Arriving and Getting to the Tour
The Heart of Ireland in 8 Days tour starts in Shannon, Ireland, in the western part of the country. The logistics to get there can be a bit tricky. You can either work with layovers (unless you are already on the East coast of the US), to land at the Shannon Airport, or you can use public transportation to get from Dublin in the east, to Shannon, a few hours to the west. After looking up the bus and train schedules, we chose to fly into tiny Shannon Airport after a brief layover in Boston.
What light beyond my window breaks...it is Ireland. This picture features our first glimpse of the Emerald Isle from the airplane window. We arrived bright and early, just as the sun was peaking over the horizon. Shortly after, we arrived a hair before 6am to Shannon.
We found Shannon Airport to be small and simple to navigate. It was easy to find everything you need, since it was all in one area, baggage claim (which we didn't need. We pack Rick Steves style), currency exchange, ground transportation, ATM, and an information booth in case you are still lost and confused.
We found Shannon Airport to be small and simple to navigate. It was easy to find everything you need, since it was all in one area, baggage claim (which we didn't need. We pack Rick Steves style), currency exchange, ground transportation, ATM, and an information booth in case you are still lost and confused.
Jetlag:
Rick Steves Recommends getting in a day or 2 early if you can to give yourself time to adjust to the time change and jetlag. Parent guilt kept us from adding too much time before the tour begins, but enough time to compensate should there be any delays travelling. You cannot guarantee that your transportation will get you there on time. Always give yourself a padding. For us, we arrived in Shannon at 6am Irish time, but our tour did not start in Ennis until 2pm. Its only a 30 minute bus trip from the Shannon Airport, but one cannot be too careful when arriving at your destinations!
Bus:
Speaking of the bus. It could not have been easier to get from the Shannon Airport to Ennis, where we would be starting our tour. We took the bus ride up to Ennis. Its only about a 30 minute ride and the first bus left the airport around 6:20am. So we did not have to wait long. You can purchase your bus tickets at the bus ticket machine. We looked up the bus routes beforehand so we knew what we were looking for.
Once on the bus provided by the national bus system, Bus Eireann, we were able to relax. The bus was super nice. Its essentially a charter bus. We passed through beautiful pastoral landscapes and tried to get adjusted to being in a vehicle on the other side of the road. Additionally, the driver asked us "where to" and made sure we got off at the right spot and was concerned that we make it to our final destination. When he wasn't sure he had heard of our hotel, another passenger who was also exiting ,walked us to the Old Ground Hotel. Irish kindness showing itself to be superb immediately.
Speaking of the bus. It could not have been easier to get from the Shannon Airport to Ennis, where we would be starting our tour. We took the bus ride up to Ennis. Its only about a 30 minute ride and the first bus left the airport around 6:20am. So we did not have to wait long. You can purchase your bus tickets at the bus ticket machine. We looked up the bus routes beforehand so we knew what we were looking for.
Once on the bus provided by the national bus system, Bus Eireann, we were able to relax. The bus was super nice. Its essentially a charter bus. We passed through beautiful pastoral landscapes and tried to get adjusted to being in a vehicle on the other side of the road. Additionally, the driver asked us "where to" and made sure we got off at the right spot and was concerned that we make it to our final destination. When he wasn't sure he had heard of our hotel, another passenger who was also exiting ,walked us to the Old Ground Hotel. Irish kindness showing itself to be superb immediately.