⚠ Open items before you fly
1. All 9 nights are now confirmed. The 19 Aug night is Hyatt Centric The Liberties, conf 10622174, booked under Sakshi Malpani. Nothing outstanding on accommodation.
2. Rental car has no collision cover. The Enterprise confirmation states verbatim: "This rental does not include protection products." Ireland is excluded from many US card rental-collision benefits. Check your Venture X terms and the AXA policy before 13 Aug, or expect to buy excess waiver at the desk.
3. M50 toll has no barrier. You declined the toll pass. If you touch the M50, pay online at eflow.ie by 8 PM the following day or it becomes a fine.
4. Great Southern Killarney is refundable only until 13 Aug 12:00 PM. Breakfast is not included there (€22.50 per person).
5. Return the rental car on 20 Aug at 08:45, not the booked 10:30. Dublin T2 has US Preclearance, and Dublin Airport advises being there 3 hours before a long-haul US flight. For a 12:40 departure that is 09:40, which is earlier than your booked car return. Returning early costs nothing on a weekly rate.
How to read the food plan
Every meal has up to three tiers: Top pick Backup SOS. Rules applied: strict vegetarian, no imitation meat unless the venue is fully vegan, Indian / Italian / veg-sushi preferred, pizza as fallback, rating 4.3+.
HOURS VERIFIED means I confirmed the opening hours from the venue or a current listing. CONFIRM means call before you go. Irish rural hours move around in August and I will not invent them.
🏥 Medical & Emergency
Both work from any mobile, including with no credit and no SIM. Ambulance, Garda, fire, coast guard.
AXA policy card
Call AXA before anything expensive happens.
24/7 assistance (from Ireland) +1 312 935 1719 Claims +1 727 450 8794 Customer service +1 855 327 1441Email: [email protected] (assistance) · [email protected] (claims) · portal cbpconnect.com
What the policy pays
| Benefit | Limit |
|---|---|
| Accident & Sickness Medical and Dental | $100,000 per person, $0 deductible (dental sublimit $500) |
| Medical Evacuation and Repatriation | $250,000, $0 deductible. Includes evacuation, repatriation, remains, medical escort |
| Search and Rescue | $5,000 |
| Political / Natural Disaster Evacuation | $150,000 |
| Trip Interruption | $2,500 |
| Baggage Delay (24h) | $200 |
This is primary cover. The policy states it "will be paid on a primary basis, regardless of any other coverage. We will pay first." It does not sit behind your US health plan.
Not included: trip cancellation (interruption only), baggage loss (delay only), and rental car damage.
Who pays the bill
| Situation | How it works |
|---|---|
| GP, clinic, ordinary treatment | You pay, then claim back. Reimbursement model. |
| Emergency medical evacuation | AXA pays the provider directly. Policy: "Advance Payment: We will pay covered expenses directly to the service provider." |
| Search and rescue | AXA pays directly. |
| Hospital admission | No guarantee-of-payment clause exists for ordinary care. Call the 24/7 line from the hospital and ask them to arrange direct billing. They may, but it is not contractual. |
Evacuation must be pre-approved and arranged by AXA. Do not book your own air ambulance, it may not be reimbursed.
⚠ Pregnancy: read before you need it
The policy was issued in Texas. The Texas rider contains no pregnancy provisions, so the base exclusion applies:
"Normal pregnancy (except Complications of Pregnancy) or childbirth, or elective abortion"
Not covered: normal pregnancy, routine prenatal care, childbirth, elective abortion, prescribed rest, false labor, occasional spotting, morning sickness.
Covered, but only where it requires Hospital admission: hyperemesis gravidarum, preeclampsia, eclampsia, gestational diabetes, gestational hypertension, acute nephritis, nephrosis, cardiac decompensation, missed abortion, non-elective caesarean, terminated ectopic pregnancy, and spontaneous termination during gestation when a viable birth is not possible.
The catch: pre-existing conditions are excluded on a 180-day lookback, and there is no pre-existing waiver anywhere in the policy. A pregnancy known before departure could be argued as pre-existing. Get AXA's answer in writing.
Likely backstop: your US health plan. Many US plans cover emergency care abroad, and that is not subject to a travel-insurance pre-existing exclusion. Because AXA is primary, the two can stack.
What things actually cost
| Service | Cost |
|---|---|
| GP visit, private patient | €45 to €70 (most €50 to €60, Dublin highest) |
| GP out-of-hours, at the centre | €60 |
| GP out-of-hours, home visit | €80 |
| A&E without a GP referral | €100 |
| Private early pregnancy scan | €95 to €115 |
| Hospital admission, non-resident | Full economic cost. Figure not verified. This is the one to call AXA about. |
Anything you walk into and out of is cheap. Pay on a card, keep the receipt. Admission is the only expensive scenario.
Out-of-hours GP, by where you are
Evenings, weekends and bank holidays, when ordinary surgeries are shut.
Kerry / Killarney · SouthDoc · 1850 335 999 Galway · WestDoc · 1850 212 999 Dublin · D-Doc · 1850 224 477Note: Irish 1850 numbers can fail from a non-Irish mobile. If it will not connect, ring 112 and ask them to route you, or ask your hotel to dial it.
No Irish public holidays fall during your trip. The August bank holiday was Monday 3 August, before you arrive.
Claims checklist, do this at the desk
AXA reimburses on documentation. Getting it later from an Irish practice is much harder than getting it before you walk out.
- The receipt showing the amount paid
- A letter from the provider stating the amount paid, the diagnosis and the treatment. This is the one people forget.
- Photograph both immediately, in case paper is lost
- Report the claim at cbpconnect.com, or +1 727 450 8794, or [email protected]
Treatment must happen during the trip. The policy states medical expenses incurred after you return are not covered. If something happens on the 19th, get seen in Ireland, not in Dallas.
📋 Bookings & Confirmations
🚗 Driving in Ireland
Your car
Kia Sportage or similar, automatic. Enterprise conf 898765798. Emerald Club, Capital One corporate rate. €470.60, unlimited mileage.
Pick up: Thu 13 Aug 12:00 PM, Dublin City Centre, St Stephen's Green Shopping Centre, ground floor, D02 AY81. Branch open 8 AM to 6 PM. Phone +353 1 476 3822.
Return: Thu 20 Aug 10:30 AM, Dublin Airport Eastlands Car Hire Facility, K67 V5X0. Open 5 AM to 11 PM. Phone +353 1 844 5848.
Drive on the left
- Driver sits on the right. You have an automatic, so no left-hand gear shifting to learn.
- Roundabouts go clockwise. Yield to traffic coming from your right.
- Speed limits and all distances are in km/h and kilometres, not miles.
- The most common mistake is drifting left and clipping a kerb or hedge. Keep the centre line by your right shoulder.
Tolls: the M50 will catch you out
The M50 around Dublin is barrier-free. There is no booth. A camera reads the plate and you must pay online yourself by 8 PM the day after you use it, at eflow.ie. Miss it and it escalates into a penalty.
You declined Enterprise's toll pass ($4.57/day), so this is on you. Relevant on 13 Aug (leaving Dublin), 18 Aug (returning) and 20 Aug (airport run).
Other motorway tolls (M4 to Galway, M7/M8 to Cork and Cashel) are conventional barrier tolls. Keep €2 to €3 in coins and a card handy.
Narrow-road days, ranked
| Day | Road | What to expect |
|---|---|---|
| Mon 17 | Slea Head Drive | Hardest of the trip. Single track in places with stone walls and no verge. Drive it clockwise, which is the local convention, so tour coaches come at you predictably rather than head-on. |
| Fri 14 | Sky Road, Clifden | Narrow but short and well-surfaced. Passing bays. Very manageable. |
| Sun 16 | Moll's Gap / Ladies View | Wide enough but twisty, with cars stopping abruptly at viewpoints. Watch for sudden brake lights. |
| Fri 14 | Inagh Valley / Kylemore | Fine. Sheep on the road are a genuine hazard, not a cliché. |
Fuel
Confirm petrol vs diesel at pickup and photograph the fuel cap. Misfuelling a rental in Ireland is a four-figure bill. Diesel pump handles are usually black, petrol green, but do not rely on colour alone.
Fill up before returning to the airport on 20 Aug. Airport-adjacent stations are expensive and Enterprise's refuel charge is worse. There are stations on the Swords Road approach.
Emergency
112 or 999 reaches all emergency services and works from any mobile, including with no credit.
Mobile coverage genuinely drops out in Connemara, on Slea Head and through the Kerry mountains. This page works offline once you have loaded it, so open it on wifi each morning.
🌧 Rain & weather contingency
August in Ireland averages rain on roughly half of all days, usually as passing showers rather than a washout. Temperatures sit around 15 to 20°C. It will feel colder on the coast in wind. Pack a waterproof shell, not an umbrella, because the Atlantic wind destroys umbrellas.
| Day | If the weather turns |
|---|---|
| Wed 12 · Howth | Skip the cliff loop. Stay on the harbour front, eat at Abbey Tavern, take the DART back early and do the Book of Kells or the National Gallery instead. |
| Fri 14 · Connemara | Kylemore Abbey works in rain: the abbey, Victorian walled garden and Gothic church are largely indoors or short walks. Drop Diamond Hill, keep Sky Road (the views survive low cloud better than you would think). |
| Sun 16 · Kerry | Muckross House interior tour plus Torc Waterfall, which is only a five-minute walk and is more dramatic in rain. Ladies View is pointless in low cloud, so swap it for a longer Kenmare stop. |
| Mon 17 · Dingle | This is the swap-out day. Replace Slea Head with: Gap of Dunloe entrance at Kate Kearney's Cottage, then Ross Castle, then Killarney town. Wet narrow coastal roads with poor visibility are not worth it. |
| Wed 19 · Wicklow | Drop Glendalough and keep Dublin indoors: Guinness Storehouse is a seven-minute walk from your hotel, plus the National Museum on Kildare Street (free) and Christ Church. |
🎻 Trad music sessions
Sessions are informal and start late, typically 21:30 onwards. Nothing needs booking. Walk in, buy a drink, sit near the musicians but not in their circle.
- Galway (13-14 Aug): Tigh Neachtain on Cross Street and The Crane Bar in Sea Road are the reliable ones. Your hotel is on Quay Street, so both are a short walk.
- Killarney (15-17 Aug): Courtney's Bar on Plunkett Street has a strong reputation for genuine sessions rather than tourist sets.
- Dingle (17 Aug, afternoon/early evening): Dick Mack's and Foxy John's are both institutions. You are driving back to Killarney, so keep this to an early pint or a soft drink.
- Dublin: The Cobblestone in Smithfield is the musicians' pub and takes the music seriously. Temple Bar sessions are loud, expensive and aimed at tourists.
⚡ Practical notes
🎒 Packing list
Your packing app, verified loading at the time of writing:
Open packing listNote: it has no service worker, so unlike this page it will not work offline. Use it before you fly, not in Connemara.
Ireland-specific things it may not prompt you for: a waterproof shell (not an umbrella, the Atlantic wind destroys them), layers for 15 to 20°C, a type G plug adapter (Ireland uses the UK 3-pin, not the European 2-pin), and proper shoes for the Howth cliff path and Diamond Hill.
Vegetarian in Ireland, honestly
Dublin and Galway are genuinely good. Cornucopia, Govinda's and the Indian restaurants will look after you without negotiation.
Rural Kerry and Connemara are harder. Many pub kitchens have exactly one vegetarian main, often a goat's cheese tart or a risotto, and they run out. The pattern that works: eat your solid meal in a town at lunchtime, and treat rural dinners as the flexible one. That is why Usmania in Killarney is the anchor for all three Kerry nights.
Ask specifically whether soup is made with chicken or vegetable stock. Irish vegetable soup very often is not vegetarian.
Money and payments
Euro. Contactless is universal, including on the DART and in most rural pubs. You will rarely need cash, but keep €20 to €30 for barrier tolls, car parks and any honesty-box car park in Kerry.
Tipping: 10 to 12% in restaurants if service is not already included. Not expected in pubs at the bar.
Booking now, not later
Mid-August is peak season. Three things are worth doing from your phone before you fly:
- Book of Kells timed entry for Wed 12 Aug. It sells out.
- Pickle (Dublin, Camden Street) for either Tue 11 or Tue 18 Aug dinner.
- Kylemore Abbey timed entry for Fri 14 Aug.
Sources
Restaurant research drew on Tripadvisor, HappyCow, Yelp, Restaurant Guru, veganfood.ie, thisisgalway.ie, theirishroadtrip.com and venue websites. Booking details were read directly from your confirmation emails and PDFs. Hours flagged CONFIRM could not be verified to my satisfaction, so call ahead rather than trusting this page.