couple of bags back home with them. That way we can try and restrict ourselves to just carry-ons, or at the best just one 23kgs bag.

Now for the follow-up questions, can you recommend a car rental agency at Dublin? Or anyone I should avoid? We'll need the car for the Galway area, will turn it in on our return to Dublin.

Thanks again, you guys are the best:)

Flybe's limitations on (included) cabin baggage are pretty-much industry standard, and more generous than some - 10kg, 55cm x 35 x 20. Plus one small extra item such as a lap-top.

But they do tend to be fussy about that max size.

http://www.flybe.com/baggage/hand-baggage.htm

Sorry, can't help with car rental (we call it car rental or car hire) in Dublin, we've tended to remain in the city or use tours / public transport.

But Galway is quite a long walk ;) & car hire is the way to do it.

Because you're returning to the same location, you can use local operators. But as a general rule we've found that anywhere in the world the vehicles are often older, standards are variable & their infrastructures limited outside their area, eg a replacement vehicle in the event of a breakdown. So beyond our local patch we use the major players like Hertz, Avis, Europcar, National, SixT, Budget, Thrifty, Enterprise.

Or try a consolidator such as http://www.rentalcars.com or https://www.holidayautos.co.uk

We've used both without problems.

As elsewhere in the world beware of add-ons, high CDW excess (& zero liability insurance costs), and fuel policies. Again, run a dummy booking to check the total cost.

And don't get talked-into unnecessary extra insurance etc at the desk - I'll swear all European clerks are trained in Orlando :D

Also check whether pick-up is at-airport or involves a time-consuming shuttle, and the opening hours for returning the vehicle.

Because of narrow country lanes, city street parking, car rental costs & high fuel costs (currently around €1.30 per litre) I recommend as small a car as you can manage, but with a boot (trunk) that keeps all your significant luggage out of sight.

Remember that most hire cars are shift-stick, if you need automatic do make sure to book one.

Mention of the fuel cost reminds me that the Irish Republic is in Euroland.

Sorry, nothing specific, but hope this helps.

JB :)

Thanks again JB, you're a fund of information, what would I do without such capable hands guiding me?!

We'll try and keep our bags to just carry-ons with maybe one check-in bag, this will also make it easier to store the luggage in our rental car. I hear Budget has a city office in Dublin where we can turn in the vehicle on our return, so will probably go with them. We're used to driving in Europe and familiar with a stick shift, also even is you ask for an automatic you can't actually be sure of getting one! Point noted about additional insurance, usually our CC covers most of the extras, but will certainly check.

Thanks again for all your comments and suggestion, really appreciate it:)

Yes, flying out of Southampton makes a lot of sense.

Easy on your pocket, easy on your time & easy on your worry-beads.

And plenty of wiggle-time with an 11am departure.

 

A laid-back little airport, just the one terminal with 2 coffee shops, departure lounge is right next door to the check-in hall, then you walk out to the aircraft.

Nothing like the zoo at LHR.

 

It's about 8 miles from the port, 20 mins by road.

Somewhere under £20 by pre-booked cab eg http://www.westquaycars.com or something over £20 for a cab from the rank at your cruise terminal.

Or there are 3 to 4 direct trains per hour from Southampton central, fare just a few pounds. But add a taxi fare to central station & it'll cost almost as much as a pre-booked cab all the way.

 

Most of FlyBe's aircraft are high-wing turbo-prop, & they fly at low altitude so you get good views. 2 + 2 seating, not luxurious but OK for a short flight.

It's a budget airline, & like all budget airlines the prices are fluid - rising very steeply for late bookings.

Do run through a dummy booking to check the total cost including luggage. The cost of add-ons doesn't vary, so since your date isn't showing yet you can run a dummy booking for any date to see the effect of add-ons on the fare.

 

IIRC Dublin is treated as "domestic", so latest check-in only 30 minutes (but not 29 minutes) before flight time.

 

JB :)

We too will want to travel from Southampton to Dublin or another airport in Ireland. Does anyone know if it is possible to purchase 2 luggage bags per person on FlyBe?

Thanks, anyway. Just went to Flybe's site and found that it is possible to buy an "all in" fare that includes 2 checked bags. But the price is huge...almost 300 Pounds one-way.

Thanks, anyway. Just went to Flybe's site and found that it is possible to buy an "all in" fare that includes 2 checked bags. But the price is huge...almost 300 Pounds one-way.

Instead of the "all-in" option, choose "get more " or "just fly".

You can then add bags later in the process (yes, you can check out the total cost without reaching the "enter your credit card details";)).

For a random date in May.........

- the "all-in" came out at £229 per person

- the "get more" (includes one hold bag) plus an extra bag totalled around £90

- the "just fly" (no bags included) plus two bags around £85.

There are other differences between the three options, but for most folk the other advantages of "all-in" aren't worth the big extra cost.

A pain in the a** to have to go through half the booking process just to find out the total cost, but it's the same with other UK no-frills airlines.

And like all no-frills airlines, prices are flexible - as a general rule best prices are for early bookings, and close to the date prices rise steeply.

JB :)

Instead of the "all-in" option, choose "get more " or "just fly".

 

You can then add bags later in the process (yes, you can check out the total cost without reaching the "enter your credit card details";)).

For a random date in May.........

- the "all-in" came out at £229 per person

- the "get more" (includes one hold bag) plus an extra bag totalled around £90

- the "just fly" (no bags included) plus two bags around £85.

There are other differences between the three options, but for most folk the other advantages of "all-in" aren't worth the big extra cost.

A pain in the a** to have to go through half the booking process just to find out the total cost, but it's the same with other UK no-frills airlines.

 

And like all no-frills airlines, prices are flexible - as a general rule best prices are for early bookings, and close to the date prices rise steeply.

JB :)

JB: You are too kind and more helpful than I could ever expect. I hope to someday return the favor. You've given me great options and a way to get us started on our tour of Ireland, Scotland & Wales with great ease. Thank you so very much. Tom Vitek

JB: You are too kind and more helpful than I could ever expect. I hope to someday return the favor. You've given me great options and a way to get us started on our tour of Ireland, Scotland & Wales with great ease. Thank you so very much. Tom Vitek

Tom, I wholeheartedly agree, JB is one of a kind, the wealth of information and details he provides is simply unbelievable, we are truly lucky to have someone like him on these boards! I too got a whole lot of tips on pricing and booking tickets and the checked in bag, thanks a ton JB😊

An unrelated question, any idea about Twelve Transfers, to get to the cruise terminal from London? I found someone who'd recommended them, was just wondering how they were.

Thanks again, Prish

Tom, I wholeheartedly agree, JB is one of a kind, the wealth of information and details he provides is simply unbelievable, we are truly lucky to have someone like him on these boards! I too got a whole lot of tips on pricing and booking tickets and the checked in bag, thanks a ton JB

 

An unrelated question, any idea about Twelve Transfers, to get to the cruise terminal from London? I found someone who'd recommended them, was just wondering how they were.

 

Thanks again, Prish

Aw, shucks :o

But good to know it's appreciated.

Never heard of Twelve Transfers, but that's not surprising - they're based at Heathrow along with dozens of others.

Excellent T/A reviews & too many of them to be "planted".

Heathrow to central London prices very competitive, to Southampton perhaps marginally more than CC members' favourite, smithsforairports, but certainly ball-park.

And a simple & sensible pricing format for larger vehicles (up to 8 passengers - over 8 requires special licences which they don't appear to have).

Just the one recent comment on CC & it's positive

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2425592&highlight=Twelve+Transfers

JB :)