Britain-Ireland cheaper & nicer than Ryanair!

Man_in_seat_61

Just a heads-up if you want to save money to or from Ireland, especially travelling at short notice. Or just reduce your airport stress levels...

thetrainline.com now sells 'SailRail' train & ferry tickets online from ANY rail station in Britain to ANY rail station in Ireland, via Holyhead.

One ticket includes the train to Holyhead, the ferry to Dublin and onward irish train.

See for yourself - try asking it for Little Kimble to Athenry, or Romford to Galway.

The fares are zonal, so any station in UK Zone D (London, the Southeast, East Anglia & South West) to Dublin costs £33 by train & luxury superferry 'Ulysses' (£5 more if you use the Swift fast ferry). Yes, Kyle of Lochalsh to Dublin for £33!

Any station in UK Zone D (including London) to Irish Zone 3 (covering Cork, Tralee, Galway, Sligo, Limerick) costs £50.50 (£5 more by Swift fast ferry).

Tickets sent to any UK address or can be collected at most main British stations.

The price is fixed, it doesn't change, so it's always £33 or £50.50, even if you need to travel tomorrow.

IrishFerries.com have done the same from the Irish end, you can book online from any irish station to any British station and either collect tickets at Dublin Ferryport or have them sent to any irish address.

Oh yes, and the morning train to Holyhead is a modern air-conditoned 125mph Virgin Voyager with T-Mobile WiFi, the scenery along the North Wales Coast is great, and the Irish ferries ship 'Ulysses' is excellent, for an extra £16 you can use the Club Lounge with views of the irish coast approaching, free tea, coffee, smoked salmon canapes and red or white wine...

And no baggage fees, weight limits, check-in fees, debit card fees or other such rubbish!

Man_in_seat_61

Oh, Scotland & the NE is in UK Zone D, too, in case you thought I thought Kyle of Lochalsh was in East Anglia!

Fruit_and_Nut_Case

Doesn't this belong in Overseas Holidays & Travel Planning?

Roger1

Fruit_and_Nut_Case wrote: »

Doesn't this belong in Overseas Holidays & Travel Planning?

Yes, if it belongs anywhere.

It's puff and has nothing to do with Ryanair.

I'm suspicious of the newbie poster's handle. Those who understand the expertise available at http://www.seat61.com/ (the website of The Man in Seat Sixty-One) may think there is some kind of connection. I don't.

Biggles

Roger1 wrote: »

Yes, if it belongs anywhere.

It's puff and has nothing to do with Ryanair.

I guess the Ryanair connection is the one that often crops up on here, the subject of their credit card charges and which card to use. Obviously, 'SailRail' is a way of avoiding them. But Overseas Hols & Travel Planning might be a better forum. Edit: there is a problem here, though, in that Overseas Hols &c has a subforum 'Flights, Currency & Car hire. No mention of railways. Public transport comes under the 'Motoring' forum and I'm not at all sure international rail travel would be appropriate there either.

I'm suspicious of the newbie poster's handle. Those who understand the expertise available at http://www.seat61.com/ (the website of The Man in Seat Sixty-One) may think there is some kind of connection. I don't.

It's definitely The Man in Seat Sixty-One. His earlier post (Jan 09) was on a problem area that I had discussed with him only the previous year. I'm not sure there was ever a solution to that, in fact.

Roger1

Biggles wrote: »

It's definitely The Man in Seat Sixty-One. His earlier post (Jan 09) was on a problem area that I had discussed with him only the previous year. I'm not sure there was ever a solution to that, in fact.

Thanks for this.

If it really is Mark Smith, I take back my comment. Personally, I find http://www.seat61.com/ the well-researched bible of all things rail.

Biggles

Roger1 wrote: »

Personally, I find http://www.seat61.com/ the well-researched bible of all things rail.

As do I. It's amazing the places you can get to by rail - and he always knows the best way to do it!