Go Back  Fodor's Travel Talk Forums > Destinations > Europe
Reload this Page >

Ireland July 2009 - Can I do what I want to do without driving (and only using public transport) - please help!

Ireland July 2009 - Can I do what I want to do without driving (and only using public transport) - please help!

Old Jul 8th, 2008, 06:28 AM
  #1  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Jul 2008
Posts: 3
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Ireland July 2009 - Can I do what I want to do without driving (and only using public transport) - please help!

My BF and I are traveling to Ireland in July 2009 - we will probably have about 8 days (not including travel time). We are in our early 30s and have some ideas of what we would like to definitely do:
- Newgrange
- Dublin
- Cliffs of Moher
- Giants Causeway
- Pubs (a lot of them, especially any historic ones)
- a castle or 2

We don't want to drive and only want to take public transport. Is what we want to do possible? Also, what else should we do as we probably won;t be able to afford to return to Ireland, so this will be a once of a lifetime trip.

I would appreciate any help that you can give me!

Thanks,
Laura

wuddlewaura is offline  
Old Jul 8th, 2008, 08:38 AM
  #2  
 
Join Date: Mar 2008
Posts: 6,629
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
You could start with the www.cie.ie web site to explore different itineraries, costs and timetables. Using only public transport is possible but in some cases will eat up a lot of time making connections.

I've only used the trains from Dublin to Galway and Dublin to Belfast so am no expert. Public transport within cities is good.

You might want to price compare a compact or sub-compact car versus rail/bus for two. The car might prove more economical, time-saving and flexible. I plan car trips in Ireland to try to end the day where we can walk to pubs or take a bus to avoid driving after knocking back the pints.

You would want to exclude the car during your stay in Dublin, no need and a huge hassle.

One final suggestion--don't know where you live in the states but in the Boston area some group or other was always organizing a bus tour of Ireland focused on pubs but hitting the major tourist sites as well. You might want to check into that as well--not everyone's cup of tea or pint of bitter but worth a look.

I don't get the big deal with the Giants Causeway but that's just one opinion and Cliffs of Moher takes five minutes as the walking area is limited.
Cathinjoetown is offline  
Old Jul 8th, 2008, 08:50 AM
  #3  
 
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 5,974
Likes: 0
Received 6 Likes on 1 Post
I've seen all of that, and more, without a car.

Dublin is obvious, stay there and you can move around pretty much anywhere either on foot or by bus or taxi.

I took a day-long bus trip out of Dublin to Newgrange and Malahide Castle.

I went to Galway and stayed there, took two day-long bus tours: one of the Burren and Cliffs of Moher (included a whole bunch of castle stops too) and one of Connemara (which included Kylemore Abbey).

I took a day-long train tour from Dublin to N. Ireland, which included Giant's Causeway, the Carrick a Rede rope bridge and Dunluce Castle.

I thought Giant's Causeway was fascinating, especially when a thunderstorm came rolling past while we were there. And the Cliffs and Burren are amazing as well.
amyb is offline  
Old Jul 8th, 2008, 09:27 AM
  #4  
 
Join Date: Jun 2004
Posts: 3,106
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
You can also take bus tours from Belfast that include the Giant's Causeway, Dunluce Castle, and Bushmill's Brewery. (Belfast is about two hours closer to the Causeway.)

I thought the Giant's Causeway was INCREDIBLE -- not just the phenomenon itself, but the incredibly beautiful coast where its located. Frankly, I was less impressed with the Cliffs of Moher. Maybe because it was a gray, rainy day.

My preference would be to do these things at my own pace -- but you can see them with a tour.
Songdoc is offline  
Old Jul 8th, 2008, 09:40 AM
  #5  
 
Join Date: Mar 2008
Posts: 73
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Here are some resources for you to look into transportation.

www.irishrail.ie
From dublin the departure stations are Connolly (for mostly north/south routes) and Heuston for points more west

http://www.buseireann.ie/ is the coach bus service to cities, but also offers tours I believe.

I don't think you'd have a problem doing the things you want to see with public transit only.

best of luck
CanadianRNinDublin is offline  
Old Jul 8th, 2008, 11:05 AM
  #6  
 
Join Date: Sep 2003
Posts: 570
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
IMO: the Cliffs of Moher are absolutely beautiful, and downright breathtaking. Can't imagine what Cathinjoetown meant by implying that you would spend only 5 minutes there. It takes much longer than that just to walk to the Cliffs from the parking area. And, while the area you are allowed to walk on the Cliff is restricted, you can stop along the way for "experiencing" the view. My husband and I, and our 28 year old son were there for a good 2 hours. Keep it on your itinerary!You won't regret doing so.
mkdiebold is offline  
Old Jul 8th, 2008, 11:38 AM
  #7  
 
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 5,129
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
For Northern Ireland, there is a journey planner on www.translink.co.uk.
I've visited the Giant's Causeway and Carrick a Rede rope bridge using regular bus services. The Causeway itself was perhaps less impressive than I'd expected, but the adjacent cliffs give it a spectacular setting. It's certainly worth a visit, with time to walk along the cliff tops as well.
There are various public transport passes for bus and/or train in the Republic, Northern Ireland, or both.
GeoffHamer is offline  
Old Jul 8th, 2008, 02:20 PM
  #8  
 
Join Date: Mar 2003
Posts: 2,635
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Check out www.paddywagontours.ie or maybe it's dot com.
NEDSIRELAND is offline  
Old Jul 8th, 2008, 04:11 PM
  #9  
 
Join Date: Jun 2004
Posts: 1,647
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
It IS dot com.

http://www.paddywagontours.com/

Bob
Itallian_Chauffer is offline  
Old Jul 9th, 2008, 02:33 PM
  #10  
 
Join Date: Mar 2008
Posts: 6,629
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Could have been a very stiff wind and driving rain off the Atlantic limited my appreciation of the Cliffs of Moher. I lived near there for a year and it never failed to be a terrible day when I took visitors there. Didn't mean to sound so jaded. As for Giant's Causeway, again it was in miserable weather and I was due back in Belfast for work. So, I stand corrected and chastened.
Cathinjoetown is offline  
Old Jul 16th, 2008, 10:47 AM
  #11  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Jul 2008
Posts: 3
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Thanks for all your help - any other info that you can think of would be much appreciated!
wuddlewaura is offline  
Old Jul 17th, 2008, 06:01 AM
  #12  
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Posts: 50
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Just got back from a wonderful 16 day trip, our first.

Some thoughts-
We spent 5 days in Dublin, loved it. Didn't find it to be dirty as I've seen it described on another travel site (we mainly saw city center, along the river, and some of the docklands). Traffic and bus fumes of course, it is a city. There are signs everywhere to watch for pickpockets but we didn't have a problem. Just mind your bags, or better yet don't carry one (I wore pants with a zippered pocket in front for passport, cash, and credit cards). We stayed in the Christ Church area and found it to be a great location if you want to walk to lots of things. We even walked to the Guinness storehouse from there, 10-15 min. away. Temple Bar with it's many pubs and shops is a few blocks away. We stayed at the Harding Hotel and Jury's Inn Christ Church. A cheaper alternative would be to stay in the suburbs, but then you'll be spending some of your limited time on a bus or in a taxi. Some of the taxi drivers can be entertaining but by staying near everything I think we went out more often and did more. We ate at the Bull and Castle pub twice, very good food, within sight of Jury's Inn (don't eat there, it's noisier than a pub!) We stayed on the hop on-hop off bus for the whole ride late on our first day (great when you're too tired to walk and want to get yourself oriented) and since it's good for 24 hrs used it starting the next morning to see the things too far to walk to. Tip- take note of the color of your bus. There are several different companies with open top buses and you can only get back on the one you bought the ticket from) If you go to the National Museum see the treasure room and the bog men. If you go to Trinity College to see the book of Kells (go early or late to miss the line- although we got there at 3 on a Sat. and there was none!)don't miss the Long Room. I thought 5 days in Dublin (2 before our tour of the southwest, 2 in between tours, and one after our tour of the north)would be too much but there was lots we didn't do, including some cool boat rides. Oh well.

Unless you're seeing something else in the area of the Cliffs of Moher, The Slieve League cliffs ( the highest in western Europe and more than 2 times higher than the cliffs of Mohr) might be a better choice for you. They are closer to the Giant's Causeway and might save you some time on the road. The boat which takes you to see the cliffs from the bottom would be the way to truly appreciate their size. Unfortunately the seas were too rough when we were there so we saw them from the top, still impressive.

Loved the Giant's Causeway, especially liked the 7 k cliff walk along the top. Not scary (except for the number of stairs beautiful and serene- we only saw one other person on the 2 hr walk.

If you're in that area anyway you could stop at the Bushmills distillery. They have a tour, can't rate it, we only picked up some gifts.

If you make it to the southwest Dingle would be a good choice for pub hopping, there are more than 50, and it's a nice little town for shopping. If you go, check out the customized Ogham jewelry you can have made at the Brian DiStaic shop.

We also figuered this might be our only chance to see Ireland, and didn't want to drive or be on a big bus tour. But after checking out the Irish train/bus routes, and calculating the amount of precious time we would lose to the logistics of traveling that way, we ended up choosing a small group tour- Wolfhound Adventures Tours - and loved it. We saw more and did more than we ever could have on our own, and the accommodations were a lot better than I would have booked . If you look on the internet for "small group tours in Ireland" maybe you'll find something that would be right for you. It will make a huge difference in the Ireland experience you'll have.
Lyn

ps- stay longer if you can!



momlyn is offline  
Old Jan 7th, 2009, 11:18 AM
  #13  
 
Join Date: Feb 2005
Posts: 1,034
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
bookmarking, thanks.
fun4all4 is offline  
Old Jan 19th, 2009, 05:18 PM
  #14  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Jul 2008
Posts: 3
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
I have booked my plane tickets and am still in need of some help. My boyfriend and I will be arriving in Dublin on Friday July 3rd - we plan on staying in Dublin until Wednesday July 8. While in Dublin, we plan to take some day trips to Newgrange and Giants Causeway (anyone know of a good company that would do a tour to Giants Causeway? We already found one for Newgrange). Then on Wednesday we plan on traveling to Cork for the evening to go to Blarney. On Thursday we are going to travel via bus or train to the Shannon area to visit the Cliffs of Mohr (can we get to this by bus or train), the Burren (can we get to this by bus or train), and castles . We leave Shannon on Sunday afternoon. I am trying to book a hotel in Dublin for the first 5 nights. I looking for a place that is relatively inexpensive, near a lot of night life, airconditioned, and in a safe area - can any of you recommend a place or 2 that would fit that description? Thanks for all of your help!
wuddlewaura is offline  
Old Jan 19th, 2009, 06:24 PM
  #15  
 
Join Date: Jun 2004
Posts: 1,647
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Daytours out of Dublin (Including Giant's Causeway):

http://www.railtoursireland.com/

Bob
Itallian_Chauffer is offline  
Old Feb 15th, 2009, 09:17 AM
  #16  
 
Join Date: Feb 2009
Posts: 4
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Airconditioning isn't a necessity in your hotel in Dublin so please don't limit yourself! The weather isn't very reliable and even though it is summer airconditioning isn't required!
irishNo2 is offline  
Old Feb 15th, 2009, 12:04 PM
  #17  
 
Join Date: Aug 2005
Posts: 204
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Go to Dublin Bus website www.dublinbus.ie and purchase Freedom of the City Ticket - it costs €25 and covers your fare from the airport to city centre - dublin city tour and all bus services in the city for three days.,
Padhraicin is offline  
Old Feb 15th, 2009, 12:31 PM
  #18  
 
Join Date: Jul 2005
Posts: 132
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
HI
I don't agree with the NO airconditioning in Dublin. We were there in June of 2006 and it was a heat wave. We sure appreciated the airconditioning.
barbmc is offline  
Old Feb 15th, 2009, 03:52 PM
  #19  
 
Join Date: Jan 2009
Posts: 74
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
wuddlewaura, my husband and I will be in Dublin June 11th thru 13th. After much research, we decided on
http://www.ocallaghanhotels.com/dubl...ens_green.aspx
The location is great and the cost is 103.00 euro's per night.

tarheeltravler is offline  
Old Feb 15th, 2009, 11:25 PM
  #20  
 
Join Date: Feb 2009
Posts: 8
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
OK- as someone who is admittedly a little uneasy with heights and not able to do the Cliffs of Moher any justice, I would seriously rethink seeing them, given the time you have, since they are on the opposite coast of everything else you want to see.

Instead, I would focus on doing Dublin, hitting a few of Dublin's great pubs. From Dublin, I might take a daytrip (or overnight trip) to Kilkenny, to see its castle. The trip is about an hour and a half each way, I think. Then I would go to Newgrange, either as a daytrip from Dublin or as a trip along the way to Belfast. I think this is feasible on public transport, although I've not done it myself. From Belfast, I'd take a day trip to the Causeway (by bus tour, as regular buses are far and few between.) With a lot of planning, you may be able to do it using only public transportation...but sometimes it is worth the extra euros or pounds to do the bus tour and have it guaranteed.

If you are absolutely set on seeing the Cliffs of Moher, you can skip Kilkenny, do the rest of the trip I described and backtrack to Dublin after Belfast, shoot across Ireland to Ennis, Limerick or Galway, and do a Cliffs of Moher bus tour from one of those cities. (If there is a quicker public transportation route from Belfast to County Clare, I don't know it) If you do so, I would highly recommend flying home from Shannon, to avoid even more backtracking. If you manage to squeeze it in, you might be able to see Bunratty Castle outside of Ennis.

This is incredibly optimistic for 8 days, although theoretically do-able. Since I've been on the once-in-a-life-time/tight-schedule tour, I won't naysay you. However, you might have a much nicer, more relaxed time if you did a few days in Dublin and a few days in Belfast (with a Giant's Causeway excursion) and admitted that the other two were just not doable on as a one time trip. Alternatively, you might rule out Newcastle and N. Ireland (although I love NI) and spend time in Dublin before traveling to the west coast (Cliffs if Moher, Limerick Castle, Bunratty) and back.

Any way you do it, Have a great time!


librarianjen is offline  

Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Manage Preferences - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information -