A few weeks ago, I visited Ireland. It was certainly not my first trip to Ireland, but I did have the opportunity to do a bunch of things for the first time while I was there! It was my first time ever going to a “hen,” also known as a bachelorette party. It was my first time playing pádel in Ireland. And… it was my first time traveling through Ireland by train!
My friend Sarah‘s hen party was in Galway, but she and most of the other girls going on the trip live in the Dublin area. And knowing how much Sarah loves trains, there was only one viable transportation option: Irish Rail from Dublin to Galway.
Funny enough, I’d taken a charter bus across Ireland, road trips across Ireland, and even a public bus across Ireland. But never a train. So here’s my Irish Rail review of what it was like to travel from Dublin to Galway (and back).
Logistics
Since we were going to be a group of eight taking the train, Sarah’s sister Jenny bought all of our train tickets together on one booking. I believe she bought the tickets in late June, so about six weeks before the trip. It cost €33 per person, round trip, which I considered to be super reasonable! The price for train tickets in Spain has felt out of control lately, so I was happy with €16.50 each way. Once she bought the tickets, she got them all in a PDF via email. However, you will need the original version to scan through the ticket gates at the station — a screenshot won’t scan properly.
Jenny also selected our seats, which were two sets of the “table” seats of four, across the aisle from each other. This was perfect for a group of eight! And even better than that, she customized the little screens above our seats so it said the seats were reserved for “Sarah y las señoritas”!
Our train from Dublin departed at 9:25 a.m. and arrived in Galway on time, exactly two and a half hours later at 11:55 a.m. On the way home, our train also left Galway on time at 1:40 p.m. and arrived in Dublin at 4:18 p.m.
Convenience
Dublin has two major train stations, Heuston Station and Connolly Station. Irish Rail trains from Dublin to Galway always leave from Heuston Station, which is on the west side of the city center. It’s not too difficult to reach, as the Red Luas line (tram/light rail) has a stop just outside. From Sarah’s house, we took the Green Luas into the city and were planning to transfer to the Red… but then we decided to just taxi the rest of the way because we were running a bit low on time.
Once you’re inside Heuston, you shouldn’t have a problem at all finding your platform. The station isn’t particularly big or confusing, there are only a couple of trains per hour, and there’s a large departures board in the middle of the station that gives all the information you should need.
Security
There was no security checkpoint at either station.
Experience
My first thought upon boarding the train was that the train’s interior was pretty nice. It looked fairly new, the seats didn’t seem too worn or beat-up, and it was clean. The overhead bag storage was spacious. And after sitting down, I found that there were outlets at each seat and free Wi-Fi throughout the train.
Sarah & Jenny on the train!
On both journeys, to and from Galway, the trip passed quite uneventfully, which means there really isn’t a ton to say in this part. Honestly, that’s a good thing! But there were two small areas I saw for improvement (in case you’re reading this, Irish Rail).
First, the bathrooms were pretty gross. Train bathrooms aren’t known for being amazing, but I’d say these bathrooms were fairly grimy even compared to other train bathrooms I’ve used.
Second, there was no snack/cafe car! That’s one of my favorite things about taking the train — having the ability to get up and walk to the cafe car to see if they have any goodies. Even if you’re not hungry, it’s fun to go check it out. But Irish Rail did not have a cafe car on this train, nor did they even have a little snack trolley pass through the aisles. So be sure to bring any snacks you might want with you!
Update: Apparently just a week after our trip, they decided to start offering the snack trolley on the Dublin-Galway route for a limited time as part of a pilot program. 😉 So I guess we’ll find out if it sticks around!
Value
Despite those two tiny complaints, taking the train from Dublin to Galway was a lovely experience! I’ve always said that (while I love Dublin and other Irish cities) the real beauty of Ireland is in the countryside. And if you don’t want to rent a car, don’t have friends with a car, or you don’t want to travel by bus, I think taking the train is your best option.
The train stations were centrally located, so it wasn’t difficult to get from the “city center” of either Dublin or Galway to the train. The stations were small enough that you didn’t feel like you needed to be there two hours early. The trains were modern, comfortable, time-efficient, and punctual. And the price was so reasonable at only €16.50 each way!
I would absolutely take the Irish Rail train again, either to Galway or another one of Irish Rail’s destinations — like Belfast, or even a place like Westport, where Sarah’s told us she wants to take us sometime! The only downside is that, if you don’t have a car, it’s not as easy to explore surrounding areas once you get there. (For example, going to Giant’s Causeway from Belfast, or the Cliffs of Moher from Galway.)
But for a city break weekend trip, I’d highly recommend Irish Rail. I hope I have the opportunity to take it again soon. (And maybe have some snacks on board!)
So, that’s my Irish Rail train review! Have you ever traveled by train in Ireland, or are you planning a trip? Let me know in the comments!
-Cathy
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