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Southern Ireland on public transport

(13 Posts)
Stoker48 Mon 28-Apr-25 15:28:45

I’ve a hankering to go to Southern Ireland.
Would fly out from Liverpool to Cork or Knock.
Other than that there is no plan.
Could anyone give a few tips of best place to go - what’s the rail and bus service like etc.
I’m assuming 3/4 nights but everything is a blank page at the moment.
Thank you in advance.

MaizieD Mon 28-Apr-25 15:38:03

This website might help you. It's focussed on train travel. I don't know if there is an equivalent for bus and coach travel.:

www.seat61.com/

Stoker48 Mon 28-Apr-25 15:47:08

Thank you.
Very helpful.

Rosemarysage Mon 28-Apr-25 16:01:47

If you fly to knock there is a bus at the airport . Not frequent but you can google the timetable and see if it would coincide with your flight?
We fly to knock and stay in Westport which is a lovely small town.
Public transport is very poor overall . Hiring a car and driving is very easy hardly Andy traffic and same side of the road.
The scenery on the west coast is amazing.
Happy ti give any advice if you’d like!!

BlueBelle Mon 28-Apr-25 16:02:01

There’s buses in and out of Cork from most outlying towns and a big train station to larger places

BlueBelle Mon 28-Apr-25 16:05:58

Sorry posted too quickly in some small villages there is only one bus a day
I always fly to Cork its a really nice little airport if you’re a driver best to hire a car at the airport and get around a bit there’s many small winding roads and the police are pretty slack

MayBee70 Mon 28-Apr-25 17:12:00

If you hire a car check it for stone chips as soon as you get it. Maybe things have changed since I was last there but we were very careful not to get charged for damage to the car before we hired it. I loved the road markings that would, if I remember right say things like slow and then ‘slower’ and road junctions that said YIELD! ( that has to be in capitals and with an exclamation mark). I do miss going there. Driving round a bend in a road and finding a ruined monastic settlements in the middle of nowhere. Finding ruined churches with graves inside the church that were still being tended by people. Meeting dearly departed Fungie the dolphin. It was this time of year that we used to go, too; when the gorse was flowering.

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Notagranyet24 Mon 28-Apr-25 19:29:51

We have recently come back from a trip to the far west of Ireland, all done by ferry and train. The train services in Ireland are very 'European', easy to book, nice trains which come on time and incredibly helpful staff.
You can book before you go www.irishrail.ie/en-ie or through Trainline in the UK. There are other companies eg. www.irelandtrains.com.
You don't need to book a car unless you really want to, the traffic can be busy, as here. We took trains from Dublin to Tipperary and toured the Beara Peninsula, the scenery was out of this world. The food was excellent.

www.ireland.com/en-gb/destinations/county/cork/west-cork/
explorewestcork.ie
www.theirishroadtrip.com/things-to-do-in-west-cork/

Hope that helps, we had a fantastic time.

MayBee70 Mon 28-Apr-25 21:28:27

Oh that looks wonderful. Breathtaking in fact. I never got to the south. It was next in the list but we stopped going there and my dear Irish friend that we used to stay with died a couple of years ago.

Nibbles44 Tue 29-Apr-25 16:04:07

I was brought up in Clonakilty, west Cork in 1960, & in late 1980's lived in central Dublin which is the easiest to get around with city buses everywhere, DART rail service round the bay from Howth to Bray, & infrequent mainline trains to Belfast, Rosslare, Cork, Sligo, etc neither which run overnight. Bus Eirann the coach Co runs almost everywhere inc several daily/overnight to mainland UK (London, Leeds & Scotland via ferries), but services in west (which is scenic) are sparse. Friendly day & evening coach tours from Dublin's Busaras. Don't drive in Dublin county, lots of vehicle thefts so insurance is sky high.
South West is semi-tropical with high coastal cliffs & sandy beaches, but jellyfish get smashed on rocks. Many castles, ancient monuments & museums everywhere. Maybe worth contacting Bord Failte (pronounced "bored vulture") the tourist office for updated info & maps/timetables of services & tours. Hope that helps.

Stoker48 Tue 29-Apr-25 18:28:49

Thanks again.
My whistle has very much been wetted!

Marriedwithkids Sat 17-May-25 20:33:31

I live in Cork. Flying to Cork from Liverpool is super easy and quick. When you come out of the airport, take a taxi (only a short hop down the hill) to the city centre and spend a couple of days exploring the city. Stay in a central hotel like the Maldron or the Imperial Hotel on the South Mall. From there you can visit places like the English Market- where the Queen visited in 2011, Shandon Bells- amazing views of the city, Elizabeth Fort- walk the walls and visit the museum. When you are tired have a pint at Mutton lane Inn, or Sober Lane courtyard if it's a nice day. For dinner later I'd recommend Elbow Lane, Da Mirco, Il Padrino, Spitjack, Goldie. Food in general in Ireland is top quality as all restuarants use locally produced meat, fish, vegetables and dairy, which in my opinion is the best in the world. After feasting for a couple of days, hire a car and head south to Clonakilty, (buses sadly are not very frequent), and spend a night exploring the colourful town and going to De Barra's Folk Club for a session. Drive out to Inchydoney Hotel on the coast outside the town for a relaxing stay by the sea before motoring on around the Wild Atlantic Way - great for walkers. You are probably running out of time now, but other beautiful places along the coast are Castletownsend, Baltimore, Barleycove - visit Mizen Head lighthouse, and my personal favourite Bantry Bay. However, you're only just getting started so you'll have to come back for a longer trip as the further you travel up the coast the more amazing and beautiful it gets as you reach Glengarrif and the sub tropical Garnish Island, just a short boat trip away. My only word of caution is that prices are quite high compared to the UK, but there may be less of a difference since Brexit!