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Getting to Clare

County Clare is a maritime county lying midway on the Mid West of Ireland. The county is bordered by the Atlantic to the west, the Shannon estuary to the south and Lough Derg on the east. The county boundary commences just east of the city of Limerick and runs in a north westerly direction to Galway Bay just north of the town of Gort. Neighbouring counties are Tipperary, Limerick, Kerry and Galway.

By air

Shannon International Airport is only 20 minutes drive from Ennis town. The airport, which positions itself as the gateway to the west of Ireland, continues to serve the majority of its business on transatlantic routes. The airport is excellently served by a wide range of airports from the UK, Continental Europe and the US. See www.shannonairport.com for flight information.

By rail

Ennis can be reached by rail from Belfast, Dublin, Cork, Galway and Limerick. See Irish Rail website or alternatively ring Ennis Railway Station on +353 65 6840444.

By bus

Regular buses serve Ennis from Shannon Airport, Galway, Limerick, Cork and Dublin. See: www.buseireann.ie or www.citylink.ie There is a bus station in Ennis Town which will provide you with a timetable of daily services.

Local Link Limerick Clare is a local public transport bus service that provides better links between rural transport and national bus and rail services throughout Ireland. TFI Local Link bus services are low cost and available for anyone wishing to travel to or from their local town, village or parish. We operate Door-to-Door Routes. These services have the added benefit of collecting and dropping off passengers at their homes. They are demand responsive which means they require pre-booking. For timetables visit www.locallinklc.ie or phone (065) 6719101 for booking.

A number of private bus companies offer bus tours around County Clare. Visit www.clare.ie for more information.

Dublin Coach operates hourly services from Dublin to Ennis.  Telephone +353 1 4659972

By road

Most parts of County Clare are accessible through National Roads marked "N" on roadmaps e.g. "N85". Smaller country roads are denoted with the letter "R". Other roads or tracks may be prefixed with the letter "L"- these roads are narrower and usually not marked.

Visit AA Road Planner to view online maps of the routes to and around County Clare.

Visit Clare Tourism to view a list of car hire companies operating in County Clare

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