I am considering to backpack throughout Ireland for about 4-5 weeks. I was wondering how easy it is to travel throughout the country. Do travel companies offer shuttles to town hop? I would like to chat with people who have done this experience also.
Reply to this Hi Civ, Basically car is king in Ireland, everyone has one and that is down to the fact that public transport is pretty poor. Trains are ridiculously expensive and the rail network non-existant, buses are cheap enough but are only practical for routes between the major cities, you can get lucky with internal flights (ryanair and Aer arann) but again you are limited to about 4/5 areas and buses to and from the airports can be sketchy. There are some companies which do tours for backpackers which I have heard very good reports of...Paddywagon being the big one. So I guess it depends on where you want to go. If you want to visit places like Dublin, Cork, Kilkenny, Waterford, Galway. Tralee, Limerick. Sligo. Donegal. Belfast you will do fine on Bus Eireann. If you want to get out and about in the countryside and/or visit smaller towns (which is where you will see the real Ireland) you will struggle unless you get a hire car or join a tour. Hope this helps. PM me if you want any more information. Amy
Reply to this I am going to be throughout England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales for three weeks- but mainly in Ireland and also will not have a vehicle. It would be great to use a backpacking tour bus. Are there any popular bus lines that are easy to use for backpackers?
Reply to this Hello Natalie 😊
My parents in law travelled around Ireland on a tour called the Paddywagon. I think you will find advertisements for it in most hostels in Dublin. Maybe they even have a webside. The main customers they seem to cater for are backpackers.
But even without a tour, I think you could easily get around the country by bus. There is also likely an Irish bus routes website on the interent. Trains are also worth considering.
Mel
Reply to this Thanks Mel - I found Paddywagon and it seems like a pretty good set-up!
Reply to this http://www.buseireann.ie/ < the company that does all the intercity bus routes in Ireland. Intercity trains in Ireland don't really exist very much, and are very expensive as mentioned above. It might be worth considering (i.e. considerably quicker than going by bus) if you're going straight from Dublin to Cork, Belfast or the west coast, but that's it I believe.
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