Published
Getting around the west of Ireland without a car
We checked the public transport on 14 of our routes against the Bus Éireann, Aircoach, Dublin Coach and Irish Rail timetables in October 2026. Six of them need a change, and four of those six changes happen in Limerick. Where the bus runs direct, the main corridors are well served: 24 departures a day from Shannon Airport to Limerick, and 14 a day between Galway and Ennis.
Limerick is where the west changes buses
On the routes we checked, Limerick is where the bus network joins up. From Shannon to Adare, from Galway to Adare, from Galway to Killarney and from Shannon to Dublin, the timetable puts you off one bus in Limerick and onto another.
The connection is the weak point. Route 14, which takes you on from Limerick to Adare and Killarney, runs 4 times a day on the weekday timetable. Miss one and the next can be hours away, and a late flight into Shannon makes that more likely, not less.
What the timetables say
These are the weekday timetables we read on 26 and 27 October 2026, set against the time of the same journey by private transfer. Weekend timetables differ, so check the operator's site for the day you travel.
| Journey | By bus | Changes | Private transfer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shannon Airport to Limerick | Bus Éireann 343, 39 to 62 min, 24 a day | None | 25 min |
| Shannon Airport to Bunratty | Bus Éireann 343, 17 to 27 min | None | 15 min |
| Galway to Ennis | Bus Éireann 51, 1 h 15 min, 14 a day | None | 55 min |
| Limerick to Galway | Bus Éireann 51, 2 h 35 min, 12 a day | None | 1 h 30 min |
| Limerick to Tralee | Bus Éireann 13 by way of Listowel, 2 h 05 min, 7 a day | None | 1 h 35 min |
| Limerick to Cashel | Bus Éireann 332, 1 h 37 to 2 h 03 min, 6 a day | None | 55 min |
| Shannon Airport to Adare | Bus Éireann 343, then 14 | 1, at Limerick Colbert Station | 40 min |
| Galway to Killarney | Bus Éireann 51, then 14 | 1, in Limerick | 2 h 45 min |
Where the bus stops short
A direct bus is not always a bus to the door. The 51 from Shannon Airport towards Ennis passes Dromoland Castle without stopping: the first stop after the airport is Clarecastle, beyond the hotel.
Adare has its stop, but only on route 14, so a guest at Adare Manor arriving at Shannon goes into Limerick first and waits for one of four buses a day back out. The private transfer from Shannon Airport to Adare takes 40 min.
When the bus is the right answer
For one traveller with a single bag, between two town centres, the bus is hard to argue with. The 343 between Shannon Airport and Limerick runs around the clock, and the 51 between Galway and Ennis leaves 14 times a day. If that describes your trip, take it.
The sums change with a family, a group, golf bags or a connection to make. Our price is for the whole car, not per seat, so four people pay the same as one, and there is no change in Limerick to miss. Many travellers mix the two: the bus between cities on a light day, and a car for the arrival, the departure and the journeys with a change in them.
Sources
- Bus Éireann weekday timetables, routes 13, 14, 51, 332 and 343 (buseireann.ie), read 26 and 27 October 2026
- Aircoach 700 (aircoach.ie) and Dublin Coach 300 (dublincoach.ie), read 26 October 2026
- Irish Rail, Cork to Cobh timetable valid from 14 December 2025 (irishrail.ie)
- Irish Transfer journey times for each route listed