Are the foot pedals reversed as well?
Not in my experience, from visiting Ireland some years ago; it was the same as in the U.S.: from left to right, clutch pedal, brake pedal, gas pedal.
I’m an experienced manual transmission driver, but driving a stick in Ireland (and shifting with my left hand) was definitely a learning process. What I discovered was that my muscle memory for shifting is based on relative direction to my body: first is up and towards me, fourth is down and away from me, etc. This led to a number of “fun” experiences while driving in Ireland, where I might, say, want to be shifting into third gear, and accidentally put it in first.
The pedals are definitely in the same CBA order and this will feel pretty natural (speaking from experience of being used to a RHD car and occasionally using a LHD in mainland Europe or the US). The gearstick is orientated the same way as you’ll be used to as well, as Kenobi says, but unlike the pedals, it might feel a bit odd that it’s not the mirror of what you would be used to.
As a driver in the UK, I can assure you that the pedals are the same: clutch on the left, brake in the middle and gas pedal (or accelerator, as it is called here) on the right. And the stick shift (gear lever, in UK) is between driver and front passenger seats. Of course this does mean you have to use your left hand to change gears.
But honestly, I doubt you’ll have any problem. I adapted to the US layout when I was working there with no difficulty at all. The thing you probably need to pay most attention to is roundabouts: far more common here than the US. My American wife tells me this is the most difficult part of driving here, for her.
I haven’t been to Ireland, but traveled around Scotland a few years ago. Driving on the left wasn’t hard. The north and northwest coasts are the most beautiful places I’ve ever been.
First things first: I preferred Scotland, but Ireland is also beautiful and friendly.
Second, yes, watch your way on roundabouts. They are much more confusing than identifying the passing and turning lanes, for example, but they are manageable. And, frankly, I found that much of my driving was on roads so narrow (both Ireland and Scotland) that it didn’t matter which lane I was in until I had to pass by an approaching car. In fact, I had to ask a local about proper passby etiquette, which is very important if you’re out in the countryside.
Put me firmly in the “I would never drive in Scotland and Ireland” camp. The roads, once you get off the big highways (which happens fairly quickly) are twisty and narrow.
In Ireland there are several bus tour companies that do day trips and overnight trips to popular attractions. Irish Rover and Paddywagon are 2 of them.
@Nars_Glinley have you taken your trip yet?
Thanks for this (not OP but planning a trip). Our challenge is that we aren’t necessarily interested in the major attractions, but rather want to see a broad swath of what each has to offer (Britain and Ireland for us), as a potential precursor to being part-time residents. Would it be practical and not insanely expensive to take trains into mid-sized towns, then hire a local car and driver to take us on short day trips around the area?
A very quick intro like this is the various bus companies who run hop-on/hop-off narrated tours. I’ve found them a useful introduction a few times. You won’t get anything in depth because the guides have a generic script, but at least you will see a few things that you might note you want to see more closely later, and perhaps helps you to plan the rest of your visit.
I’ve seen quite a range of small trips and tours on Viator.com. You might find something there.
Thanks, you two. My goal is we hang out in town on our off hours and get a feel for the town, culture, etc., using the hired tours to get a feel for the countryside and neighboring villages, but not necessarily attractions - or better said, seeing sights rather than particular buildings.
Very helpful; the only wildcard in my mind is the availability of such small group tours in mid-sized towns, but that still leaves the option to hire a simple car/driver and direct them.
Renting a car and driver probably isn’t really a sensible option in the UK.
There are small group tours in the popular areas, but I can’t see how there would be any demand for something like that in smaller towns.The only place I could find saying they offer such a service gave an estimated cost of just under £400 for 8 hours and was only available in larger cities.
You’d maybe be better off getting individual taxi trips every time, but even so that would be very pricy over more than a day or two.
We do have public transport in and around most smaller towns and many villages, to varying degrees of usefulness, and that is what the locals use to get around. If you are looking at moving, that would be something to take into consideration anyway.
If you’re coming from the US, I think I’d agree.
Car and driver would probably make sense in less familiar countries: we have thought of doing so to visit India for example,
But here? You’re among friends, as Captain Kirk said to the 20th century fighter pilot. We all speak the same language, we have a lot of culture in common (ludicrously misunderstood sometimes, but we will probably work that out over a drink and a laugh)!
Group tours…well, if that’s your preference, so be it. Personally when visiting another country I prefer to just hang out using the same normal transport and restaurants as the everyday people.
Group tour would be near the bottom of desirability. Honestly, for me, in spite of the perfectly valid warnings about driving on countryside 1.5-lane roads, I should probably just suck it up and hire a car (but doing so outside of London/Dublin).
At the mention of “1.5 lane roads,” I thought I had posted here. It’s a thing. However, British and Irish drivers grew up with such roads, especially those who started driving in the 80s, when having your own (non classic mini) car meant something, and roads filled up quicker than they could build them right.
Anyway, both countries’ drivers will be courteous, there’s usually enough notice for one of you to pull back (or let the other go past), and a wave in the daytime and a quick flash of your brights at night is a proper “cheers, mate”
Oddly, Ireland has more convenient Motorways or “dual carriageways,” where you can go from Dublin to Limerick, to Kerry, to Cork, etc., than the UK, where they mainly orient North-South (excepting the good old M4 from London to Bristol, from which you can drop South).
I’ve only been to Edinburgh once and would love to tour Scotland. There’s, of course, no “Ring road,” so stay on the path and keep off the moors.
Absolutely do not drive in London (Ring Road being the M25), and to mix countries, try to stay out of the Ring Road of Dublin; mind that much of Edinburgh is very hilly, as is Scotland (so I have heard).
Lastly, for me, driving with the stick on the left feels more natural, and if I drove in the USA again, I’d be banging my left hand against the door repeatedly.
Not the way it used to be, thank heaven. 30 or so years ago there were roads in Britain which literally had 3 lanes, with no physical dividers.
They were officially called at the time right lane, left lane and ‘overtaking lane’.
Of course there were innumerable crashes in the middle lane. The colloquial expression was ‘right side, left side, and suicide’.
I don’t think any roads are still marked that way, thankfully!
I’ve only ever driven such roads in France, in 1989. There only were third lanes for overtaking on stretches of the road with no curves and a wide view on the road ahead, so if you were a responsible driver, the middle lane was safe for overtaking. I liked those roads.
One oddity that has caught me out more than once in small-town western Scotland outside of the main summer season. Shops, restaurants and bars (even the hotel bar) close absurdly early in the evening. You can find yourself walking through say, Largs, at 8 o’clock in the evening looking for something to eat and there is nobody around, nothing open, the place is completely deserted. So if you are travelling independently, plan accordingly!
Having not read the thread at all, I would recommend Ireland, especially the western part of it (Dingle Peninsula, Connemara (sp?), Galway, Westport, Waterford). Just beautiful and the people are much more outgoing than in Scotland.
Scotland is also beautiful, but I found the people more reserved. In Ireland, any random pub may have people bust out instruments and start singing folk songs. Just a more outgoing culture in Ireland.
If you do a tour, you’ll spend all your time with other Americans (or wherever you’re from). Driving on the left isn’t bad – you get used to it quickly. If you can’t drive a stick, make sure you reserve an automatic. Every time I’ve rented a car in either place, it was a manual.
You can’t go wrong with either, but I enjoyed my time in Ireland more than my times in Scotland.
No, I’ve put it off for now. I’ve got a couple of other trips planned for this year but hopefully next year.