Similar to the Netherlands, Ireland is an Interrail friendly country, with a fairly extensive network across the Irish island.

Getting to Ireland

By ferry

Ireland does not have any railway connections with mainland Europe or Great Britain. Instead, several ferries connect Ireland with Great Britain, as well as some direct services to France and Spain.

Great Britain

The main ferry companies to Ireland are Irish Ferries and Stena Line. Both offer a 30% discount with a valid Interrail Pass and a booking does not exhaust a travel day.

There are two routes: Fishguard-Rosslare & Holyhead-Dublin. Other connections are available via Belfast. Note however that no discount is offered on the Liverpool-Belfast service.

Fishguard-Rosslare has great rail connections at each end with stations right in the port – but ferries and trains are all very infrequent and poorly timed to connect. If traveling from London to Dublin, this can only be done in one single day on Saturdays, but this is not possible in the reverse direction as of 2024. However, this connection could work well if you are heading to southern Ireland – though you will need to take a bus service from Rosslare as the Rosslare-Waterford line is closed. This route is operated by Stena Line.

Holyhead-Dublin is usually the better option to use. Ferries and trains run more frequently at both ends. At Holyhead the station is in the port. As well as local trains, long distance services from London and Manchester are timed to meet some ferry services. Ferries on this route are operated both by Stena Line and Irish ferries. The Irish ferries departures are split into standard and catamaran sailings – the later are £6 more expensive but a lot quicker (2h vs 3h15m). The catamaran is though unable to operate in even moderate conditions and the catamaran does not operate at all in the winter. If you are considering the catamaran, make sure getting the next standard sailing service. There is no rail connection to Dublin Port which is in an industrial area on the edge of the city center. Bus route 53 runs to the port and stops near Connolly station. It runs every hour. Payment for this is cash only and change is not provided. Check for timetables here. Nolan Coaches also run a bus timed to meet the arrival of the ferry – this bus is card payments only. Check the timetables for these services carefully as though most buses leaving the port serve both Heuston and Connolly railway stations many buses towards the port only serve one/neither – sometimes requiring a tram to the city center. Some websites (including Google Maps) show some buses run by Mortons Coaches – these no longer operate.

On both ferries larger bags will need to be checked in – similar to at an airport. There is no charge for this.

RailSail and SailRail tickets are also available as well as standard foot passenger tickets. These include the ferry and the train on either the British or Irish side at a very steep discount. More info at Irish Ferries and at Stena Line. Be aware that if you are making a one way trip from Ireland to Great Britain with Stena Line, you have to book by phone. On some of these Stena Line connections, these tickets allow you to check-in with less time then a regular standard foot passenger ticket in order to facilitate some connections. More info at Stena Line.

Be aware that traveling via the UK means leaving the EU. Interrail/Eurail Global Passes are still fully valid for travel in the UK, but you will need a passport and cannot travel with an ID card, unless one is an Irish citizen. Check your travel insurance and phone coverage and be aware that reservations for Eurostar are very popular.

France

Irish Ferries operates services between Dublin and Cherbourg. You can get a 30% discount which does not require a travel day. More information is available at the Interrail site. Check times and prices at Irish Ferries. Note that only some sailings allow foot passengers.

SpaiN

Brittany Ferries operate services from Rosslare to Bilbao and Santander. No Interrail discount is offered on any of these routes. Check times and prices at Brittany Ferries.

Interrail validity in Ireland

Ireland does not mean Great Britain

With ‘Ireland’, we consider both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. Albeit Northern Ireland is part of the United Kingdom, Interrail considers Great Britain to be a separate entity and thus Interrail One-Country Passes for Great Britain are not considered valid in Northern-Ireland and the other way around.

Domestic railway services

Interrail is valid on all trains operated by Iarnród Éireann (also known as Irish Rail, from now on mentioned here as ‘Irish Rail’), including DART suburban trains and on all trains operated by NI Railways (Translink). Interrail is not valid on Luas (Dublin tram network).

International railway services

Interrail is valid on the cross-border service Enterprise, which runs between Belfast (Northern Ireland) and Dublin (Republic of Ireland).

Seat reservations

Seat reservations are optional for intercity (IC) and Enterprise services in Ireland, but particularly on peak hours and weekend trains to/from Dublin a reservation is recommended.

Reservations can be made:

• online at the site of Irish Rail
• at a ticket desk of any staffed Irish station
• by calling +353 1 836 6222

To reserve seats for Irish Rail intercity (IC) and Enterprise services online, select the option “Reservation only” or “Free Travel Pass” after pressing “Passenger” in the journey planner.

Tickets/reservations for Irish trains are available up to 90 days in advance. Online reservations generally cost €2.50 in second class, but note: there is a limited availability of “Reservation only” tickets. Reservations can sometimes be free of charge when the reservation is made online in advance, again depending on availability.

If one possesses a first class Pass, one finds prices that vary between €10 and €20, but do note that these prices are upgrades and not reservation-only fares. It appears not to be possible to book a reservation for a first class Pass online and instead it is advised to make a seat reservation at a ticket desk at any Irish station.

Note that when one queries a journey between Dublin and Belfast and filters for “Free Travel Pass” or “Reservation Only” to indicate the possession of an Interrail Pass, the site tends to automatically select two adults. Correct this where applicable.

One can obtain reservations as a QR code ticket, or one can print this at a railway station in the Republic of Ireland only.

It is not possible to reserve for regional Irish Rail services and for any NI Railways services.

Trivia

If you are traveling with standard tickets and wish to travel in first class it is often much cheaper to purchase a second class ticket and upgrade rather than a first class ticket.

Main railway terminals in Ireland are:

• Dublin Connolly (for servies towards the north-west of the Republic of Ireland and Northern-Ireland, e.g. Sligo, Dundalk, Belfast)
• Dublin Heuston (for services towards the west and the south of the Republic of Ireland, e.g. Galway, Limerick, Cork)
• Belfast Grand Central Station (for services in Northern Ireland and towards Dublin. Note: this is a new station, which opened in October 2024, to replace the former Great Victoria Street station and Lanyon station as terminus for the Enterprise)

The Republic of Ireland uses the euro as currency and Northern Ireland uses the pound sterling. Although perhaps unnecessary to add, don’t be alarmed if the banknotes look different from the ones you may have seen in England, Wales or Scotland. Either way, both are valid legal tender in the whole of the UK.

In Ireland it is common to see Gaelic alongside English, so names and general information may be shown differently as you might expect: e.g. “Corcaigh” is the equivalent of Cork.