A popular travel website has warned tourists of the “horrors” of visiting Dublin city due to the high costs of accommodation and rental cars.
Popular travel site Lonely Planet has warned would-be tourists wishing to visit the capital of ‘accommodation shortages, soaring car rental costs and airport chaos’, which have dominated international headlines in recent times. weeks.
Visitors wishing to come to Dublin were asked to ask themselves a series of questions before making the trip – the main one being “have you booked your accommodation in advance?”
“Soaring hotel prices are wreaking havoc on holidaymakers’ budgets as figures from the Central Statistics Office show price increases of up to 17% for hotel accommodation in Ireland over the past three years,” said the travel site.
Lonely Planet added a quote from the Tourism Advisory Group, which heard that tour groups across the country were “jostling” for beds in the city – citing an increase in travel demand and hotels offering a emergency accommodation for Ukrainian refugees.
“Finding last-minute accommodation won’t be easy,” the travel experts said. “Lonely Planet looked at weekend availability in Dublin city center in July for two people and average prices ranged between €700 and €900 via Booking.com.
“Over the weekend, the cheapest price was €411 for a private room in purpose-built student accommodation, while the second-cheapest was €428 for two beds in a mixed dorm.
“In September there are a few more options available but prices remain high, averaging between €500 and €700 for Friday and Saturday nights.”
Lonely Planet added that accommodation prices are relatively cheaper outside the capital, “with average prices around €400 for a two-night weekend in Galway in early September and around €300 in Cork for the same period”.
‘We recommend that you book your accommodation as soon as your flight is booked.’
The guide added that renting a car in the city is a nightmare, with prices skyrocketing after car rental companies had to sell half their stock during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“In a case that made headlines in May, a couple were quoted €18,703 to hire a seven-seater car at Dublin Airport for the first week of August,” the guide said. “And while exceptional, the cost of renting a car will put a significant dent in your budget.”
The guide added that when looking for a 10-day car hire in early August, the cheapest car available was with Hertz in Dublin, which cost €1,750 for a five-seater – however, they found that the average rental car price was around €3,000.
Two other points Lonely Planet raised around Dublin were the difficulty of getting a table at a walk-in restaurant, and also added that the current cost of living crisis has fueled price hikes across the board .
“Dublin is a notoriously expensive city and the cost of living crisis continues to fuel price hikes for everyday goods and services.”
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