My wife and I are visiting Port Issac in Cornwall/UK the second week October, 2026. After that we have been thinking about visiting Ireland/N. Ireland. Not renting a car. How feasible is this for late October?
For N. Ireland, we are thinking two days in Belfast, 2 days in Derry, using the train for transportation. Maybe the Antrim Coast if bus is available, but RS book on Ireland says during our time of October, bus may not be running.
Then taking the train to Dubin for 2 days. From Dublin, I see there are trains to the west coast of the Republic of Ireland, which we would probably take to visit Sligo-Galway-if buses are not running that time of year. Also thinking about Dingle Coast, but with public transportation, that may be out. Dingle would be nice, but not on our to do/see list.
Really didn't want to rent a car, as I drive 100 miles round trip each day to work, and I need a vacation simply from driving.
But things may change, depending on a particular sight to reach, we are not opposed to renting a car.
We dont care about the weather that time of year either.
Let me know what you think, mainly about the transportation/bus during the month of October, and any other things to do. Seems like we could get some good deals on lodging during this time too.
Posted by
Lake District, England
10768 posts
For Port Isaac it is perfectly feasible- the bus, #96, runs year round- for all network maps and bus information see the transport for cornwall website- https://www.transportforcornwall.co.uk/
The train will take you to Bodmin Parkway then bus to Wadebridge, change for Port Isaac is the obvious route.
However the village itself has caught a cold since the end of the TV series, fickle tourists have now moved on. So it is pretty quiet now . The second week of October will be just before the school Autumn half term and the last tourists of the year. But any later than the end of October and the village will be in winter hibernation mode.
Port Isaac is good for a day visit, but Cornwall has way more to offer, which is accessible by bus/train- even just on the far northern coast up to Boscastle, Bude, Launceston way.
That isn't taking in the south coast, and all the beaches and history further south west.
You don't say how long you are in Cornwall for but it would be a shame to miss out on all of that.
The time efficient way to reach Cornwall from London (if starting there) is to fly from London Gatwick to Newquay, then bus #94 Newquay Airport to Wadebridge, for the #96 to Port Isaac.
You can then fly all year from Exeter Airport to either Belfast City or Dublin on Aer Lingus (or also all year from Bristol Airport to Dublin on Aer Lingus or Belfast City/Belfast International on Easyjet).
Ryanair also fly from Newquay to Dublin all year and Aer Lingus seasonally from Newquay to Belfast City and Dublin (so may still be running in mid October).
As for Northern Ireland the RS book is partly right and partly wrong- Translink run all year round buses on frequent timetables as far east as Ballycastle (via the Giants Causeway and Carrick a Rede etc), and also from Ballymena to Cushenden. However the bus along the Antrim Coast between Ballycastle and Larne via Cushenden has always been high summer season only.
So there is still a lot you can access- https://www.translink.co.uk/
The Sligo to Galway bus is another year round Expressway #64 bus which doesn't alter by season. The 64 actually starts in Derry so you could do the Antrim Coast then direct to Sligo on the bus then direct to Galway on the bus.
Train to Dublin or Tralee for buses to Dingle.
It is also entirely possible to go all the way from Galway to Dingle on buses 51 and 13 changing at Limerick, and almost as fast as the train.
From Dingle there are various TfI local link Kerry year round buses- 268, 275, 276, 277a and 277b which do a pretty reasonable job of covering the coast- https://www.locallinkkerry.ie/
Posted by
Lake District, England
10768 posts
For clarity for Bristol Airport you either take the train to Bristol Temple Meads then the frequent Airport Flyer bus which runs 24/7,
or the hourly 24/7 Stagecoach Falcon service which runs direct from Plymouth and various intermediate points- book it on the Megabus website
For Exeter Airport it is train to Exeter St Davids then bus 4a every 30 minutes (journey time 30 minutes)