We are very excited for our Rick Steves tour of Ireland. We will fly into London. Spend some time there before flying to Shannon SNN to board a bus to the tour start in Ennis.
I'd appreciate any info on which airline is preferable. And do we need to pre-book bus?
Thank you !
Unless you have a frequent flyer membership that would give preference to a British Airways or Aer Lingus flight, your most affordable option would probably be Ryanair. Of those three, check who would have the most convenient flight time(s), and from which London airport they’re departing.
It’s a great tour, you’ll have a wonderful time. We flew on Aer Lingus from Heathrow to Shannon. You could also fly to Dublin and take a bus to Ennis. It might be easier to do London at the end of your trip. Connect to Shannon through Heathrow then fly from Dublin to London and stay for a few days.
There are two bus companies operating the route. You can pre-book one but if your plane is late you could miss your bus. The other service is first come, first serve. They both cost the same.
The bus stop in Ennis is at the train station. It's the easiest one to recognize and close to your hotel.
Here's information on the bus schedules:
Thank you. Great info.
I keep reading it's "easier" to do London on the backend of the tour. Not sure why. More flights from Dublin to London than London to Shannon I guess? But I can't imagine it being much fun flying from the west coast into London or Dublin, then getting on another plane or long bus ride. Am I missing something here?
I think it's easier to do London first. You'll have time to explore and get over jet lag.
Then fly to Shannon. Forget this fly to Dublin nonsense. From there it's just over a three hour train ride with a change of trains in Limerick. And don't forget you still have to get from the Dublun Airport to the train station in town. That's 45 minutes to an hour. From Shannon Airport to Ennis it's about 30 minutes. Both the train from Limerick and the bus from Shannon Airport let's you off at the same place.
Get an open jaw ticket London to Shannon, Dublin to London. While you do go through immigration at Shannon it's easier than Dublin. (For those about to jump in to say it's an open border--U.S Passport holders have to go through immigration in Ireland.) However, there is no immigration in the U.K for arrivals from Ireland. Even us Yanks. I have traveled both ways many times.
I’m a vote for your planned itinerary. We fly from the west coast and it’s kind of nice to get off the plane and spend a few days in London. It’s easy to get to LHR with different transport options from London. That said, we flew British Airways from SEA to Shannon via LHR. Our one mistake was making to decision later to forge on to Shannon (via Aer Lingus) the same day meaning we were booked on 2 separate tickets. It worked out fine, but it was a little stressful hoping we’d make the 2nd flight. Shannon airport is an easy size, so it was no problem to find the bus to Ennis. We did the pay when you get on option. We just walked from where the bus stopped to the Old Ground Hotel; it was about 3-4 easy blocks.
OK. Yes makes sense to me. Thanks for the info on the Shannon to Ennis bus.
