Ireland (Lonely Planet, 9th Edition) - Fionn Davenport [342]
Several private bus companies are based at the glossy new coach station (Bothar St), which is located near the tourist office. They include the following:
Citylink ( 1890 280 808; www.citylink.ie) Offers service to Dublin (3¼ hours), Dublin Airport, Cork, Limerick and Connemara. Departures are frequent and fares are as low as €10.
gobus.ie ( 091-564 600; www.gobus.ie) Frequent service to Dublin and Dublin Airport. Buses have wi-fi.
Train
From the train station ( 091-564 222), just off Eyre Sq, there are up to five trains daily to/from Dublin’s Heuston Station (one-way from €35, three hours). Connections with other train routes can be made at Athlone (one hour). In late 2009, it was expected that the line between Galway, Ennis and Limerick would be reopened after a massive rebuilding program.
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GETTING AROUND
To/From the Airports
Bus service between Galway airport and Galway is comically useless, with just one or, at best, two buses a day (€3, 15 minutes). A taxi to/from the airport costs about €20, and can be ordered from a bank of free phones at the airport. Some B&Bs and hotels can arrange pick-up.
Bus Éireann (www.buseireann.ie) operates numerous daily services from Shannon Airport to Galway (€13.50, two hours). Citylink (www.citylink.ie) also runs services between Galway and Shannon Airport (€15). Citylink and gobus.ie serve Dublin Airport.
Bicycle
On Earl’s Island, opposite Galway Cathedral, Europa Bicycles ( 091-563 355; Hunter’s Bldg; 9am-6pm Mon-Sat) hires bikes for €12 for 24 hours.
Bus
You can walk to almost everything in Galway, including out to Salthill, but you’ll also find frequent buses departing from Eyre Sq. For Salthill, take bus 1 (€1.50, 15 minutes).
Car
Parking throughout Galway’s streets is metered. There are several multistorey and pay-and-display car parks around town.
Galway’s unprecedented growth and the resulting lack of infrastructure serving its urban sprawl means that traffic in and out of the city centre can bank up alarmingly. For a stress-free holiday, leave the roads to commuters at peak hours if possible.
Taxi
Taxi ranks are located on Eyre Sq, on Bridge St, and next to the bus-train station. You can also catch a cab at a taxi office. Try Abbey Cabs ( 091-569 469) or Cara Cabs ( 091-563 939; 17 Eyre Sq; 24hr).
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ARAN ISLANDS
Easily visible from large swaths of coastal Galway and Clare Counties, the Aran Islands sing their own siren song to thousands of travellers each year who find their desolate beauty beguiling. Day trippers shuttle through in a daze of rocky magnificence, while those who stay longer find places that, in many ways, seem further removed from the Irish mainland than a 40-minute ferry ride or 10-minute flight.
An extension of the limestone escarpment that forms the Burren, the islands have shallow topsoil scattered with wildflowers, and jagged cliffs pounded by surf. Ancient forts such as Dún Aengus on Inishmór and Dún Chonchúir on Inishmaan are some of the oldest archaeological remains in Ireland.
A web of stone walls (1600km in all) runs across all three islands. They also have a smattering of early clocháns (drystone beehive huts from the early Christian period), resembling stone igloos.
Inishmór (Árainn in Irish, meaning ‘Big Island’) is the largest and most easily accessible from Galway. It is home to one of Ireland’s most important and impressive archaeological sites, as well as some lively pubs and restaurants, particularly in its little township Kilronan. The smallest island, Inisheer (Inis Oírr, ‘Eastern Island’), with a notable arts centre, is also easily reached from Galway year-round and from Doolin in the summer months. Inishmaan (Inis Meáin, ‘Middle Island’) tends to be bypassed by the majority of tourist traffic, preserving its age-old traditions and evoking a sense of timelessness.
Hardy travellers find that low season showcases the islands at their