Travelling Within Ireland

Tourist Information

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Odds are that by the time you get on the plane or boat and head for Ireland, you already have at least an approximate idea of what you plan to do. You may have a few key sites picked out with plenty of room to improvise, or you may have planned your entire journey down to the number of minutes allotted for each meal; either way, you will most likely plan to do at least a little commuting from one place to the next, whether that will only be the trip from the airport to the hotel, or perhaps travelling all over Ireland to see all the biggest attractions. No matter how much travelling you have planned, you will definitely benefit from knowing what your options are with regards to transportation.

It is possible you will decide to rent a car and do most of the driving yourself. There are car rental options available at the airports (Dublin Airport, Cork Airport and Shannon Airport), so should you decide to go this route you will be able to make all necessary arrangements the moment you get off the plane. Alternately, if your hotel provides a shuttle coach, you may wish to take advantage of this and then make rental arrangements once you arrive at your destination.

If, however, you would rather not do the driving yourself, there are other means of transportation open to you. Both bus services and railways are available to travellers, and serve a fairly wide area. If you plan to be using such transport often during your stay, you should enquire about discounts on your fare, or the Emerald Card and Irish Rover tickets. These will give you unlimited rail travel for a set number of days, and can be especially useful if you have a lot of sightseeing to do.

Finally, there are also short-haul flights available within Ireland; these can be particularly useful if you have to get from one part of Ireland all the way across to another, and don’t want to take the time to drive.