Best rail/bus combo from Athlone to Dub Airport

tokenv

Do you guys know what the best path is to get to Dublin Airport from Athlone using a combination of bus and train?

My flight is on a Thursday at around 9am so I probably want to be there by 8 or so.

What I've seen so far by using getthere.ie is that I would take the train from 5:15 that arrives at Heuston at 7 and then take a Citylink that departs at 7:45 from Bachelors Walk and arrives at 8 at the airport.

Unfortunately from Heuston to Bachelors it's an half an hour walk and I'm afraid I might get to the bus station too late. Do you guys know if there's a bus from Heuston to Bachelors? I guess I could take a taxi, do you know how much it would cost?

Otherwise are you aware of any better routes?

athlonelad

tokenv wrote: »

Do you guys know what the best path is to get to Dublin Airport from Athlone using a combination of bus and train?

My flight is on a Thursday at around 9am so I probably want to be there by 8 or so.

What I've seen so far by using getthere.ie is that I would take the train from 5:15 that arrives at Heuston at 7 and then take a Citylink that departs at 7:45 from Bachelors Walk and arrives at 8 at the airport.

Unfortunately from Heuston to Bachelors it's an half an hour walk and I'm afraid I might get to the bus station too late. Do you guys know if there's a bus from Heuston to Bachelors? I guess I could take a taxi, do you know how much it would cost?

Otherwise are you aware of any better routes?

Citylink

tokenv

Can you be more specific?

The only Citylink direct between Athlone and Dublin Airport that arrives before 8 is the one that departs at 2:30am and arrives at 4:45. That means waiting for 4 hours at the airport which I'd like to avoid.

athlonelad

http://journeyplanner.irishrail.ie/bin/query.exe/en

Train is your option then. One leaves athlone at 5.15 am arrives at 7am. Bus to airport from hueston then. 747 bus is outside door of station brings you to airport. Think its operated by air link underthe banner of Dublin bus. Every 15 mins I think

tokenv

It seems like you're right!

http://www.dublinbus.ie/en/Your-Journey1/Timetables/All-Timetables/7471/

Thanks a lot for the info, I actually came up to the dublinbus site but didn't go through when I saw the getthere.ie page didn't mention it.

I guess you can get tickets on the bus directly?

Thanks again!

tokenv

By the way do you know how punctual those dublinbus buses are? It looks like it takes a whole hour to go from heuston to the airport, which would get me there at 8 but if the bus is likely to be late then I'd get a little bit short on time.

athlonelad

I only used it myself 3 or 4 times. I was always on a longer flight so had to be at airport a few hours earlier. Was always on time for me but if you missed the 7 o clock one you would have to wait til 7.15. I don't know how much a taxi would be but it would definitely get you there on time if you were stuck

tokenv

I don't know, 45 minutes before departure seems a bit tight, although I always travel light and check-in online so getting to the gate never takes me more than 20 minutes.

It's a pity they don't have any form of transportation between 2:30 and 5.

Longford Lass

I used Citylink a few weeks ago and have to say was very impressed with the service!
I took the red eye bus (3.30am!!) from Kinnegad which got me there a few hours earlier than necessary. However...at e15 return it was without doubt the most economical option available to me as well as being the most hassle free as it goes directly to the airport. Return service timetable from airport is also very good.
So...all things considered it was the best option for me at the time...and I certainly wouldnt hesitate to recommend it in the future!
Hope this is of some help?

tokenv

Yes I admit I was longing to find a direct transit from Athlone to Dublin Airport and Citylink would do just that.

Given all the other variables, including the chance of being late to the airport, I'll probably end up selecting this option myself.

Fact is one reason I moved to Athlone is that in my mind it would allow me to avoid what I had been doing for almost 2 years: long waits at the airport because of missing coincidences between bus and flight, guess I was too optimistic.

athlonelad

Seems odd that they go from Galway with city link so often direct to airport.Would only take 5 mins to stop at BnQ in Athlone. Must be full leaving Galway.

tokenv

Maybe by skipping Athlone they can take a different route with less traffic? Not sure.

whyulittle

There's no other way to Dublin from Galway without going by Athlone.

Their stop in Athlone is only about 30 seconds from the main road.

tokenv

Then I have no idea, maybe a "direct express" service sounds more efficient and it's some kind of marketing strategy

flazio

You see then, people would ask, 'What's so special about Athlone? Why not stop in Loughrea, Ballinasloe, Moate etc' and before you know it, we're back to just a normal non express service. Going back to your OP tokenv, that Citylink you want to take when you get to Dublin, did you check what time it leaves Athlone (if it does?)

poisonated

I agree with where you are coming from but Athlone is quite a big town and it's pretty much in the middle of the route between Galway and Dublin so it would make certain sense to stop there.

A taxi between Heuston station and the airport is about 20 euro.

athlonelad

Because Athlone is twice the size of the other towns you mentioned and there is a demand for it

tokenv

Yes the bus I'd take from Dublin is exactly one of the Express ones which has different timetables than the commuter service.

I agree if Athlone is a forced waypoint as it stands in the path it would make sense to stop there, but then again you couldn't call it "express" and maybe it really is just a matter of marketing, who knows.

tokenv

By the way guys I see there's a bus that goes from Golden Island to Willow Park (so it says in the written text on its side).

Do you know how far away from AIT does that bus stop, specifically the dublinbus AIT stop? Also is that bus servicing late at night (2am)?

athlonelad

No it does not go that late think maybe 6 or 7pm. Just about 50m into willow park on the right hand side. There is also some private operators (flag line)who do the same route

tokenv

Can you suggest a taxi service to get there? Do you think they'll know where to drop me off to get the Citylink bus? I've seen the stop location on their site but I don't know how accurate it is, do you think a taxi driver will know any better?

athlonelad

tokenv wrote: »

Can you suggest a taxi service to get there? Do you think they'll know where to drop me off to get the Citylink bus? I've seen the stop location on their site but I don't know how accurate it is, do you think a taxi driver will know any better?

Its across the road from temple printing. Yes any taxi driver worth his salt should know where the city link stop is. Do you know where apple green petrol station is token? Or BnQ?

tokenv

Actually I booked the AIT stop in my ticket purchase. I roughly know where the AIT entrance is but I'm not sure how close the bus will actually stop there. Maybe I'll call a taxi service and ask if they know. Do you have a taxi service phone number you'd recommend?

whyulittle

Their website says they stop just inside the main gate.

http://citylink.ie/index.php/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=64%3Aathlone-it

athlonelad

yeah its the gate straight in front of the roundabout in front of willow park. heres a list of taxi services


http://www.goldenpages.ie/taxi-service/athlone-westmeath-county/

tokenv

Yes as I mentioned I looked on their site but you can't always trust this kind of things, I looked on google street view and there's no "red pole" for bus stops there so it was a bit of a chance hit.

I also looked those up on goldenpages but I thought maybe you knew a specific reliable taxi service that "is worth his salt"

athlonelad

They all speak the same language (€)
no its not an official bus eireann type stop. Its just to the right of the main gate. you wont see any bus signs or anything.

tokenv

Ok thanks maybe I'll call one of them tomorrow to be sure they know the place.