HELP - Public Transport vs car hire??

Hello all you wonderful people, hoping for advice. I will be travelling to Ireland next October as part of my 'must see' places with a good friend of mine. We are looking at approx. 10 days travelling right around Ireland and didn't want transport costs to play a big part in our expenses. Most travel would include us travelling with our suitcases and so I wanted to see what options might work for us and hoping for suggestions. We did not want to be part of many tours (a day tour is fine but not for the entire trip) as we would like to see Ireland 'our way'. Thank you thank you for anything you have to suggest -- it will be greatly appreciated!!

Hi Renea,

October is a wonderful time of the year to visit the island of Ireland, all the attractions are open and fewer visitors!

It is possible to travel around by public transport, whether by train or bus, from Dublin as a possible base for day trips or two-day trips. Irish Rail operates the train service in the Republic of Ireland and Bus Éireann the main bus service. Transport for Ireland has a super journey planner which we find very useful to plan trips, please take a look and see if it helps with your plans. There are limitations on the amount of luggage you will be able to transport, something to bear in mind during your planning stage.

Translink operates the bus and train service in Northern Ireland, there are various services from Belfast to areas all over Northern Ireland. There is also a city sightseeing hop on hop off bus that runs to some of the great attractions along the Causeway Coast and the city too.

Renting a car is also a great way to see the island of Ireland "your way". Please take a look at our information on Renting a Vehicle for tips and car rental companies, there is even information on campervan hire for the ultimate on your own travel plans.

There are some approved tour operators who also offer self-drive tours and bespoke packages that may be of interest. You can rent the car and have some itinerary input to planning a tour of the island of Ireland or choose one of their pre-planned trips!

Is there anywhere in particular that you would be interested in visiting?

I hope this helps to give you some ideas, I'm sure our fellow members and industry partners will have some ideas too!

Speak soon,

Martin

Hi Renea,
I am delighted to learn of your trip around Ireland next October.    Martin has certainly given you some very good pointers regarding transport options.  Lots of decisions to be made! 
You mentioned you want to do Ireland ‘your way’.  Causeway Campers are a company located in Portrush, a seaside town in the beautiful Causeway Coast and Glens region of Northern Ireland.  It lies about 60 miles north of Belfast and 35 miles east of Derry.  They hire out classic VW Camper Vans and have 8 pick-up points including Belfast, Dublin and Derry Airports in addition to two sea ports.  Their ethos is to help ensure that each and every one of their customers experience the trip of a lifetime, enjoying the freedom of the road in classic style.  If you wish to have a look at the VW vans they offer please visit:  www.causewaycampers.com 

The Causeway Coast and Glens region is famed for its rugged coastline, golden beaches, historic castles, the world's oldest licensed whiskey distillery, quaint seaside villages and towns, Game of Thrones film locations, Carrick-A-Rede Rope Bridge and the Giant's Causeway, a UNESCO World Heritage site.  People are friendly and helpful, and there are plenty of great places to have a meal and a drink. If you would like to learn more about this part of Ireland please look at our web site: www.visitcausewaycoastandglens.com

Do also feel free to contact us at Coleraine Visitor Information Centre if we can assist in any other way with your trip.
Have a great time!
Mary.

Hi Renea,

That sounds like such an exciting trip, October really is a lovely time to visit, the colours will be fab around the countryside and the days are not yet shortened so you'll have a good long day for sightseeing. Personally, to get the most out of your trip, I would suggest you do the vehicle hire route. To keep the cost down, you could only pick the car up when you are leaving Dublin and use public transport around the city, that way you'll also save on parking costs. In order to get around to the more remote parts of the country and in your own time, then vehicle hire is your best option.

Sandra

Hi Martin, We are wanting to travel round all of ireland and see what we can - I have worked out 3/4 of our base itinerary and have to cull some things off there as definitely more than 10 days at the moment but now have to cost it out and also see pros and cons for transport options. With all of the below itinerary I have put in places to visit along the way however I will just enter in some main points for my examples. We are wanting to see things like Dublin city and a day trip to Kilkenny and Wicklow - then travel through to Wexford stopping along the way to see things like the mottee stone, glenart castle etc - from there off to bunmahon stopping at Waterford then through Cobh possibly stopping to go over to spike island. From there head to Kinsale and stop at blarney, head to Killarney stopping at brow and Mizen Head - next day do Ross castle and Muckross House and ring of Kerry??? - head to Galway visiting limerick, rock of Cashel and cliffs of Moher. After this I haven’t figured out much more but would like to add in the game of thrones sights too and may if we can try and add in 2 more days to our itinerary so that we can see most of what we want. Eeek

Thank you Mary, I will definitely have a look at those options and put that as a suggestion to my travel partner and will take you up on your offer if there are any questions following.

Thank you Sandra, that is definitely and option for us as Dublin has an excellent transport for us - I really appreciate everyone’s time and effort in responding and will take on board any and all suggestions and help.

Regards Renea

Hello Renea, 

Your itinerary looks great so far, and if you add a day or two you could definitely visit all of the Game of Thrones locations in Northern Ireland as well. 

If you haven't decided on a form of transportation yet, you can find some helpful tips and experiences from other visitors in these threads: 

• Traveling without a car
• Ireland by bus/train/on foot
• Train VS Car - or both?
• Using Bus tours to add flexibility
  

Hello, Renea! 

I hope you are very well! 

We haven't heard from you in a while, so I thought of dropping you a message to check on how the planning was going. Do you need any further help with the public transport in Ireland?

Whenever you're back, please feel free to share any tips or stories of your own about your trip, as I'm sure other members will find it very useful.

Hoping to hear from you soon!