Cork, Ireland — Travel Tips
Getting There By Air
Cork International Airport
Tel: (021) 431 3131.
Website: www.corkairport.com
Cork Airport is located 8km (5 miles) south of Cork City.
Airport facilities: A bank, ATMs, currency exchange services and a hair salon are available to travelers, as well as shops, cafes, bars and restaurants. An executive lounge is located in the departures area. The terminal building is easily accessible: facilities specially adapted for people with disabilities include telephones, toilets and lifts.
Transport to the city: Bus Éireann (tel: (021) 450 8188; www.buseireann.ie) provides frequent direct coach services between the airport and the city center from early morning until late at night. (Journey time - 30 minutes.) Skylink (tel: (021) 432 1020; www.skylinkcork.com) has coaches departing Cork Airport every 30 minutes connecting with over 30 city hotels, guest houses and city center locations. Cork Airport Taxi (tel: 0872 812 581; www.corkairporttaxi.com) operates from the airport. There is a taxi rank located outside the main terminal.
Getting There By Road
Cork is situated 257km (160 miles) southwest of Dublin, and the road connecting the two cities, through the midlands and Golden Vale of Ireland, is the N8, which branches off from the Dublin-Limerick N7 road and runs south via several towns before it enters the eastern outskirts of Cork city. There it connects with the N25 southern ring road, which to the east heads towards Waterford and to the west enters the Jack Lynch Tunnel under the River Lee and so constitutes a traffic link between east and west. The N22 stretches west from Cork, towards Killarny. North of the city the N20 heads to Limerick and Shannon. The distance to Limerick is 105km (65 miles). Belfast is 424km (263 miles) away.
Emergency breakdown services
Tourist members of the AA in their own country (with evidence of current membership), can use the AA Ireland free car rescue service while in Ireland. The emergency number to dial is 1 800 667 788.
Other companies advertising 24-hour breakdown service include Ardfallen Motorcare (tel: (021) 432 2999 or 0872 556 675) and Fitzpatricks Recovery Ltd (tel: 0862 500 789).
Coach services
The main coach operator to and from Cork is Bus Eireann (tel: (021) 450 8188; www.buseireann.ie), which offers frequent coach services between most of the major towns and cities in the Republic of Ireland and the bus station at Parnell Place in Cork.
Getting There By Rail
Irish Rail (Iarnród Éireann) (tel: 1850 366 222; www.irishrail.ie) is the main rail operator in Ireland. It runs Kent Station (tel: (021) 450 6766), Cork's main railway station at Lower Glanmire Road, 10 minutes from the city center, from where there are services to most of the country, including Kerry, Limerick, Waterford and Wexford as well as direct intercity rail services to Heuston Station in Dublin and commuter services to the town of Cóbh by Cork harbor. The station facilities include disabled toilet, car park, luggage trolleys, a shop and a cafe. There is also an Irish Rail Travel Center located on platform 4 at the station.
Getting Around in Cork, Ireland
Public Transport
Bus Éireann (tel: (021) 450 8188; www.buseireann.ie) operates 18 different bus routes in Cork city, most of which run from early in the morning until around midnight. A similar number of bus routes connect the city with its environs and the wider southwest region. The company offers a number of travel pass options to tourists.
Taxis
Cork Taxi Co-Op (tel: (021) 427 2222) and Shandon Taxi Cabs (tel: (021) 450 2255) are two of the city's taxi companies.
Car Hire
Avis (tel: (021) 428 1171 or 432 7460; www.avis.ie), Budget (tel: (021) 431 4000; www.budget.ie), Europcar (tel: (021) 491 7300; www.europcar.ie), Irish Car Rentals (tel: (021) 431 8644; www.irishcarrentals.com), and Thrifty (tel: (021) 497 7884; www.thrifty.ie) are some of the car rental companies in Cork.
Bicycle Hire
For those who wish to explore Cork by pedal-power, Rothar Cycles, 55 Barrack Street (tel: (021) 431 3133; www.rotharcycletours.com), has bicycles for hire.
