I am traveling to County Tyrone and also County Fermanagh. Can I effectively and easily use public transportation? Will this severely limit me?
I agree that pubic transportation outside of larger cities is limited. What has worked for us is taking the bus to and from Belfast or Derry to Omagh, where we based ourselves in a B&B. Enterprise Rentals there…easy to get in and out, and lovely staff. Or possibly pick up your rental and then return in another location? The pubic transportation between towns is excellent, but one would miss so much.
There is also taxi service in Omagh. Last summer, my friend and I took the bus there from Belfast and were picked up at the station by a taxi that I had pre-arranged to take us to several locations in the Sperrins that were not accessible by bus. It was expensive, but it was not as expensive as renting a car would have been. The driver returned us to the bus station, where we caught a bus to Derry. The buses are very inexpensive, even the long-distance ones. If there are lots of sites you're wanting to see around Tyrone and Fermanagh that can't be reached by foot/bus/bicycle and you don't want to drive, I recommend contacting you host (hotel, B&B, holiday let) to see if they can recommend a local driver/guide. If not, contact a taxi firm and make advance arrangements for a flat fee.
depends where you are going , Translink NI is the Public Transport system www.translink.co.uk operator in Northern Ireland download the app from google play