Dingle and Kerry areas of Ireland--Do able on public transportation?
Jun 13th, 2005, 05:33 AM
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Dingle and Kerry areas of Ireland--Do able on public transportation?
HI,
I'm in the very early planning stages of a trip to Ireland with a friend and we really don't want to drive. Is it possible to see the west and southwest using public transporation?? Has anyone done it?
Patti
I'm in the very early planning stages of a trip to Ireland with a friend and we really don't want to drive. Is it possible to see the west and southwest using public transporation?? Has anyone done it?
Patti
Jun 13th, 2005, 06:39 AM
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I've been to Dingle using public transport. I went by train from Cork to Tralee, then by bus to Dingle where I stayed two nights. I did a minibus tour of the peninsula and a boat trip to see the dolphin. There are various tours and excursions offered locally and the minibus driver was a good guide. I returned by bus to Tralee then on by bus to Limerick and Galway. Irish buses and trains are not frequent but are reliable, though buses often get delayed by heavy traffic. You'll learn much more about the places you're visiting than you would in a car, and if you have a wait between buses, then you can always sample another Guinness.
Jun 13th, 2005, 08:49 AM
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This was years ago (1992) but I got a rover pass for Bus Eirann when I was a student. It got me 8 days of travel out of a 15 day period. I carried the schedule and a map and guidebook with me and that's how I got around. Back then, I had to supplement the bus travel a bit with hitchhiking and post buses, but I think the bus system is more extensive nowadays.
I would recommend doing a minibus tour as Geoff recommended. You'll want to get out on the peninsula. I also recommend taking a boat to see Fungi the dolphin. It's also nice to just wander around town and down by the water.
I would recommend doing a minibus tour as Geoff recommended. You'll want to get out on the peninsula. I also recommend taking a boat to see Fungi the dolphin. It's also nice to just wander around town and down by the water.
Jun 13th, 2005, 03:29 PM
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I'll chime in and agree with the other posters and say it's definitely possible to enjoy SW Ireland using public transportation.
I just returned from a trip to Dingle and Dublin a couple of weeks ago. We flew into Cork and took the bus to Dingle. After a couple of days in Dingle, we took a taxi over Connor Pass to Tralee and then a train to Dublin.
We never regretted our lack of a car and we had some great conversations with our taxi driver and other passengers on the train. It was also nice to not have the stress of driving after a long day traveling to Ireland. You just have to be prepared to be flexible just in case you miss a bus connection, etc. In our case, all went smoothly with no delays.
In Dingle, there are plenty of tours, hiking trails, bicycle rentals, boat excusions and other diversions to fill a few days without a car. We took a great archaeological tour of the peninsula, did some walking along the coast and spent time wandering the town of Dingle and sampling the many pubs and restaurants.
There are obivously tradeoffs between driving and not driving (such as stopping whenever and wherever you like), but if you are willing to be flexible, public transportation will work just fine. Just make sure to double check the bus/train schedules, esp. on Sundays and bank holidays. That's why we took a taxi to Tralee - no early bus on Sunday.
When we go back, I'll have no problem using public transportation again.
I just returned from a trip to Dingle and Dublin a couple of weeks ago. We flew into Cork and took the bus to Dingle. After a couple of days in Dingle, we took a taxi over Connor Pass to Tralee and then a train to Dublin.
We never regretted our lack of a car and we had some great conversations with our taxi driver and other passengers on the train. It was also nice to not have the stress of driving after a long day traveling to Ireland. You just have to be prepared to be flexible just in case you miss a bus connection, etc. In our case, all went smoothly with no delays.
In Dingle, there are plenty of tours, hiking trails, bicycle rentals, boat excusions and other diversions to fill a few days without a car. We took a great archaeological tour of the peninsula, did some walking along the coast and spent time wandering the town of Dingle and sampling the many pubs and restaurants.
There are obivously tradeoffs between driving and not driving (such as stopping whenever and wherever you like), but if you are willing to be flexible, public transportation will work just fine. Just make sure to double check the bus/train schedules, esp. on Sundays and bank holidays. That's why we took a taxi to Tralee - no early bus on Sunday.
When we go back, I'll have no problem using public transportation again.
