Self-created rail/bus tour of Ireland starting in Galway

It is easy to get from town to town by train or bus, but it will eat up your time so you have to be well organized. It will depend which city you are in as to whether or not you can get around by public transit or walk. Towns like Killarney and Galway are great places to base yourself for a few days because there are a lot of things to see nearby, but there is not necessarily public transit that will get you around because these are not large towns. You will find that the only way to get to some places is through the bus tours. I did several bus tours, and although not my first choice they did a good job of getting me to where I needed to go. For instance, out of Galway I did a bus tour to the Aran Islands. All the bus really did was provide transportation to the ferry, and your ferry ticket to get you to Inishmore, then once there you were on your own to do what you wanted for the day. One of the tours I did out of Dublin was one of the best experiences of my trip because the company used a small bus that only seated about 12 people, and the guide was the best I encountered. He really knew his history, and was very passionate about sharing it. My advice to you is to try to base yourself in one town for at least three nights. The less time you spend on a train or bus getting to the next town, the more time you can spend seeing the things you want to see.

Dear Anita, thank you for the advice. That sounds more like what we should do. We don't want to be beholden to a bus, but we do need to get around. I like the idea of staying in one place for at least three nights.

How should we dress for the Aran Islands? I am concerned about space in our backpacks because we will be going to England as well and hiking boots will take up a lot of room.

Any more advice would be appreciated.

Thanks again!

In-town sightseeing in most smaller towns is compact and walkable, and the same applies for the old-town areas of larger cities. If a city bus or subway is typically needed, it will be described and shown on maps in your guidebook, or hotel staff can also advise you. Do pack light, so you won't feel so dependent on choosing the B&B that's closest to the train station or bus stop.

Sturdy walking shoes are a good idea, since Ireland has lots of "off-road" wandering opportunities, but they need not be boots.

Dress for rain on the Aran Islands, even if it looks like it will be a nice day. It seems the weather can change rather suddenly out there as myself and another girl decided to walk out across the rocks to the sea. When we got there we sat down for a while and looked at a very black cloud that was quite a distance off shore. But not for long, and we realized too late that it was rapidly heading our direction. I had an umbrella, but she had nothing to protect her from the downpour that had everyone running for cover. The end result was we both got soaked. I did not take boots of any kind, they are too heavy to carry around if you aren't wearing them. There are lots of shoes for hiking that work just fine.