We
encourage you to buy travel passes through
BackpackIreland. Why? Because we earn a tiny
commission that helps us upgrade and improve
our pages for you! We have also limited
the number of passes we advertise to those
companies we believe provide the best services
and packages.
RAIL
PASSES TravelSave and Faresave Stamps
If you have an ISIC card you can pay €10
for a TravelSave stamp which gives you a
50% discount on trains in Northern Ireland
and the Republic of Ireland and 15% off
Bus Éirean services. Purchase stamps
in USIT Travel offices.
Emerald Card
This is a good pass if you are spending
considerable time in Ireland and gives unlimited
travel on bus and train services operated
by IanEireann, Northern Ireland Railways,
Bus Eireann, Dublinbus, Ulsterbus and Citybus.
It costs €198 for eight travel
days in a 15 day period and €341
for 15 travel days in a 30 day period.
The Eurail pass
This is considered by many as the best option
for travelling through Europe, and Ireland
is one of the 17 countries where you can
use it. It is especially good for those
with limited time. There are 15, 21, 30
and 60 day passes available and prices vary
depending on the countries chosen for travel.
Discounts are available for those under
26 years.
Europrail
Europrail ( www.europrail.net
) offers Euro and other European passes.
Rail connection provides passes for all
over Europe including the Eurail pass.
Make sure you buy your pass before you leave
for Europe. Also remember that rail passes
do not guarantee seats on trains. You still
need to book the seats ahead of time as
trains are often crowded.
BUS PASSES
Bus and rail combination passes are listed
in the section above.
You may also consider getting a bus pass
through Bus About Eurobus or Eurolines.
Eurolines is the largest network of international
buses in Europe.
People under 26 years are around 10% less
than the adult full fare. There are several
circular explorer routes and passes available.
Individual tickets are available on all
routes with a number of circuits available
allowing the traveller to travel along a
pre-determined circular route taking in
various destinations along the way. These
passes are supplemented by the more flexible
Eurolines pass. The Eurolines pass is probably
the best travel deal in Europe allowing
unlimited travel between 46 destinations
in 26 countries on the Eurolines network.
This pass is great value particularly during
summer when it is a cheaper travel option
than the equivalent Busabout pass. For more
information visit the website at www.eurolines.com
Busabout
busabout.info@virgin.net is another
pass option for travellers and will also
book accommodation for you in advance. However
most of these are camping sites outside
major towns. Eurobus also operates providing
a hop on and off service.
LOCAL TRANSPORT
Within each city there are daily, several
day, weekly or monthly passes for local
transport. Check our city
guides for more details or email us
to ask at ireland@backpackglobe.com
DRIVING Auto
Europe offers worldwide car rental services
including coverage of Ireland. They also
have scheduled air from the USA to Europe,
2,000+ three and four star hotels, prestige
and sports car rentals, hotel bookings,
chauffeur drive and transfer services, European
and South Pacific Motorhome Rentals, and
European cellular phone rentals.
