Access to Killarney

Location

Ireland's peripheral location on the western edge of Europe may on rare occasions present some access delays for the visitor but its island location on the north Atlantic also ensures that it always maintains its uniqueness.

Killarney is located in the County of Kerry (a.k.a. The Kingdom), at the heart of the very beautiful and spectacular Southwest. Within 30 kilometres north, west and south of Killarney, the mild waters of the Atlantic Gulf Stream introduce themselves to Ireland and onwards to the United Kingdom. The resulting climate in Ireland Southwest is at worst temperate and on occasions sub-tropical. This is reflected in lush distinctive flora across the Southwest from the Dingle Peninsula, through the Killarney Valley, around the Ring of Kerry, through Kenmare and into West Cork.

Air Access to Killarney and the Region

Perhaps the most immediately important international access to Killarney is via Kerry Airport http://www.kerryairport.ie - located only 15 minutes drive from Killarney town. A young, vibrant and rapidly developing facility, Kerry Airport provides Killarney with direct daily access to the UK and Germany with developing routes to France and other EU & UK destinations. It provides multiple daily commuter connections to Dublin International Airport and onwards to the wider world.

Cork Airport http://www.corkairport.com is only c.75 minutes drive from Killarney and provides a range of UK and EU connections. Shannon Airport http://www.shannonairport.com is approximately 110 minutes drive from Killarney and in addition to UK and EU connections it offers direct flights to the USA with pre-clearance facilities for US bound travellers. Dublin Airport http://www.dublinairport.com provides significant international access to Killarney via Kerry Airport but also through its connections with Cork and Shannon Airports and of course also by linking to Killarney by road (c. 5 hours), and by rail from Dublin City direct to Killarney in c. 3 hours + depending on schedule.

Sea Access to Killarney and the Region

There are several sea-ferry links between Ireland and the UK and also between Ireland and France. The nearest Ferryport to Killarney is Cork which has developed a seasonal direct service with Swansea in south Wales and also with Roscoff in France. More frequent multiple daily services between Ireland and the UK run between Rosslare (Southeast Ireland c. 3.5+ hours drive from Killarney) and the southern Welsh ports of Fishguard and Pembroke. These services are provided by Irish Ferries http://www.irishferries.com and Stena Lines http://www.stenaline.com Both ferry companies also provide frequent UK services between Dublin/Dun Laoghaire (c. 5 hours drive from Killarney) and Holyhead in north Wales. Services also run between Dublin and Liverpool and in the north of Ireland between Larne and Stranraer in Scotland.

Rail Access to Killarney

Killarney has been directly linked by railway to Cork and Dublin since 1853 and currently has c. 7 to 8 daily services serving both cities from its award winning rail station. Through its line via Mallow and Limerick Junction it also connects to other cities and counties including Limerick City. Full Train Schedule Information available from http://www.irishrail.ie

National Bus Service

Irelands national bus service http://www.buseireann.ie links many parts of Ireland on a scheduled multi-time per day basis.

Ground Transport

Killarney has an excellent Taxi service and has a number of large Coach and Limo operators see the Touring section of this site http://www.killarney.ie