Getting Around County Galway by Thomas Hollowell and Katie Kelly Bell
Galway City is County Galway's most booming and well-known town. Galway City is 220km (136 miles) from Dublin and easily accessible by train or bus. It is also 210km (130 miles) from Cork and 190km (120 miles) from Killarney.
Flying
The Galway Airport (091 755 569, www.galwayairport.com) is located in Carnmore, 8km (4 miles) outside of the city. Aer Arann (08 18 210 210 or 091 541 900, www.aerarann.com) serves a majority of the flights. Four flights per day (three on Sunday) connect Dublin to Galway. Elsewhere in Europe from Galway, the airport serves Belfast, London Luton, Edinburgh, and Manchester. Another option is to fly into the international hub of Shannon Airport (90 km/55 miles south; see Chapter 12).
Getting from the airport to the city center is possible in a taxi ( 20); free taxi phones are available inside the airport. Abbey Cabs (091 569 469) and Galway Taxis (091 561 111) are on call from Eyre Square. Inquire with your hotel or B&B to arrange a pickup/drop off. Only one bus per day departs from the Galway Rail Station to the airport at 12:50 P.M. and departs there at 1:25 P.M.
Essential
Galway City traffic can be jam-packed, especially during rush hour and on weekends. The city center is pedestrian only, so driving is not feasible. Car parks are located on the edge of the city center. The cheapest one is Qpark (www.qpark.ie), which also offers even cheaper rates if your hotel has made a deal with them.
Bus and Car
Bus éireann (091 562 000, www.buseireann.ie) has a travel center at Ceannt Station, southeast of Eyre Square, in Galway City. They operate several routes per day connecting to the Shannon Airport through Ennis and Galway from 7 A.M. to 9 P.M. Additionally, buses to the Galway suburb of Salthill and to Dublin leave from the Eyre Square Bus Station. Various other companies, including City Link (091 564 163 or 1 890 280 808, www.citylink.ie), depart from Galway to Dublin (6:30 A.M. to 5:30 P.M.) from the Galway Tourist Office. Buses also travel into Connemara and to Cleggan from the tourist office.
Train
Irish Rail (091 561 444, www.irishrail.ie) links Galway's Ceannt Station to Dublin's Heuston Station with various departures daily. Those traveling elsewhere would use the Athlone Station to go into County Mayo or the Portarlington Station to go into the south of Ireland.
