Public transport (EIRE and Northern Ireland)

Good morning, I'm Marco, I'm Italian and I'm 30 years old.
I have already written some posts in this community about a trip that I want to undertake this summer (mainly the West and the North). I'm reading a bit 'of websites about transport, but also because my english certainly not great, I have some doubts.
I will stay in Ireland for more or less 3 weeks, moving mainly on foot and by bike, but I will certainly need to use public transportation to move in long journeys. Can you give me some advice about the tickets I can buy? Is there a possibility of having a sort of subscription, even with unlimited travel? Which companies do you advise me to consider?
Of course I would need the same information both for traveling in the Republic of Ireland and for Northern Ireland.

Thank you very much,
Marco

Ciao, Marco.

It's always a pleasure to see you here.

I saw that you've already opened the thread Ireland by bus/train/on foot, I'm so curious to know about your itinerary you've planned!

Generally, tickets are available to buy online, on the coach and at stations and airports. Besides, there are different options for unlimited travel around the island of Ireland such as the Leap Visitor Card, a public transport ticket available for Airlink, Dublin Bus, Luas, DART and Commuter Rail; the 'Open Road' ticket, if you travel on Bus Éireann across Ireland; the Smartlink Travel Card available for all Metro services or Ulsterbus Services in Northern Ireland.
Regarding your last question, what kind of company are you looking for?

If anyone else knows other great options for Marco, is more than welcome to jump in this thread. 😊

Looking forward to hearing from you, Marco. If you are more comfortable, feel free to talk to me in Italian!

A presto!

Francesco

Ciao Francesco, grazie mille.
Allora scrivo pure in italiano, con cui mi trovo senza dubbio meglio. Poi magari metto pure una traduzione in inglese un po' approssimativa, perchè sicuramente faccio degli errori.
L'itinerario è più o meno questo:
1- ARRIVO Dublino ---> Galway (in bus, visita Galway dal pomeriggio)
2- Galway ---> Doolin (in bus fino a Liscannor, a piedi per le Cliff of Moher fino a Doolin)
3- Doolin ---> Inishmor (in traghetto da Doolin, visita di Inishmor in bici)
4- Inishmor --> Inishmaan --> Inisheer (visita di Inisheer a piedi, se fattibile con l'orario dei traghetti tappa anche a Inishman)
5- Inisheer ---> Clifden (in traghetto fino a Galway, in bus fino a Clifden, visita dei dintorni a piedi)
6- Connemara (noleggio bici, giro da programmare)
7- Connemara (noleggio bici, giro da programmare)
8- Clifden ---> Westport (in bus, visita dintorni a piedi)
9- Westport ---> Great Western Greenway ---> Achill (noleggio bici e tutta la Greenway)
10- Achill Island (visita Achill Island a piedi o in bici)
11- Achill Island ---> Sligo (in bus, visita città a dintorni a piedi)
12- Sligo ---> Donegal (in bus, visita città e dintorni a piedi, valutare se noleggiare una bici per 4/5 ore)
13- Donegal ---> Glencolumbcille (in bus, visita Glencolumbcille e Slieve League a piedi)
14- Glencolumbcille ---> Derry (in bus, visita Derry)
15- Derry ---> Portstewart (continua visita Derry e dintorni, poi bus fino a Coleraine o Portstewart)
16- Portstewart ---> Causeway Coast Way (inizio della Causeway a piedi, sosta a Bushmill/Portballintrae)
17- Bushmill/Portballintrae Causeway Coast Way ---> Ballycastle (tappa finale della Causeway a piedi)
18- Rathlin Island (in traghetto, poi noleggio bici o piedi nell'isola)
19- Ballycastle ---> The Moyle Way (inizio della Moyle Way, sosta a Ballyeamon Barn)
20- Ballyeamon Barn The Moyle Way ---> Waterfoot (visita del Glenariff Forest Park)
21- Waterfoot ---> Belfast  (in bus)
22- Belfast (visita città)
23- RITORNO Belfast - Bergamo

Quello che mi serve, come avrai capito è trovare una sorta di abbonamento ai mezzi pubblici (in realtà solo ai bus, perchè non prevedo di prendere treni). BusEireann e UlsterBus Service sicuramente fanno al caso mio, perchè ho visto che coprono praticamente tutte le zone che intendo visitare.
Proverò a guardare nei loro siti se ci sono abbonamenti mensili o anche carnet di biglietti, senza dovere ogni volta acquistare il biglietto sul bus o alla stazione.

The itinerary is more or less this:
1- ARRIVE Dublino ---> Galway (by bus, visit Galway in the afternoon/evening)
2- Galway ---> Doolin (by bus to Liscannor, on foot to the Cliff of Moher and to Doolin)
3- Doolin ---> Inishmor (by ferry from Doolin, visit Inishmor by bike)
4- Inishmor --> Inishmaan --> Inisheer (visit Inisheer on foot, and if is feasible with the ferry schedule also stops at Inishmaan)
5- Inisheer ---> Clifden (by ferry to Galway, by bus to Clifden, visit surroundings on foot
6- Connemara (rent a bike, tour to be programmed)
7- Connemara (rent a bike, tour to be programmed)
8- Clifden ---> Westport (by bus, visit surroundings on foot)
9- Westport ---> Great Western Greenway ---> Achill (rent a bike and all Greeway by bike)
10- Achill Island (visit Achill Island on foot or by bike)
11- Achill Island ---> Sligo (iby bus, visit surroundings on foot)
12- Sligo ---> Donegal (by bus, visit town and surroundings on foot, evaluate whether to rent a bike for 4/5 hours)
13- Donegal ---> Glencolumbcille (by bus, visit Glencolumbcille and Slieve League on foot)
14- Glencolumbcille ---> Derry (by bus, visit Derry)
15- Derry ---> Portstewart (visit Derry e and surroundings in the morning, then by bus to Coleraine or Portstewart)
16- Portstewart ---> Causeway Coast Way (start the Causeway on foot, night at Bushmill/Portballintrae)
17- Bushmill/Portballintrae Causeway Coast Way ---> Ballycastle (final stage of the Causeway on foot)
18- Rathlin Island (by ferry, then visit the island by bike or on foot)
19- Ballycastle ---> The Moyle Way (start the Moyle Way on foot, night at Ballyeamon Barn)
20- Ballyeamon Barn The Moyle Way ---> Waterfoot (visit the Glenariff Forest Park)
21- Waterfoot ---> Belfast  (by bus)
22- Belfast (visit the town)
23- RITORNO Belfast - Bergamo

What I need, as you will have understood is to find a sort of season ticket (actually only for buses, because I do not plan to take trains). BusEireann and UlsterBus Service definitely do for me, because I have seen that cover almost all the areas I intend to visit. I will try to look at their websites if there are monthly tickets or even a book of tickets, without having to buy the ticket every time on the bus or at the station.

Thanks a lot,
Grazie,

Marco

Ciao Marco,

Bello vedere il tuo viaggio prendere forma, sarà entusiasmante seguire i tuoi aggiornamenti!

I link suggeriti da Francesco sono perfetti: se hai ulteriori domande a riguardo, ti aspettiamo!

Buona giornata,

Laura

Hi Marco,
our friends at Ulsterbus have just been in touch and have informed me that for unlimited travel in Northern Ireland, please go to  -
https://secure.translink.co.uk/Buy-Online/Desktop/iLink-Travel-Card/Step-1/
Select the 'Zone 4 ilink card' and your duration (i.e. one week etc.) - no need to enter any 'From' or 'To'. Once happy with the cost, you can then have the card posted to you in Italy.

I hope this helps. Your trip sounds incredible! Enjoy!

Thank you so much Christoph,
I looked at the link you posted. Perhaps, for the Ulster, I will be able to buy single tickets, because I will use them only on the Derry-Portstewart and in the Waterfoot-Belfast routes.
On the other hand, as far as EIRE is concerned, I believe that I will need a ticket of that kind, with unlimited travels.

Thanks again,
Marco