Mini tour of Ireland

[Therealsouthstander]

I'm going to do a short 8 day tour of Ireland in early June. My plan is to get the ferry into Belfast, then either train or bus to cork and make my way as far back up the coast as I can ,before getting public transport back to the ferry in Belfast..the problem I'm having is getting back to Belfast. If I'm in say Sligo or or Westport, the only way on the train is to go via Dublin !! This journey will take around 7 hours.

Does anyone have any suggestions for getting back to Belfast on a Sunday morning or late afternoon Saturday?

My other option at the start of the tour is to get the train from Belfast to Derry/Londonderry and head to Donnegal and then South Sligo,Westport,Galway ,ring of Kerry and hopefully Dingle.but I'm still going to have the same problem getting to Belfast.. Would it be possible to get one bus to the border then another on a Northern Irish bus to Belfast ?

Any help on routes would be very helpful too


Many thanks

[iviehoff]

If you are in Sligo city, then you are only 40 miles from Enniskillen from where you can get a bus back to Belfast. You can certainly ride from Cork to Enniskillen in 8 days by some route, not even the most direct, if you want to, the question is whether you'd want to, but you probably wouldn't have time to make any detailed explorations on the way. Having once spent a week cycling just around Counties Kerry and Cork, another cycling just around Counties Galway and Mayo, and not having exhausted the possibilities of those areas, I wonder why you'd want to make such a long distance itinerary, when the joy of Ireland is cycling the little roads by indirect routes. You can equally easily fill a week cycling around Co Donegal, which using transport from Belfast to Derry.

[eileithyia]

While no expert on the transport, i would agree with Ivan, you will be dashing thru glorious countryside.... why not do a short tour and enjoy what there is, i have been back 2-3 times and still have stuff to see and explore. When i was over there the first time i was warned the peninsulas, Dingle, Kerry etc can take far longer than to cycle around than you think.....
Why not go up the coast from Belfast, take in Antrim, around to Ballycastle, out to Giant's Causeway, Derry and possibly Malin Head if it fits in and back?

[Therealsouthstander]

If you are in Sligo city, then you are only 40 miles from Enniskillen from where you can get a bus back to Belfast. You can certainly ride from Cork to Enniskillen in 8 days by some route, not even the most direct, if you want to, the question is whether you'd want to, but you probably wouldn't have time to make any detailed explorations on the way. Having once spent a week cycling just around Counties Kerry and Cork, another cycling just around Counties Galway and Mayo, and not having exhausted the possibilities of those areas, I wonder why you'd want to make such a long distance itinerary, when the joy of Ireland is cycling the little roads by indirect routes. You can equally easily fill a week cycling around Co Donegal, which using transport from Belfast to Derry.

Yeah your probably right that I'm trying to cram to much into such a short space of time..

Out of interest,did you prefer your Cork/Kerry trip or Galway/Mayo one ?

[darkvalley]

You can get a bus direct from Sligo to Belfast. I have to agree with others, to cycle the whole of the west coast in 8 days would not be great fun. Have you considered cycling from Belfast up the Antrim coast and across via Derry into Donegal. Great scenery and good cycling roads, plus easy to get back to Belfast at end of trip. Or take the bus to Sligo and cycle back to Belfast around the coast.

[Farawayvisions]

The west coast by road is 2,500 km and is worth taking your time. 8 days is too short to cover this route even in by car. I cycled 550km last year and didn't leave the coast of Donegal and took 10 days and this is my home county!

http://www.farawayvisions.com/bikepacking/bikepacking-ireland-wild-atlantic-way/

I was over on a visit last week and drove to Galway from Donegal to meet a friend for lunch. 4 hours to drive and 3.5 hours back. The buses are even slower so make sure you factor this in. Wherever you decide to ride, it'll be lovely. Enjoy it.