So, you’ve decided on Ireland as your next holiday destination. Congratulations! Perhaps you’re an American getting to know your ancestral roots. Or perhaps you just want to experience Europe without dealing with an unfamiliar language. You might be a European/ Asian/ African/ Citizen of the World looking for the picture-postcard, Baileys tv-commercial Ireland. Well, you’re not alone, Ireland welcomes over 11 million overseas visitors annually. Whatever your motivation, we have had a few queries on the best way to travel to Ireland’s West Coast when coming to Ireland for the first time.
That’s why we have put together these – hopefully helpful – tips. Some of them might seem obvious, but we wanted to include everything. Often, what is crystal clear to one may be completely new to another. Therefore, in this post, you’ll find pretty much everything you need to know to get started with planning your trip to Ireland’s West Coast, including:
- Flying to the West Coast versus flying to Dublin Airport,
- What public transport to use, bus and rail, from Dublin Airport to the West Coast,
- How to travel around the West coast – some tips on car hire.
Guide On How To Travel To Ireland’s West Coast
Many tourists, whether repeat or first timers, aim for Dublin, Ireland’s capital city. We love Dublin ourselves, the long history, fascinating architecture, the buzzing culture and arts scene. But if you want to experience the rugged, windswept hills and the roaring ocean waves breaking against dramatic cliffs, your destination should be the Wild Atlantic Way in Ireland’s West.
Since Ireland is an island, it goes that the vast majority (in fact 96 %) of tourists arrive by air. The remaining small percentage come in by sea from the UK, France or Spain. With such a large proportion of air arrivals, this guide caters to those flying in.
Fly To The West Coast
Not being funny here, but the easiest way to get to Ireland’s West is to fly directly there. It is surprising how many people, even Irish people, do not realise that international flights land at Knock, Shannon and Cork Airports. OK, Cork is more the South of the country, but you know what we mean. All three airports have car hire facilities and are a breeze to navigate.
That is the huge advantage of these regional airports. You generally speed through the check-in, check-out and through the terminal. Less flights mean less passengers, resulting in less lines and shorter waiting times. On the other hand, it can take well over an hour at Dublin Airport to get through the x-ray machines. Whereas in Knock, Shannon or Cork you usually fly through (pun intended).
We try and use the three airports in Ireland’s West as much as we can. Of course, the choice of routes is not as varied as Dublin. Nevertheless, they all are well connected to London. So, if you are flying in from the US with a London layover, consider bypassing Dublin altogether.
Knock Airport
Knock Airport or Ireland West Airport, is located near Charlestown in County Mayo and is well connected with the UK and Spain. It is a great spot to fly to if you are heading for the North of the West Coast, i.e. counties Donegal, Sligo, Mayo and Galway.
Shannon Airport
Shannon, near Limerick City, is the only airport in Ireland outside of Dublin that is connected via direct flights with North America. This makes it a popular choice with many US and Canadian visitors heading for the West. Fly to Shannon to easily explore Counties Galway, Clare, Kerry and Cork.
Cork Airport
And for the south of the country, you can fly to Cork airport. It is also well connected with the UK, France, Spain, Italy and Germany.
Fly to Dublin
But sometimes the routes to the regional Western airports really do not work. In that case, your most likely landing point in Ireland will be Dublin Airport. (A quick note that you could also be flying to the three airports in Northern Ireland – Belfast International, George Best Belfast City and Derry Airport. Out of these, we have only used Belfast International once, a long time ago. Therefore, we are not covering the Northern Ireland airports here.)
How To Travel To Ireland’s West Coast From Dublin Airport By Bus
Once you land in Dublin, you have several options how to travel to Ireland’s West. Car hire if you want to travel under your own steam from this point on. Or your other options are bus or train as public transport alternatives.
At this point, it is worth mentioning that if you are planning any amount of travelling around the West Coast, you will most likely need a car. However, you don’t need to get the hire car out at Dublin airport. Read on.
What Bus Goes From Dublin Airport To Galway/ Limerick/ Cork?
There are a number of ways how you can travel from Dublin to the West of Ireland on public transport. The fastest, however, is the Eireagle by Citylink coach. It has direct routes from Dublin airport to the major cities of Galway, Limerick and Cork. Journey to Galway or Limerick takes 2.5hrs, while it takes 3hrs to travel to Cork. The buses are very comfortable, equipped with wifi and toilets. We recommend booking your tickets on line in advance of your journey as seats can fill quickly, especially during the Summer months. Eieragle offers good value family tickets, too.
Where Does The Eireagle Bus Stop In Galway/ Limerick/ Cork?
The Eireagle stops several times in each city. If you’re headed for the centre of town, your stop is the Coach Station in Galway, Arthur’s Quay in Limerick and MacCurtain Street in Cork City. There is a handy map on the Eireagle website. The drivers usually announce the stops beforehand so no worries that you would miss yours.
Where Does The Eireagle/ Citylink Bus Go From At Dublin Airport?
The Eireagle/ Citylink buses go from the bus station outside Terminal 1. It is a short, five minute, walk from Terminal 2 if that is where you are landing. Not to be confused with the bus stops right outside both terminals. These serve Dublin city and shorter routes only. For the intercity journeys, you need to walk through the covered car park to the bus station. Galway buses go from Zone 11 and Limerick and Cork buses from Zone 10. If you’re unsure where to get the bus from, possibly easiest to ask the airport staff.
There are indeed other bus options from Dublin Airport than Eireagle, if you don’t mind taking longer and making more stops along the way. The national bus operator Bus Éireann runs a number of Expressway routes to the West. They also cover more destinations in the West than just Galway, Limerick and Cork.
How To Travel To Ireland’s West Coast From Dublin Airport By Train
The bad news is that there are no train connections to Dublin Airport. So, if you are opting for the train for your travel to Ireland’s West, you will need to use a taxi or a Dublin city bus to take you to the railway station.
The good news, however, is that there are a good number of bus routes from Dublin Airport to both Connolly and Heuston Railway Stations in the city. You will not have to wait long for your connection. We recommend the Dublin Express, which stops at both Connolly (40mins ride from airport) and Heuston (one hour ride). It could be shorter, but you are entering the capital city’s traffic. Again, we recommend pre-booking on line, as the buses do get quite busy.
How To Travel From Dublin City To Sligo, Westport, Galway, Limerick, Tralee And Cork By Train
The West of Ireland is reasonably well served by trains from Dublin. Westbound trains go from two railway stations: Connolly (trains to Sligo) or Heuston (trains to Westport, Galway, Limerick, Tralee and Cork). All trains are operated by Irish Rail. Do pre-book online as that way you have a booked seat. If you buy your ticket at the station, not only is it more expensive, but also no guarantee of a seat. And you do not want to stand for three hours!
Approximate journey times From Dublin to selected destinations on the West Coast:
Dublin – Sligo 3 hrs 15 mins (direct trains)
Dublin – Westport 3 hrs 10 mins (direct trains)
Dublin – Galway 2 hrs 30 mins (most direct trains, some need to change in Athlone)
Dublin – Limerick 2 hrs 10 mins (some direct trains, most need to change in Limerick Junction)
Dublin – Tralee 4 hrs (some direct trains, most need to change in Mallow)
Dublin – Cork 2 hrs 30 mins (most direct trains, some need to change in Mallow)
Getting Around The West Of Ireland
Assuming you are planning to travel around Ireland’s West Coast, you will need to hire a car. Sadly, the Irish public transport has a long way to go to catch up with its European counterparts. There are some buses in the rural areas, but few and far between. Definitely not ones you could rely on to arrive on time to take you to your next destination.
Hiring A Car At The Airport Or In Your City Base
If you are hiring a car from the airports (Dublin, Cork, Knock and Shannon), our go-to site for getting good deals is Ryanair (click on ‘car hire’ on the left top). It is a similar set up as to when you are searching for car hire via Kayak, Expedia and similar sites, but we are just used to the Ryanair site.
If you are flying into Dublin and you know you want to travel around the West, we think it is worth checking out car hire once you arrive in your base on the West Coast. We often find that the prices at Dublin airport are higher than in Limerick, Cork, Castlebar, Sligo or Galway. Of course, it’s not a big deal to pick your car up at Dublin airport and drive from there, but worth checking out what works cheaper and more comfortable for you. We use this tip when we travel abroad ourselves. Getting a car in Lisbon airport costs much more than hiring one in Porto once we travel there by train.
Most people think that you have to be flying with Ryanair to use their car hire feature, but that is not the case. Anyone can book a car through the Ryanair site any time. In fact, you are not hiring the car from Ryanair themselves, but from their partners. These are the car hire agencies you know so well – Europcar, Hertz, Sixt, etc. Surprisingly, the rental is often cheaper than going to the hire company direct. Having said that, Enterprise often have special weekend deals. In addition, they have a good network of branches in towns and a free pick-up service.
Time To Travel To Ireland’s West!
Hopefully, now you have lots of information on how best to travel to Ireland’s West Coast. This post should make your planning easier. You can fly directly to the West or to Dublin. From Dublin, you can take the direct buses to the West or trains from Dublin City. You can hire a car at any of the airports or in your base town or city on the Wild Atlantic Way. Bon Voyage!