With an alternative route along a rather spectacular railway.
Dublin – Kilkenny – Waterford – Limerick – Galway – Dublin (with an alternative rail route between Dublin and Wexford, and then by bus to Waterford)
DUB Ryanair flights available from throughout the UK.
SNN Ryanair flights available from throughout the UK.
This trip can be made in either direction, and from either Dublin Airport or Shannon Airport, and there is no difference in which direction you travel (it will all depend on your own itinerary). owever, as Dublin is the most popular entry-point, I have started from there, and have traveled in a clockwise direction.
The alternative route is detailed at the end.
1. Dublin Airport (DUB) to Dublin city centre.
You can reach central Dublin from Dublin Airport, by bus and taxi.
The bus journey takes around 55 minutes.
Dublin Airport website: www.dublinairport.com
2. Dublin to Waterford, via Kilkenny (train).
Train journey duration: 2 hours 10 minutes (around 1 hour 30 minutes between Dublin and Kilkenny).
Important: the railway station at Waterford is actually called “Plunkett” (which may cause some confusion).
Waterford is world-famous for Waterford Crystal. But has so much more to offer besides.
Official Waterford Tourism website: www.visitwaterford.com
3. Waterford to Limerick (train).
Train journey duration: 2 hours 10 minutes.
There is no rail service on this line on Sundays and public holidays.
However, this was one of the most memorable train journeys in Ireland for me. It might have been because I was travelling through the southern Irish counrtyside on a glorious evening. It was just so peaceful and beautiful.
You might find that you need to change trains at Limerick Junction for the last short hop (20 minutes) into central Limerick (Limerick Colbert Railway Station).
Official Limerick Tourism website: www.limerick.ie
4. Limerick to Galway (train).
Train journey duration: 1 hour 55 minutes.
Ah, Galway. As well as the city itself, this is the Gateway to Connemara and the Gateway to the Aran Islands.
Official Galway Tourism website: www.galwaytourism.ie
5. Galway to Dublin (train).
Train journey duration: around 2 hours 30 minutes.
Note: This train arrives in Dublin at Dublin Heuston Railway Station.
Official Dublin Tourism website: www.visitdublin.com
6. Dublin city centre to Dublin Airport.
Dublin Airport (photo: www.dublinairport.com)
Bus journey duration: Around 55 minutes.
The bus to Dublin Airport leaves from both Heuston and Connolly Train stations in central Dublin (among other locations too).
Dublin Airport website: www.dublinairport.com
The Alternative Route between Dublin and Waterford.
The railway between Dublin and Wexford is rather spectacular. Especially when the train travels along the clifftops at Bray, and also the area just before Enniscorthy.
Ironically though, to include the most spectacular rail route in the Southern circuit of Ireland, which itself can be completed by rail alone, you must also take a bus journey (between Wexford and Waterford). However, if you are arriving or leaving on a ferry from Rosslare Harbour, then simply add this journey to the main Southern Circuit from Dublin.
Official Wexford Tourism website: www.visitwexford.ie
These “virtual” journeys are just my way of continuing to see the world, now that the progression of my ataxia means that lengthy travel is no longer a possibility for me. Hence the detail. By planning the journey in such detail, I end up knowing the route so well that I feel like I have been on it myself. Although in this case, I have.
So if this article has inspired you, saved you some valuable time (or even just saved you a few pounds/euros/dollars), please show your appreciation by making a donation to Ataxia UK (registered charity), by following this link:
100% of your donation goes directly, and immediately, to Ataxia UK (plus an additional 25% if you are a UK-taxpayer and have ticked the “Gift Aid” box).
And a personal request?
Share a photograph, that you take at some point on your journey, with me on Twitter. Not necessarily your “best” photograph, but the one photograph that will forever remind you of your journey.
That way I can live a little piece of the journey through your eyes.
Slàinte Mhath!