I will be spending 9 days in Ireland with a friend and will be arriving on July 23 into Dublin. I thought about renting a car but given gas prices and unfamilar territory I thought I might be better off taking a week Paddywagon tour or even purchasing a week rail/bus pass. Can anyone tell me if the rail stops at major locations throught the country such as Galway, Cliffs of Moher, Dingle, Killarny, Cork, exct? If not are buses easily assessable from train stops? Please anyone with suggestions regarding any transportation I would greatly appericate it. Thank you!!!!

survfan: Your title is of little or no use. "Transportation Help" could be asking about any sorts of transport anywhere in Europe.

I would start a new thread with a title something like "Help w/ public transport around Ireland".

But in general answer to your questions - no, trains are not a very good way to travel around Ireland. The main scenic spots are not on rail lines. Buses are a possibility but they are not easy/efficient for many areas. I'd personally reant a car - a small car with a standard transmission is not that expensive. And the distances are relatively short so you don't use that much petrol.

There are some bus tours you could check into - not my cup of tea . . . .

I've used public transport in Ireland. The trains are good for journeys like Dublin-Cork or Dublin-Galway where they're faster and a lot more comfortable than buses. Most lines radiate from Dublin, so there are trains from Dublin to Galway and Limerick, but you need a bus to get between Galway and Limerick. Buses go to most other places, but they're not frequent, partly because it is a sparsely-populated country. Of the places you mention, Galway, Killarney and Cork can be reached by train, the Cliffs of Moher by bus from Galway, and Dingle by bus from Tralee which has trains. A rail/bus pass is a good idea because you need to use both to get around. See www.irishrail.ie and www.buseireann.ie.

Bringing this message back up "to the top" - - with a presumption that Survfan never got the message from Janis.

Indeed, may not have ever been able to find any previous posts. Another casualty of Fodors failure to instruct new users to "click on your own name"?

Best wishes,

Rex

ttt...