I am leaving out of Shannon Airport at 9:05 in the morning and plan to stay in Galway the night before. What is the best way for me to get to the airport from Galway City in the early morning? Any suggestions?
Posted by
Rick Steves' Europe
16894 posts
A bus (www.buseireann.ie) takes about two hours and it looks like the earliest departure from Galway is about 7:00, which won't work for you. Better to take an evening bus (last departure around 20:00) and stay by the airport. If this flight is headed outside of Europe, you especially want to allow plenty of time for check-in, security, and US customs pre-clearance (for US destinations).
Posted by
Colorado Mountains, USA
7399 posts
We had an early flight, and stayed at a B&B not far from the Shannon airport, in Sixmilebridge. The B&B owner gave us a ride to the airport after a quick breakfast in the morning.
If you're firm on staying in Galway the night before, it would seem you'll need to arrange for someone to drive you to the airport (expensive taxi? friend?), or even drive yourself (not sure what the rental car return policies or locations are - that would require some research). If you haven't already been driving on the left side of the road, that may take some time to get used to, not to mention possible navigation issues getting you directly and efficiently from Galway City to the airport.
Upon arrival at security, we were surprised to learn that "tools" of any kind are not permitted in carry-on baggage. We'd done a bicycle tour, and had a compact allen wrench bike tool in a backpack. Useful for roadside bike repairs, maybe not so much as a terrorist weapon, but still it was disallowed. I was able to scrounge up a box from a snack vendor at the airport and check the box with the Aer Lingus check-in staff, so I didn't lose the tool, but pack anything that might be construed as a tool in your checked luggage to minimize any hassle.