My sister and I are in our mid 70s and healthy. We are planning a 2 week trip in Southern Ireland in late May, 2026. We do not want to rent a car. Can we get around by using public transportation? Will plan our trip accordingly.
Posted by
Camano Island, WA, usa
1682 posts
Look up "Golden Trekker" for Irish Rail. Free rail passes appear to be available for tourists age 66, or over. If you are over 70 you can have a travel companion who is younger, also for free. I just read this online...so you'll have to verify this for yourself.
Posted by
Washington, DC USA
751 posts
By Southern Ireland do you mean the Republic of Ireland (as opposed to Northern Ireland) or specifically the southern part of the Republic?
Train travel is possible for some places but often a bus is more direct or more frequent or goes more places. In addition to Bus Eireann, the national public busline, there are several private bus companies to look into such as Citylink. There are also many reasonably priced daytours from larger cities to popular tourist areas.
Just for example, I visited Dublin, daytrip bus tour to New Grange (with Mary Gibbons), bus to Galway, day trip bus tour to the Connemara region (with Paddywagon), bus to Doolin, ferry to an Aran island, bus to Ennis on a 10 night trip without a car (pre-Covid). With more time, I could have gone more places. I was over 70 at the time.
Posted by
Lake District, England
10807 posts
The Golden Trekker only existed for 1 year, from 2010 to 2011.
Free travel is now only for anyone over 66 residing permanently in the Irish Republic. It can only be claimed on production of a Public Services Card (a sort of Identity document).
Posted by
Seattle, WA & Bordeaux, France
552 posts
Yes! This is my son's mode of transport around the Republic (he lives there.) Bus Eireann (https://www.buseireann.ie/), Citylink (https://www.citylink.ie/) and Expressway (https://www.expressway.ie/) are the main bus companies and a good place to start your research. There's also Irish Rail (https://www.irishrail.ie/en-ie/) but does not go to all places. Happy planning!
Posted by
Chicago
3858 posts
I had a fabulous 2 weeks in Ireland this past May using a combination of public transportation and short tours.
My trip report might give you some ideas:
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/solo-in-ireland-may-2025-my-trip-report
Posted by
California Central Coast 🐚
421 posts
We spent 2 weeks in Southern Ireland in September 23 entirely on public transportation. It worked really well. Especially with the help of the transportation experts on this forum. Basically, we took a train to Waterford, Train to Killarney, Train to Tralee and bus to Dingle. We took a bus back to Tralee and train/bus combination to Kinsale and ended up back in Dublin. I'm happy to answer any specific questions but I'm not an expert. I just know what worked for us.