I decided to rent a car in Northern Ireland, mostly because the public transport website is so bad it can barely tell you how to get there, and can't tell you at all how much it costs! (Seriously, for bus fares it just says "call us.")
However, I was regretting that decision. After all, I have to pay for the car for three days-- Friday night to Monday morning -- when I'm only there for two full days, and one of those I will be in Belfast and not use the car at all! So tonight I rolled up my sleeves and diligently figured out the public transport options and costs, and realised I would save almost £50 (US $85), and that doesn't even include gas. It was a no brainer.
Except then something made me look at the coastal route along the edge of northern Ireland. While public transport would take me straight to the Giant's Causeway and back, a car could take me to castles, harbors, cliffs, glens, waterfalls, even a rope bridge! I could also visit Derry.
However, that route is nearly 200 miles. By comparison, the coastal route from San Luis Obispo to Montery is only 150 miles, and that can take the better part of a day. Driving by myself, in a single day, will be exhausting, and not leave much time for getting out of the car and exploring. It will also cost me another £50 in gasoline, doubling the cost of the car!
So now it's not such an easy decision. On the one hand, I could save my money and have a nice easy weekend, and someday come back and give it the time it deserves. On the other hand, I'll be there now, and I don't want to wait! (Unfortunately I already bought the plane tickets, and it's not worth changing them to extend my stay.)
Of course I will justify this insane plan by saying if I do the drive now, I'll know where to spend more time on my next visit...
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