Paying tolls when driving in Ireland

Posted on January 7, 2010 by DiscoveringIreland Travel Tips

We often get questions about how to pay at toll roads in Ireland and their costs. It struck me that it would be a good topic for a post and an opportunity to put together a comprehensive list of car charges and payment methods for tolls in Ireland.

As of today there are 8 places in Ireland where you must pay a toll. The 2010 toll for a passenger car is as follows:

– East Link (Dublin City)  €1.80
– M50/West Link (Dublin) €2.00/€2.50/€3.00 depending on payment method
– M1 (Drogheda Bypass) €1.90
– M4 (County Meath) €2.90
– M6 (County Galway) €1.90
– M8 (County Cork) €1.90
– M25 (Waterford City Bypass) €1.90
– Dublin Port Tunnel (Dublin City)
–€10 Mon-Fri 6am-10am Southbound
–€10 Mon-Fri 4pm-7pm Northbound
–€3 All other times

Update: As of mid-2010 there is a 9th toll in operation. See below for details.

There are a number of options for paying road tolls in Ireland:

1. Cash (€ only) can be paid at the toll plaza for all toll roads except the M50/WestLink in Dublin

2. An Electronic Tag can be used (All tolls are operated under the eToll interoperability program of the National Roads Authority). Tags are available from any of 7 suppliers and can be post-paid or pre-paid depending on the account type chosen. Most tag providers charge a monthly fee ranging from €0.50 from easytrip.ie to  €1.25.. See tagcompare.ie for a list of suppliers.
The M50 Toll is €2 for a passenger car using this method.

3. Credit Cards can be used at the M4 Toll and at the Dublin Port Tunnel

4. Prepayment Cards can be used at the M4 Toll (cards can be purchased at the toll plaza and offer a 10% discount on tolls)

5. Online Payments can be made for the M50 Toll at www.eflow.ie (payment must be made by 8pm on the day following your use of the road)
The M50 Toll is €3 for a passenger car using this method.

6. Telephone Payment can be made for the M50 Toll by calling 1890 50 10 50 from Ireland, 0845 301 5405 from the UK or +800 50 10 50 11 from other international locations (payment must be made by 8pm on the day following your use of the road)
The M50 Toll is €3 for a passenger car using this method.

7. Payzone can be used for the M50 Toll. Any retail outlet displaying the Payzone logo can accept M50 Toll payments (payment must be made by 8pm on the day following your use of the road) See payzone.ie for details of outlets.
The M50 Toll is €3for a passenger car using this method.

8. Your vehicle can be Registered for the M50 Toll. Similar to an electronic tag, you can prepay or postpay your toll based on video recognition of your car registration plate as it passes the toll point.
The M50 Toll is €2.50 for a passenger car using this method.

For DiscoveringIreland Guests on vacation in Ireland, the payment is very straight forward for all tolls except the M50. For the M50, check with your car rental company as to how you should handle the M50 toll. Some will have registered the car under option 8 above and will charge you based on number of passages when you return the vehicle. Others will leave the responsibility with you to pay the toll. If this is the case, please be aware of the 8pm deadline on the day following usage as penalties apply after this time.

Update July 2010: A new stretch of motorway opened in June 2010 completing the M7/M8 link between Dublin & Cork. This motorway costs €1.80 per passenger car.

Update August 2010: Tunnel under the River Shannon at Limerick is tolled at a cost of  €1.80 per car

Posted in Ireland | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

Bray wins Ireland's cleanest Town

Posted on January 5, 2010 by DiscoveringIreland

Congratulations to Bray on clinching the title of Ireland’s cleanest town.

Bray won top spot  ahead of Cavan in the annual Irish Business Against Litter awards.

Posted in bray | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

New Route between Derry Airport and Faro

Posted on December 16, 2009 by DiscoveringIreland Travel Tips
Posted in Ireland | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Top 10 Hotels in Ireland

Posted on November 30, 2009 by DiscoveringIreland Travel Tips

We are delighted to announce the top 10 hotels in Ireland rated by genuine Guests; Unlike some rating sites where anyone can set up an account, our ratings are gathered only from people who we can verify have stayed at the property in question….because they booked it through us!

For quality control purposes, we have been gathering information on the properties we sell since our foundation over 10 years ago. Properties are rated on 7 distinct criteria: hospitality, accommodation, food, exterior, facilities, location  and value.
We have always displayed this information on the individual hotel page on our website, but we have never published a ranking showing the best hotels……until now:

The hotels with the highest ratings on our website are:

#1 Lough Eske Castle, County Donegal

#2 Glin Castle County Limerick

#3 Dromoland Castle, County Clare

#4 Westin Hotel, Dublin

#5 Waterford Castle, County Waterford

#6 Adare Manor, County Limerick

#7 Markree Castle, County Sligo

#8 Carrig House, County Kerry

#9 Ashford Castle, County Mayo

#10 Mount Juliet, County Kilkenny

Congratulations to Lough Eske Castle, a new hotel only open  a couple of years, for achieving a level of consistency of quality and service that has propelled it to the top of the list.

Posted in Ireland Travel, Irish Hotels | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

Cork gets Top 10 listing in Lonely Planet

Posted on November 3, 2009 by DiscoveringIreland Travel Tips

It is with great pride, here at DiscoveringIreland, that we welcome the announcement that Cork City has  been listed alongside well known cities in the USA, Canada, UAE and Japan in a new Lonely Planet  guide for the top places to visit in 2010.

The “Best in Travel 2010” published earlier this week lists Cork as the only city in Britain or Ireland among the best places to go and best things to do in the year ahead.
Cork was listed as a “top city” alongside Abu Dhabi in the UAE, Charleston  in South Carolina, USA, Cuenca in Ecuador, Istanbul in Turkey , Kyoto in Japan, Lecce in Italy, Sarajevo, Singapore and Vancouver in Canada.

The guide describes  Cork as being now “at the top of its game: sophisticated, vibrant and diverse”.

Tourism figures in Cork have strongly welcomed the inclusion of the city as being “a major boost”. This achievement brings Cork out from the shadow of Dublin as the city destination when tourists plan travel to Ireland and may be start of a movement that will see other commentators take notice and give Cork the recognistion it deserves.

Posted in Ireland, Ireland Travel, vacation to Ireland | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

US Dollar jumps 10% v Euro

Posted on November 2, 2009 by DiscoveringIreland Travel Tips

We have just launched an initiative that sees the US Dollar jump in value by 10% when you book a vacation to Ireland;

At DiscoveringIreland, we always pride ourselves on putting our Guests first and are always looking for ways to offer better value without compromising the service we deliver. As you are well aware, the dollar has recently hit annual lows against the Euro and many of our Guests and potential Guests have expressed their concern. With DiscoveringIreland, you don’t have to worry.

Behind the scenes, over the last six months, our Finance Director has been applying great foresight in currency management so we are now in a position to provide our vacation products at a great value exchange rate. Resisiting the temptation to profit from this currency hedging, we are now offering an exchange rate of just $1.35 per Euro to any US Guest booking a vacation to Ireland. This “turns back the clock” to May of this year before the recent sharp declines in the Dollar’s value.

We buy all our accommodation, rental cars, activities, tours etc in Euros so why pay $1.50 when you can book & pay now and get Euro priced products for just $1.35. We can only guarantee the exchange rate until Novemebr 14th at which point we will revert to the prevailing retail bank rate.

Posted in cheap ireland trip, ireland special offers, Ireland Travel, vacation to Ireland | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

We're hiring again at DiscoveringIreland

Posted on October 19, 2009 by Discovering Ireland

Due a phenomenal year here at DiscoveringIreland, we are currently recruiting candidates for our German and U.S Teams to work as Sales Guides selling vacations to Ireland. Positions are based in our Skibbereen, Co Cork office and also in our Boston Office.

Candidates must possess the following

– Fluency in English (US Market Positions in Skibbereen & Boston)
– Native German Speaker (German Market Position) – ideally also with English.
– Proven sales experience preferably in the area of travel /call centre environment
– CRS experience – ideally Amadeus
– Eligible to Work in Ireland for positions in Ireland
– Eligible to Work in the USA for positions in Boston

Applicants should also possess the following:

– Excellent Selling Skills
– Driven approach to Sales and strong interest in Selling Ireland to Guests
– Professional Manner and excellent Customer Service skills
– Flexibility and ability to work in team environment

Candidates without proven sales experience or CRS experience or relevant language skills will not be considered.

Apply
To apply please send your CV and Cover Letter to Suzanne Byrne, Human Resources Manager, DiscoveringIreland, Unit 8, Curragh Commercial Park, Skibbereen, Co Cork. Tel: 021 242 9699 suzanne.byrne@Discoveringtravel.com

Posted in careers Discoveringireland, Work with Discoveringireland | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Yet another enjoyable Ireland Vacation from DiscoveringIreland

Posted on October 8, 2009 by DiscoveringIreland

Here at DiscoveringIreland we take great pride in providing a professional and personal service to our Guests when they travel to Ireland.  We hear about great experiences almost daily from our Guests and we just wanted to share (ok maybe show off) one of our latest responses to a wonderful Ireland vacation provided by one of our most experienced Ireland guides,  Genevieve .

Genevieve – Diana and I returned last Friday from our trip to Ireland (already filled out my survey from DiscoveringIreland on line) and I wanted to send you a quick thank you note.
We had a wonderful time and the weather was perfect (which I will give you full credit for!). All of the travel details worked out from getting the car to the B&Bs and Ballyseede Castle.  Ballyseede was a wonderful experience, I am really glad we stayed there two nights. We stayed in the Coghill room and it was amazing. We ate at the bar the first night and then in the dining room for dinner our second night – all of the food including the breakfasts was delicious.

We stayed at White House B&B in Blarney – excellent and the best overall B&B; Dromcloc House near Bantry – beautiful location and very nice folks; Purple Heather near Killarney which was nice but we probably wouldn’t stay there again and Roncalli House in Galway which was very nice (tiniest bathroom but it worked!).
We visited Waterford Crystal, Blarney Castle, Kinsale, Bantry, Healy Pass in Beara Peninsula, Killarney with a trap ride through the Gap of Dunloe and a boat trip to Ross Castle (perfectly wonderful!), Dingle Peninsula which was amazing, Cliffs of Moher and Galway.
Your advice and support was outstanding and I am heartily recommending DiscoveringIreland to all of my friends and family – don’t know how our trip could have gone any better. Thank you again for helping make our 30th anniversary everything I hoped it would be.
Please pass this note along to your coworkers who also helped us.
Dennis Slevin

Posted in Ireland Travel, vacation to Ireland | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Cork Swansea Ferry to be relaunched as Fastnet Line

Posted on September 16, 2009 by DiscoveringIreland Travel Tips

West Cork Tourism Co-Operative Society Limited, which was formed for the purpose of relaunching the Cork-Swansea Ferry route, is pleased to announce the purchase of cruiseferry, the Julia, for €7.8 million. The Julia, which will operate under the Fastnet Line brand, will arrive in Cork in the coming weeks to proclaim the dawn of a new era for tourism in the South West region of Ireland with the relaunch of the Ferry to Ireland. Fastnet Line Limited is a 100% wholly owned subsidiary of West Cork Tourism Co-Op. The Fastnet Line brand takes it’s name from the iconic Fastnet Rock, an outcrop south of West Cork that has been a beacon for ships for hundereds of years.

West Cork Tourism began their campaign at the beginning of the year and raised €2.6m to get the Cork to Swansea route back up and running. Finnish bank Aktia Bank and its finance company, Aktia Yritysrahoitus Oy, has supported the acquisition through the provision of a loan of €6.3 million.

The Julia was built in 1982 and has sailed several routes in the Scandinavian Peninsula since then. The vessel has 10 decks with maximum capacity for approximately 440 cars and 30 freight vehicles and the total passenger capacity of the vessel is 1,860. The Julia has a fine array of restaurants and bars, a childrens’ play area and a cinema, as well as over 300 passenger cabins, rendering her particularly suited to the night crossing between Cork and Swansea.

The Julia will commence service on the Cork to Swansea route in March 2010 and expects to enjoy strong demand from both tourist and freight customers. Fastnet Line believes that the wonderful new Ferry to Ireland will contribute greatly to the development and promotion of tourism in Cork, Kerry and surrounding areas, bringing thousands of tourists directly to the region annually, and will also contribute to the development of Irish tourism into Wales. In addition, Fastnet Line will provide hauliers operating in Ireland and the UK with a viable sea crossing alternative for freight activity between the regions, potentially reducing round trip road journeys by over 600km.

Funding of €2.5 million is now required in addition to the balance of funds raised still held by the Co-Op to fund the working capital requirements of the business and to facilitate the development of the infrastructure of the organisation in the period prior to and after launch in March 2010. In that regard, there are now opportunities to invest both in the Co-Op and in Fastnet Line. The Co-Op will be arranging a series of roadshows in the coming weeks to brief members and prospective new members on its plans.

Commenting on the acquisition, Conor Buckley, Chairman of the Co-Op, said “We are delighted to be in the position to officially announce the purchase of The Julia and the commencement of the Cork to Swansea route in Spring of next year. The coming weeks and months will continue to be crucial to us to gain the working capital to aid the development of the organisation so we are looking forward to meeting with potential investors from all over the South West Region and beyond.”

Investors are being offered the opportunity to participate in what the Co-Op believes will be a key business in the Cork and Swansea regions for the long term. A business which will bring rewards to its stakeholders not only in financial terms, but also in terms of bringing business to the regions it serves.

Posted in Fastnet Line, Ferries to Ireland, Ferry to Ireland, Swansea to Cork Ferry Service | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Flights to Cork Airport from the USA

Posted on September 14, 2009 by DiscoveringIreland Travel Tips

With connectivity to Shannon Airport diminishing, especially in the winter season, Cork Airport is becoming more and more of an option for North American visitors to Ireland. While Cork Airport has no direct traffic with North America, it has much much more connectivity with European hubs than it’s County Clare counterpart. In fact for many US departure cities there is more one-stop connectivity to Cork Airport than there is to Shannon.
With lots of hotels near cork airport to choose from there is no better time to visit Cork this year. Cork Airport has direct connections to all the following hubs, that in turn have non-stop connections to the USA and/or Canada: Continue reading →

Posted in Fly to Ireland | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment