Bus Éireann Expressway Review: Dublin to County Donegal, Ireland

Summer is (almost) officially here, and it is officially HOT in Spain. In Alicante, we are gearing up for the famous Hogueras celebration, and I’m excited but also not sure I’m mentally ready for two straight weeks of staying up until 3 a.m. But in the meantime, we took a break from the heat and the planned chaos to visit our Irish besties, Sarah and Kelan, for a week-long trip to the north of Ireland and Northern Ireland.

When we landed in Dublin, Sarah and Kelan had already been up in County Donegal with Sarah’s family, and that’s where we were going to meet them to start our trip. So it was up to us to arrange our transportation from Dublin to Ballyshannon, Donegal, where they would pick us up. After a little bit of research, it turned out our best option was a direct bus from Dublin Airport to Donegal with Bus Eireann Expressway. So, here’s my Bus Éireann Expressway review: Dublin to County Donegal, Ireland.

Logistics

The Route 30 bus departed from Dublin Airport Bus Station at Zone 12. We booked our bus tickets online directly through Bus Eireann Expressway just under a month in advance of our trip, and it cost €26.50 per person. However, now comparing prices with other bus booking companies like Omio, it seems like Omio may have better prices. Be sure to do a bit of price comparison before booking.

After booking, we immediately received our tickets via email, with QR codes that we were able to board the bus with. No need to print the tickets! And seats were not assigned, so we just took any seats we wanted upon boarding.

Convenience

We were very thankful that the Route 30 bus picked us up directly from the Dublin Airport. Some of the other lines we’d considered had pickup locations in downtown Dublin, which would have made it a lot more complicated. Our flight arrived into Dublin at 12:30 p.m., and the scheduled departure time for the bus was 2:20 p.m. This gave us plenty of time to go through passport control and find our stop at the bus terminal.

Most of the buses you can take from Dublin Airport are just a few minutes’ walk from Terminal 1. When leaving the airport, you’ll cross a street and follow the signs for Zones 5-18, listed next to a bus icon. You’ll pass through a building that has a little bus station waiting area on the right, and a large convenience store/small grocery store on the right. It’s a great place to grab some snacks while waiting for your bus! If you’re arriving in Terminal 2, I think it’s about the same but maybe just a little bit more of a walk.

Security

There was no security checkpoint at either bus station.

Experience

The bus arrived about 10 minutes late, which wasn’t too bad. There was a website where you could track bus arrivals, but it wasn’t accurate — it said the bus was going to be even later, but it showed up pretty close to on time. I read online that you can’t take hot drinks onto the bus, so we stuck with water and snacks.

When we boarded the bus, we chose seats about halfway down the aisle, just behind the bathroom. (You could go down a set of stairs to get to it.) But no one used it during the journey — probably because there were only about 15 other people on board! There was also a screen that showed how many minutes it would take to get to the next destinations, but it was also inaccurate so we didn’t pay it much attention.

Our bus ride was scheduled to last 3.5 hours, and knowing how winding the roads can be in Ireland, I was a little nervous for the trip. I wasn’t sure if it was going to be a bus ride that dragged on and on… a few years ago, our bus ride from Manuel Antonio to San Jose in Costa Rica ended up lasting way longer than scheduled due to traffic, and I was a little nauseated by the time we arrived.

But the Eireann Expressway Bus was super comfortable and the trip felt like it went fast! It certainly helps when you have such amazing scenery, it’s nice and cool (and raining of course), and you’re just really happy to be in Ireland again. I just listened to some music and looked out the window, and ate my snacks one by one. It was probably one of the chillest long-distance bus rides I’ve ever had. Before we knew it, we were arriving in Ballyshannon right on time, and Sarah and Kelan were waiting for us.

Value

For only €26.50 per person, I was extremely happy with the price and quality of service. Our other option to meet up with Sarah and Kelan was to fly into Donegal Airport rather than Dublin, but it still would have meant we’d need to connect with a layover in Dublin, which I’m sure would have made the whole travel time the same — if not more — and would certainly have cost more than just taking the bus the rest of the way.

Plus, while traveling by train is my favorite way to see more of a country, in the absence of that option I was happy with the bus. It was clean, comfortable, and we arrived at our destination on time.

Final thoughts: Expressway Bus from Dublin Airport to Donegal

We loved our visit to the north of Ireland, and if we find ourselves in a similar situation where we need to meet Sarah and Kelan somewhere else in Ireland, I would definitely choose to fly into Dublin and take the Eireann Expressway bus again. We only took it one-way on this trip, but it gets five stars from me based on my one experience with them!

 

Have you ever taken bus from Dublin Airport to Donegal or somewhere else? What did you think of it? Let me know in the comments!

-Cathy

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