Rail system when traveling Galway to southwest ireland
 

We could use some help. We are arriving in Shannon in 2 weeks, spending 3 nights in Galway hoping to take tours to the Cliffs & Aran Islands. From there we want to get to Dingle for 3 days and then down to County Cork for 2-3 days before returning to Ennis for a night or two then onward to Shannon to fly home. Our trip has 9 touring days plus 2 travel to/from Shannon/Boston. We are running into problems with transportation bc neither of us want to drive or spend 8 hours on buses but havent been able to confirm there is no rail system from the area we want to see.
Would getting down to Ennis and renting a car, arrrgh, be doable? We are 66 & 71, first timers and very concerned about driving on the left side of the road. Help....Appreciatively, Lily

Exploring rural and southwestern Ireland by train isn't very convenient.

But renting a car over 70 years of age is also an issue. If the 66 yo is the primary driver that would help. Otherwise there are a few hoops one has to jump through - providing specific documentation and sometimes costlier insurance -- both of which varies by rental company. Even so, using a car is the easiest way to go.

But if you'd really prefer to stick to public transport - you can take trains/buses to get to your base towns and hire local driver/guides. Every town and many villages will have local taxi companies that can take you around.

I knew there were some relatively recent trip reports of car-less visits to Ireland so I looked for a couple. These are pre-covid but still might be helpful and may give you some ideas:

https://www.fodors.com/community/eur...l-car-1672649/

https://www.fodors.com/community/eur...o-car-1670833/

Thank you so much Janis!!!

I replied to your Galway question yesterday, but do want to update you on this general question, too, because I had to research much the same this past year. We have taken four (actually, it might be five) previous trips to Ireland without renting a car.

The fact that the Ireland rail system generally works as spokes out from a Dublin hub means that itinerary variations by rail can be nightmares. But Bus Eireann is brilliant. And it just so happens that we've ridden the Cork to Ennis bus years ago. Worked like a charm. The 51 bus is a very doable 3 hours. So that's one leg down rather easily for you. And you can taxi or bus from Ennis to Shannon for your departure just fine.

Another variation would be to head directly to Cork from Galway--that's an almost bearable 4 hr bus ride on 51--and work backwards towards Shannon. Cork to Dingle would be less than 4 hours by bus and/or rail.

The obstacle with your current itinerary is the Galway to Dingle leg. No way around it--you're talking around 7 hrs even with the perfect bus/train timings. I myself considered breaking up our travels south to Dingle, but we've already "done our time" in Ennis some other locations and have no need to revisit. So...

I solved my problem by engaging a private driver to Dingle. It's not cheap--the going rate for transport alone for 2 persons is around 420 Euros; with tour of things along the way included is around 570 Euros. To find a driver, I read every possible travel blog, forum and website. I contacted the following:

• Coastline Tours [email protected]
• Elva Deegan [email protected]
• Seamus O'Shea [email protected]
• Rory Brosnan [email protected]
• Begley's Dingle Shuttle Bus Tours [email protected]

Two were fully booked (and this was by December 1!) but there were openings with a few. Dolores of Begley's Dingle Shuttle Bus Tours happened to be the first to respond with availability--and she and her husband had several good reviews--so I jumped on it. I will be using them to get us over to Killarney from Dingle, again combining a bit of transport with a bit of a tour.

Since we also will be moving on towards Cork, we'll probably do the train/bus combo from Killarney to Cork, although I guess a taxi might also work. In any case, I'm not worried about that leg.
Happy planning,
AZ

Janisj linked my 2019 trip report above. I made all our train reservations in advance on the Irish Rail website. We used three of the five private transport firms cited above by AlessandraZoe. The prices in parentheses are from 2019 and do not include tips, entrance fees or lunch. Begley's got us from Killarney to Dingle along the coast (€90). We used Rory Brosnan for the Slea Head/Conner Pass tour (€200) and Coastline Tours for the drive from Dingle to Galway all along the coast with stops along the way (€440). We were happy with all of them. Enjoy your trip.