My wife and I are heading to Ireland (first time!) on April 4, part of a short notice business trip that we're adding some personal time to as well. We'll be flying into Dublin, staying in Leixlip for about 5 days. Besides our airfare and time in Leixlip, I haven't made any reservations anywhere yet. But our plan is to head south to Kinsale (south of Cork) for a couple of days , then head to Killarney for a day or two, and then head up to Galway to catch our flight home (on April 15). Given this, I would like to leave Dublin on Sunday (April 9) and arrive in Kinsale later that same day. Would it be best to take the train or a bus? Would it be possible catch a bus that also includes some type of tour, stopping a few times along the way? That way we could possibly take in some other sights for that day (maybe like Waterford).
Also, we'll be relying on public transportation for this trip. I'd like to find places to stay that are within walking distances of the various downtowns. Are B&Bs a good way to go? We plan to do the Ring of Kerry and Blarney Castle. Any recommended tour companies for these tours, or for other tours (in Kinsale, Cork, or Killarney areas)?
A good way to get aheads up on public transportation is to read Anita's info.
You can do this by clicking on the Search logo, then type in train. When a bunch of topics come up, focus on what Anita has written. Lots of good stuff. Not to steal the thunder from our Queen Michele's #1 royal forum, Anita is our Princess of public transportation info.
How nice that you get to combine business and pleasure. First, take a look at my "Transport" page because it has links to Irish rail and bus services. You can check schedules there. Generally, the rail system hubs in Dublin and goes out from there. You may find yourselves using the bus as well. You can certainly get to Cork City from Dublin and from Cork to Killarney by train.
Generally tours start in one place (like Dublin or Killarney) and do day trips to various places, returning to the original starting point. So you will not be able to take tour-like transport unless you would like something like RailTours: http://www.railtours.ie/
As for Waterford (I assume you want to see the Waterford Crystal Factory Tour?) you can buy the crystal all over Ireland. With your short time you might want to skip that.
The time of year you will be there will mean less tours available. However, Killarney is a prime place to stay that has tours all year long. From there you can do the Ring of Kerry, Gap of Dunloe and Dingle. See: www.derostours.com
Thank you very much for all the details. This helps quite a bit as I try to make all the pieces of this trip fit together.
When planning the various train/bus transportsion pieces of my trip (Dublin to Cork/Kinsale on Apr 9, Kinsale to Killarney on Apr 11, Killarney to Galway on 4/13), should I be booking the actual transportions online now or wait until I actually get to each city?