European Vacation

[SpecialTool]

Hey guys planning flights and was hoping for some intel.

Scenario -- Landing at Heathrow (Royal Brunei) and transferring to a Dublin flight (Aer Lingus) -- how much time should I allow between arrival/departure?

Also would it be cheaper to buy the ticket to Ireland when we get there, i.e. are there cheap last-minute fares?

And any recommendations for car hire in Dublin?

[nordwulf]

I transferred a few times through Heathrow and it always took a long time. Especially when you have to go through immigration and transfer to another terminal. I haven't gone through there enough to be an expert but 2 hours is the minimum I would do.

http://www.carhire3000.com/ is a broker for many European rental car companies. They seemed to have some pretty good deals at times but I always check out the websites of any of the large companies (Hertz, Avis etc) for any last-minute specials or other deals.

I started a few threads on SC about car rental and budget airlines in Europe a little while ago and there may eb some helpful info for you there.

http://www.saabcentral.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=164026
http://www.saabcentral.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=173385

[TooMany2cvs]

Scenario -- Landing at Heathrow (Royal Brunei) and transferring to a Dublin flight (Aer Lingus) -- how much time should I allow between arrival/departure?

Royal Brunei appear to use T3, Aer Lingus use T1 - so that'll add to the time. They reckon a c.10min walk between the two - but it can take that just to walk between gates...

Ireland counts as a domestic flight, so plan on passing immigration first - and that can be horrendous if you time it wrong.

Also would it be cheaper to buy the ticket to Ireland when we get there, i.e. are there cheap last-minute fares?

And any recommendations for car hire in Dublin?

I'd hit the web and book in advance. All the major outfits will be based at Dublin airport - it's big - so that gives you the full range of screen-scrapers and consolidation sites.

[SpecialTool]

Thanks all for tips. I have allowed 3.5 hours -- we get into Heathrow 6.25am and the flight to Dublin is 9.55am. Hopefully immigration will be quiet that time of morning.

We are going to England for a niece's wedding but my Sydney-based daughter has organised a 4-day detour to Ireland beforehand for me, her and our spouses.