“Stuck” in Dublin — the unexpected upside of a cancelled rental car
In March of 2023, my best friends (Kiara & Daphne) and I decided to take a 9-day trip to Ireland for our college spring break. I was pumped — this would be my first time in Europe and traveling internationally with friends. “It has to be perfect.”, I thought to myself as I started putting together a general itinerary.
This was our seemingly foolproof plan —
Fly to Dublin, the capital city of Ireland, and spend four full days exploring, including a day-trip to the Cliffs of Moher.
Take a day-trip to Northern Ireland (Daphne to fly home for work).
Embark on a road-trip around Southern Ireland, hitting Cork, Killarney, and Dingle before returning back to Dublin to fly home.
Photograph to the right: Us girls and our college friends that we randomly ran into, at the Temple Bar in Dublin. Plus some photobombers!
“We cannot rent you a car unless you pay an additional $500 for driver insurance.” What!? We were told by our car rental company that because we could not provide proof of driving experience for at least 3 years, we would not be able to obtain a rental car unless we paid the additional cost. And no, they would not accept our American driver’s licenses (and neither would any other company). Note: We were not notified of this while booking the car online, however we probably should have looked more closely into Ireland’s driving regulations. Sitting at the airport with all of our luggage, we were dumbfounded. We couldn’t possibly justify paying $500 more on top of the cost of a rental car, but we were supposed to stay the night in Cork. We looked into trains, buses, the Irish version of a Zipcar, anything that could possibly remedy our situation. Brainstorming out-loud, it felt like there were a million possibilities, none of them perfect and most costing us time and even more money. We were stressed, frustrated, and feeling defeated — it was 8am.
“What if we stayed in Dublin?”, I almost jokingly stated. We had enjoyed our couple days in Dublin, but felt that we had seen and experienced everything we had set out to. “I mean, why not?”, Kiara replied. We would still lose out on some money, but rather than trying to make our way around the entire Southern coast of Ireland without a car, we could stay in Dublin for a relatively lower cost, enjoy a “normal” week in the city, and even take a day trip to Cork if we really wanted to. And so we decided, almost telepathically — Dublin it is!
Scratching our plans for the next four days and trying to get over the fact that we would not be able to explore the places we set out to, we called an Uber back into the city. Laughing at our situation, we chatted with our driver, who raved about a place his family visited every year called “Howth” that we could easily access from Dublin. I still remember him saying, “If you go to Howth, you must visit the cliff walk and Crabby Jo’s!” [read in thick Irish accent for full effect]. Taking it as a sign for us to turn our day around, we hopped on the DART and headed to the seaside village.
Why I fell in love with Howth, Ireland:
Despite it being early March, the surrounding atmosphere, bright architecture, and unexpected flora had a Mediterranean-esque feel. The rows of colorful homes and winding roads reminded me of Lagos, Portugal. The mix of winter shrubbery, cherry blossom trees, and the occasional daffodil or palm tree had me questioning where I was.
Arriving at the train stop, we walked past rows of anchored sailboats as we made our way along the coastline. Walking in the direction of the Howth Cliff Walk, we stumbled across the Balscadden Bay Baths, where the crystal clear water matched the color of the sky, and a few brave souls enjoyed a quick, toe-numbing dip in the chilly Irish sea.
Balscadden Bay Baths
As a girl who grew up by the ocean, I could not live with myself unless I, too, dipped my head under these seemingly glittering waters. I took off my layers and dove in before the rational part of my brain started functioning. When I resurfaced, my soul was brimming with joy and I felt nothing but awe at the natural beauty surrounding me. (Note: Emotions may have resulted from the cold plunge adrenaline and my body feeling numb in 45°F water.)
We met an older woman who was, get this, swimming laps in the bay without a wetsuit. A Howth local, she told us she swims every morning in the bay, every season, rain or shine. (I aspire to be like her someday.)
Photograph is unedited — yes, the sky and ocean are unbelievably blue.
We continued to the cliff walk, passing by the Howth Literary Hub, a little place selling crisps, refreshments, and vintage vinyls (heaven?).
A well-paved dirt path led us along the edge of the peninsula.
Listening to waves crashing into the rocks below and warming up under the sun, we felt we were living in a moment only possible in our dreams.
Photograph shot on Kodak Gold 200 film.
For my foodies:
After a long walk along the cliffs, we beelined to Crabby Jo’s in town. Sipping on fresh aperol spritz and indulging in lightly fried calamari, we recounted the insanity of our day.
The oysters tasted of the ocean, like I had dived in the water and threw them on our plate with wedges of lemon.
And the main event – fish & chips – I’m salivating thinking about it almost two years later. Freshly battered cod served with a mint pea purée and tartar sauce, a perfectly simple plate. The chips were just fine; fries are fries in my book!
To think that none of our experiences here would exist if we hadn’t lost our rental car or called that specific Uber driver at that exact time…consider this a personal endorsement of Howth & how “things always happen for a reason”.
Howth is a place where sky blends into sea, yellow flowers dance in the wind, and serenity permeates through all. A walking postcard, a place where I will always associate with living a life “glass half full”.
Nowadays, I like to describe my travel style as “planned spontaneity” – have a general idea of where you want to be and what you want to experience for ease of mind, leaving room for wandering and wherever life inevitably takes you. This trip to Ireland, where everything in theory went wrong, catalyzed the mindset I hold today, because most times the unexpected quickly becomes something you didn’t know you needed.
Some extra photos below:) See the Ireland Photo Gallery for more film photographs!
