Which is more practical and/or economical for traveling around Ireland and Scotland? Is the price of gas a hindrance/factor to consider? We want to see all the common sights and realize trains probably don't hit all those places. What about alternating train and rental car travel? Does that sound like too much of a hassle?
Posted by
Lakewood, Colorado
19240 posts
As far as the Irish Republic is concerned, the rail network is pretty sparse, but buses go all over. I've been doing some planning for a future trip, and we are looking at 4 major days of travel. Using a 3 day Open Road pass for the Republic and one day of point-point, the bus comes to $186 for 2. I got three quote for car rentals. The lowest one was for a Focus. With fuel estimates from ViaMichelin for the same trip as the bus routes, but without any Collision Insurance, the car's cost came to $560. $560 compared to $186 plus no financial exposure with a bus - we'll take the bus.
Posted by
Tempe, AZ, USA
1266 posts
Elodie - I know that car rental is expensive in Ireland. I have done both car & train in Scotland, and I perfer the train. Pamela & Toni are very knowledgable on travel in Scotland. Pamela perfers driving, while Toni does not perfer to travel on the wee roads.
Posted by
OP
Woodward, OK, USA
85 posts
Thanks! I would prefer to leave the driving to someone else - aka train and bus drivers so we'll see how that works out. In a rental car in Austria I took a wrong turn and ended up in Italy instead of Germany!
Posted by
Charleston, SC, USA
91 posts
Agree with the votes for taking the bus(at least in Ireland)! I was in Ireland for 2 weeks in March 2010, and took the bus exclusively to the cities I visted: Dublin>Kilkenny>Cork>Kinsale>Dingle>Limerick. The drivers were friendly, and the buses were clean, comfortable, affordable, and always on time!
Posted by
Missoula, MT
76 posts
great question! we are in the midst of planning a trip and figured driving would just be the better option. guess we should consider the bus. does anyone know how well the buses run around the Christmas season?
Posted by
Lakewood, Colorado
19240 posts
The website, http://www.buseireann.ie, has schedules for Intercity and Regional bus routes as indicated by the numbers on the map I gave earlier. The schedule will indicate the days of operation. I think most buses say no service on Christmas day.