Ireland

I was shocked at this the other day.  We went through immigration at the UK and the Ireland ends on both flights....Stanstead to Dublin and Shannon to Stanstead.  CTA my ars*!

Vicky

You will go through immigration in France and Ireland. Dublin airport isn't set up properly so that flights arriving from the EU/UK wouldn't have to go through immigration. Thus, everyone goes through immigration in Dublin regardless of the origin of your flight. It's really annoying.

Weird. So I get a France stamp for the few hours of layover? Bizarre.

I was shocked at this the other day.  We went through immigration at the UK and the Ireland ends on both flights....Stanstead to Dublin and Shannon to Stanstead.  CTA my ars*!

Vicky

Wasn't that what someone in the thread about landing in Dublin with their Spousal visa was trying to say about Stanstead and everyone else was telling them "no, no, you're wrong"? 

I was shocked at this the other day.  We went through immigration at the UK and the Ireland ends on both flights....Stanstead to Dublin and Shannon to Stanstead.  CTA my ars*!

Vicky

Yeah, this is a huge bone of contention with the Irish people. Even if you're flying from Cork to Dublin you go through immigration. How stupid is that!?    When I used to fly between Bristol and Dublin I didn't go through immigration in Bristol. That's weird about Stanstead.

Weird. So I get a France stamp for the few hours of layover? Bizarre.

Not really. That's where you first enter the EU, so that's where you would get stamped.

Yeah, this is a huge bone of contention with the Irish people. Even if you're flying from Cork to Dublin you go through immigration. How stupid is that!?    When I used to fly between Bristol and Dublin I didn't go through immigration in Bristol. That's weird about Stanstead.

My Dad, an Irish passport holder, was absolutely livid.  I was just puzzled.  How can UKBA state that it would be unlawful to have IO's meeting flights from Ireland when clearly they do?

Vicky

Yeah, this is a huge bone of contention with the Irish people. Even if you're flying from Cork to Dublin you go through immigration. How stupid is that!?    When I used to fly between Bristol and Dublin I didn't go through immigration in Bristol. That's weird about Stanstead.

Cork to Dublin? Buh? But they're in the same country....Totally weird.

My Dad, an Irish passport holder, was absolutely livid.  I was just puzzled.  How can UKBA state that it would be unlawful to have IO's meeting flights from Ireland when clearly they do?

Vicky

That's a bit baffling.  How can they claim to be in the CTA and not require immigration when they clearly are requiring it?

Not really. That's where you first enter the EU, so that's where you would get stamped.

That does make sense. I wasn't thinking about it that way.  More lines!  Yay. (and my mom has a horrible time with her legs when she has to stand still for long periods of time)

Although at the same time if it's just a flight transfer, I still don't understand the need to go through immigration just to stay in the airport and board another plane. 

Just wanted to chime in that the train ride between Belfast and Dublin is very pleasant - nice trains, pretty frequent and when I did a day trip from Belfast to Dublin, a couple of years ago, it was pretty cheap (£30 round trip?).  I liked both cities, but for very different reasons.  Dublin is more fun though and much more immediately appealing than Belfast.

Here is the link ...

http://www.translink.co.uk/enterpriseservices.asp

Officially booked our tickets the other week.  Philly -> Paris -> Dublin for $376/person.  Not bad at all.  

I also think I've found a hotel for us. The Ardmore Hotel. Booking through Travelocity it's only $48/night!  It works out to be half of the cost of the self-catered apartment. And I don't think we'll spend the other half on food, since neither of us are big eaters.  I ran the search through other cheap hotel sites, and none of them compare to Travelocity prices.  Glad I searched it on a whim!

The hotel has a bus stop right outside, and it's close to the connoly train station, so we'll be able to get pretty much anywhere else!  

Will a taxi be easy to find at the airport?  The hotel is 2 miles away from the airport, but I think it's too far for my mom to walk (especially with bags!) and the bus you have to go into town and transfer to another bus, so I'd rather just stick us in a cab if possible.

Congrats on your airfare! That's a great price!

Um, the hotel is no where near Connolly Station. There is no way you could walk from the airport, so you'll definitely need a taxi. It will be easy to find as soon as you walk out of the airport. You'll also need a taxi to get you to Heuston Station for your train journey to Cork.

Congrats on your airfare! That's a great price!

Um, the hotel is no where near Connolly Station. There is no way you could walk from the airport, so you'll definitely need a taxi. It will be easy to find as soon as you walk out of the airport. You'll also need a taxi to get you to Heuston Station for your train journey to Cork.

Tim was telling me there's a tram between Connolly and Heuston we can take once we get to Connolly.  The hotel's site says 2 miles to Connolly, so yeah, I assume we'd need a taxi for that (unless the bus goes there, but I'm sure the front desk can help me).

There is indeed a tram, but where your hotel is located, you might as well just take the taxi straight to Heuston and skip going to Connolly that morning. The driver could take you down through Phoenix Park, which will be empty at that time of the morning, and have you to Heuston in a jiffy! As you said, I'm sure the hotel will help you out on that!

Duh, I hadn't thought of that.  LOL

becca, you're staying really close to where i used to live in glasnevin!  if you look on the map, i was on ballymun road near DCU.  that's a really great rate that you found!

Fantastic Customer Service from the Ardmore! 

I sent off an email asking how to get there from the airport, etc, and received a fantastic DETAILED e-mail listing the busses I'd need, etc. 

Absolutely amazed at the level of service and I haven't even officially booked it yet! (booking this weekend after payday, as priceline is pre-paid)

Booked my hotel. Not staying at the Ardmore, staying here instead: http://www.fleethoteltemplebar.com/index.php

because it was loads cheaper - $44/night and it's close to a lot of things we want to do!