Trains
In the Republic , Irish Rail (Iarnrod Eireann tel 01/836 6222) operates trains to many major cities and towns en route; on direct lines it's by far the fastest way of covering long distances, but the network is by no means comprehensive - Donegal, for instance, has no service at all. In general, train lines fan out from Dublin, with few routes running north-south across the country. So although you can get to the west easily by train, you can't sensibly use the train network to explore the west coast. Train travel is not particularly cheap, either. If possible avoid travelling on Friday or Sunday when the prices are steepest and buy a return ticket as singles cost nearly as much. As a general example, an off-peak Dublin to Galway single ticket costs GBP16/?20.32, rising to GBP22/?27.94 on either a Friday or Sunday, a monthly return, excluding Friday and Sunday costs GBP22/?27.94. It's always worth asking about any special fares that may be on offer; or if you're doing a fair amount of travelling, it may be worth buying a train pass . Irish Rail's Irish Rover ticket, valid in the Republic and the North, costs GBP83.50/?106.04 for five days out of fifteen. A further option open to 16-26 year olds is the Faircard which gives a fifty percent discount on tickets. Available from any Iarnrod Eireann office, it costs GBP8/?10.16 and is valid for a year. Given the limited reach of the rail system, one of the most useful options is the Irish Explorer Ticket, a combined rail and bus pass , covering all intercity state and private rail and bus lines in the Republic (but no city transportation except DART ) and costing GBP67/?85.09 for any five days' travel out of fifteen consecutive days, and GBP90/?114.30 for eight out of fifteen days. For unlimited train and bus travel in the Republic and the North, an Emerald Card costs GBP115/?146.05 for eight days out of fifteen, GBP200/?254 for fifteen days out of thirty (same prices in Northern Ireland). Bear in mind, though, that the nature of travel in Ireland is such that you very rarely stick to your carefully drawn itinerary, and you may not get the value from your pass that you hope for. A Freedom of Northern Ireland Ticket, for daily (GBP10) or weekly (GBP37) unlimited travel on trains and all scheduled Ulsterbus services, is available at main bus and railway stations. The only service between the Republic and the North is the Dublin to Belfast express (6 each way daily, 2hr; GBP19/?24.13 single, GBP29/?36.83 return); this is quite an expensive option but is by far the most comfortable train in the country. Once in the North , you'll find only three short train routes, but these are efficient and reasonably cheap: a Belfast to Derry ticket will cost you GBP7.10 single, GBP12.60 return. If you are looking for a train pass a Runaround ticket is valid on all Northern Irish trains for one week and costs around GBP37. Students in possession of an ISIC card can buy a Travelsave stamp (GBP8/?10.16 from any USIT office in the Republic - Dublin, Cork, Galway, Limerick, Maynooth and Waterford), while in the North it's a Translink stamp (GBP7 from offices in Belfast, Coleraine, Derry and Jordanstown), which entitles you to discounts of fifty percent off standard train fares and thirty percent off bus fares. The cost of taking bikes on trains varies between GBP4/?5.08 and GBP6/?7.62 per single journey in the Republic. In Northern Ireland it costs a quarter of the single fare. North American travellers also taking in Great Britain might benefit from the BritRail and Ireland Pass , which entitles the holder to five days' unlimited travel within a month (US$528 first class, US$396 standard) or ten days within a month (US$752 first class, US$566 standard). The pass, which must be purchased before departure from North America, is available from Rail Europe ( www.raileurope.com ) and some travel agents .
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