How to Plan a Travel Route in Ireland

The Republic of Ireland is a compact country with many transport options, making it easy to plan a travel route. Whether you want to travel by road, train or bus, you will find many resources online to making your planning even simpler.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

1. Start in Dublin. As the capital city of Ireland, Dublin is the best place for transport links, including an international airport, making it an ideal starting point for most destinations in Ireland.

2. Get a good map. If you're planning to drive, you may want to buy a driving atlas of Ireland, but if you just need information for particular areas, you may prefer to look online for local maps.

3. Use Discover Ireland's Route Planner. This excellent tool allows you to specify your starting point and destination, and three stop-off points along the way. It shows your route on a map and gives step-by-step directions by road.

4. Use the AA's Route Planner to plan your route by road. This is another essential resource if you're driving in Ireland. You can compare these to the results given by the Discover Ireland planner to find the best route.

5. Visit the Irish Rail website for details of rail routes. Travelling by train is a good alternative to driving. The Irish Rail site offers timetables, fares and reservations.

6. Get bus information from Bus Eireann. The bus is a slower mode of travel than the train, but can cost significantly less. Visit the Bus Eireann website for details of routes.

Tips & Warnings

• The Irish are notoriously friendly, so don't be afraid to ask for directions if you get lost.
• Remember that the Republic of Ireland is separate from Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK, so if you want to extend your travel into Northern Ireland, you may have to consult different sources.

Resources

• Discover Ireland has a Route Planner for destinations in Ireland.
• The Irish AA has a Route Planner for drivers.
• Get information about travelling by train from Irish Rail.
• Bus Eireann has all the details of travelling by bus.
• Visit the official site for tourism in Ireland.