As I mentioned in my previous post, I managed to come under budget for this trip–WAY under budget. Full disclosure that this probably wouldn’t have been possible if it weren’t for the generosity of my grandmother (she paid for the majority of my meals and one tank of gas!). I think it was her way of thanking me for taking her on this trip and no matter how much I protested, it became quite clear that I should just “shush & let the lady pay.” 

Itemized Cost Breakdown:

Ireland package for two: $2,251.62 (7 nights of lodging in 5 different castles for 2 people, round-trip airfare from Boston to Dublin, rental car for 7 days, all taxes, fees, surcharges and a supplemental package that included a full Irish breakfast each day, individual castle tours and other random discounts)

Thank you, TravelZoo Top 20 Deal for saving me a boatload!! When I priced all of this various components individually for two people and totaled the sum, it would have cost over $4,390 based on the best prices I could find.

If I were to visit Ireland again, I’d definitely try to incorporate a few other countries into the same trip; a sort of European Tour if you will. Doing so would mean Ireland would be in the middle so I could take advantage of other other travel deals and save money by taking a ferry to Ireland instead of flying.


Miscellaneous spending while on trip: $855.65 which included:

Rental Car: There was an airport surcharge and I opted to add GPS for each day
Guidebook: I hadn’t had time to purchase a book prior to leaving, so I got one in a local bookstore on the first day.
Parking: On the first day, we had absolutely no clue where to go in Dublin, so we just pulled into a parking garage and walked around. It was an expensive splurge, but necessary for me to take a break from driving while so jet-lagged!
Hubcap: Holy Guacamole, Batman! 
Gas: Soooo expensive! Luckily we had a very small, compact car. I shudder to think what it would have been if we’d had a larger car or more people stuffed into it. Plus, my gram covered one tank.
Guinness Tour: Not much to say about this other than it’s a must do if you’re in Dublin if only for the top floor of the building. It’s called 360 degrees of Dublin and it’s literally a round room made of nothing but windows. They give you a free pint and you basically revel in the brew and the view.
Cash: Taken out at ATM once before leaving and once while in Dublin.

But here’s the best part…

I didn’t spend all the $$ I had!! 

I did bring home the following:

US Dollars: $200
Euro: $187.94 (US dollars worth)

Plus, I had some cash-back rewards on my credit card, so I put the $33.53 towards this trip’s costs. This all brought my grand miscellaneous spending total to $434.18!

Total trip cost to me:$2,685.80