I am planning a trip for the summer of 2015. Because of prior experience with my husband attempting to drive in England, renting a car is not an option for most of our trip. We can travel from Dublin to Galway by train, then take bus tours to Connemara and Aran Islands. Next I really want to take Shane Connolly's Burren tour. It appears that we can get to Ballyvaughan by bus from Galway. What are some places to stay close to the bus station in Ballyvaughan? We also plan to stay at Markree castle near Sligh Town. It appears that we can get to Collooney by bus from Sligh Town or should we fly to Strandhill, bite the bullet and rent a car to get to Markree? I see that Markree is off N4 from Dublin, but fear my husband's driving getting out of Dublin airport! Any additional ideas would be appreciated!
Posted by
US Pacific Northwest
10344 posts
"Because of prior experience with my husband attempting to drive in England, renting a car is not an option for most of our trip."
Do you feel like giving driving a try? Ireland is one of those few places in Europe where rail coverage is relatively limited (compared to most areas in Europe), and for this reason, having a car in Ireland allows you to see the many country sights that are not located near public transportation.
Posted by
Ann Arbor, Mi
3696 posts
@Kent... exactly what I was going to say...
Why don't you do the driving and let your husband 'relax' or do the navigating. Depending on where you drove in England there could be far less traffic in Ireland. Or was it simply driving on the other side of the road? Did you rent a stick or an automatic? Can make a huge difference. I drive a stick at home and all over Europe, but I do rent an automatic when in England and Ireland...it's just one less thing for me to worry about.
Posted by
OP
Charleston & Birmingham
4602 posts
My husband would not be at all open to my driving-he doesn't see anything wrong with his driving(his parents were also in the car in England and the 3 of us ganged up on him and insisted on turning the car in!). My daughter and I would have considerably less influence than his parents! Definitely need to use public transportation, but it seems like we really need a car for Markree-so should we fly to Strandhill and only drive from there, or drive N4 from Dublin?
Posted by
Colorado Mountains, USA
7937 posts
We got around by bicycle (hugging the left edge of the road with a couple of close calls), so our experience may be a bit different from your plans. Clearly lots of folks on this Forum have driven in Ireland, but many roads are narrow in places in the West, with frequent hills and corners, and you encounter local cars and trucks, and the occasional coach with foreign plates moving really fast down the narrow road. Our research indicates that, of all places in Europe, Ireland is one of the places where Super CDW insurance is most advised, and it would seem that if you were to get in a fender bender anywhere in Europe, Ireland would be a likely place. Again, you might wind up with no issues, but if you're questioning driving in Ireland, you may actually have some valid concerns.
We used Bus Eireann (www.buseireann.ie) buses to cover longer distances a couple of times, with the bikes in the luggage hold. They were great and got us where we needed to go. I got a kick out of the Irish setter on the side of the bus, instead of a greyhound. Maybe you've already researched all the bus options, but perhaps there are routes that would work for you.
Also, we visited The Burren from the west, staying in Lisdoonvarna and meeting our guide (Tony Kirby, not Shane Connolly) at the Burren Center museum in Kilfenora. Again, we were using bicycles, and later biked up to Ballyvaughan and had lunch there, but didn't stay overnight. While staying in Lisdoonvarna (and again later when staying outside of Dingle) we used a local taxi that our B&B hosts referred us to. Perhaps there is local taxi service where you're thinking of staying that could get you to places outside of the towns you've reached by bus. We called and they came and picked us up. Maybe the local tourist information office (reached by e-mail from your home?) can provide info on the availability of taxi services there.
We biked from Galway/Salthill to Rossaveal (the trickiest stretch of road our whole trip) to catch the ferry to Inishmore in the Aran Islands, taking our bikes along. We were glad we were able to stay the night on Inishmore but wished we'd had more time there. Hope you find suitable transportation arrangements.
Posted by
Rick Steves' Europe
16895 posts
Here are some insider tips from the co-author of Rick's Ireland book:
1. The Hyland's Hotel (www.hylandsburren.com) is the best choice for sleeping in Ballyvaughan. It's not in the current edition, but I will be adding it to the 2015 guidebook.
Shane Connolly is our recommended Burren guide (based near Ballyvaughan). But I will be adding Tony Kirby (based near Kilfenora) to the 2015 guidebook. Kilfenora is the gateway into the region from the south and Ballyvaughan is the gateway into the region from the north. Six of one, half a dozen of the other.
There are plenty of Galway based tours that visit the Burren as well as Conemarra or the Aran Islands (covered in the guidebook).
Bus service from Galway to Ballyvaughan is patchy. But ask at the bus window in Galway the night before. The bus station is within the train station in Galway.
Posted by
TN, USA
2156 posts
Make it easy on yourself an hire a driver. Tony McGann, Doolin Taxi, is someone we can recommend. We hired him for multi-day travel last summer, and we could not have been more pleased. Might be best for you to keep the train from Dublin to Galway, then he could meet you and take you all around the west side of Ireland. Everyone knows him, he is punctual, pleasant and great fun. Where we stayed overnight, he would pick up a room (elsewhere at his own cost) then meet us the next a.m.