Getting to the City
Cork Airport or Aerfort Chorcai (ORK) is located around 7 kilometres south of the Cork city centre. Getting to the city from the airport has several options that includes coach service and taxi.
Bus stop is located outside the terminal building. Bus Eireann operates coach service (line 226/226A) between the airport and Cork Parnell Place (main bus station) from 7:30am to 11:30pm at an interval of half an hour on weekdays and one hour on Sundays and Public Holidays. Single journey ticket costs 2.80 Euros. Ride time is around 20 minutes. Ticket can be purchased from the driver or online at Bus Eireann Website.
Taxis are available outside the terminal building. It takes around 15 minutes from the airport to city centre area and the fare is around 20 Euros.
You can choose from a wide range of private transport and transfer services (including airport transfers) and book online from this Viator site.
Car rentals too are available… details are given under car rental section.
Cork is also reachable by trains from various parts of Ireland including Dublin. The main rail station is Kent Railway Station located 10-minute walk from the main bus station (city centre area).
Cork ferry port is located around 20 kilometres southeast of the city centre at Ringaskiddy village. Ferries ply to France and Spain between April to October. Bus Eireann operates line 223 buses from the ferry port to city centre area and the bus ride takes around 50 minutes. The service is available from 6:40am until 10:20pm at an interval of around 1 hour on weekdays. The bus fare is around 5 Euros and ticket can be purchased on board from the bus driver.
Taxis are also available outside the ferry port. Taxi ride time is around 20 minutes and the average fare is around 25 Euros.
Public Transport
Bus service is a convenient and popular option for getting around Cork. Besides bus, train too is an option to visit suburbs and the nearby towns.
Bus
The main public bus service operator in Cork is Bus Eireann. There are four other bus operators that have services in and around the city. The main bus station is Cork Parnell Place located right within the city centre area. There are over 70 routes (including night routes) that connect different parts of the city as well as surrounding areas.
Apart from the main bus station the other bus stations in the city includes Ballydehob Bridge, Ballyvourney and St. Patrick’s Quay. The main bus station is the hub of regional, intercity and international bus services. Bus service within the city is available from 7:00am until 11:30pm from Monday to Saturday and from 9:30am on Sundays.
Hop on Hop off
A great way to explore Cork is by partially open topped hop-on hop-off buses. This service is operated by Cork City Tour. This tour covers majority of the Cork attractions (with 14 stops) that includes UCC, the Shandon Bells, Cork City Gaol, English Market, Glucksman gallery etc. The tour is available from 1st March up to 30th November daily. The schedule is as follows (starting and end point is Grand Parade for all rides)…
- March & November- First bus leaves at 9:30am and last bus departs at 3:30pm, loop duration is 1 hour 15 minutes and service interval is one and half hour.
- April, May, September & October- First bus leaves at 9:30am and the last bus leaves at 4:15pm. Service interval is 45 minutes.
- June, July & August- First bus leaves at 9:00am and the last one at 5:00pm. Service interval is 30 minutes.
Single day ticket valid for 24 hours costs 15 Euros per person. Ticket can be purchased from the driver or online at Cork City Tours Website.
Taxi
There are taxi ranks outside the airport, main bus station and outside the train station. Look out for the TACSAI license plate and the green-blue stickers. Several companies operate taxi services. Cork Taxi Co-op is one of the major players in this area. You can also hail a taxi on the road. Following are the fare structures…
Tariff A (from 8:00am to 8:00pm Monday to Saturday) – Initial fare is 3.80 Euros for first 500 metres or up to 85 seconds, thereafter 0.20 Euros for every additional 175.4 metres or 29.8 seconds.
Tariff B (from 8:00pm to 8:00am on Sundays/Bank Holidays) – Initial fare is same as Tariff A. For every additional 133.3 metres the fare is 0.20 Euros or 22.6 seconds.
The above fare is for a single passenger, for every additional passenger additional 1 Euro is payable. Pre-booking will attract an extra charge of 2 Euros. Visit Cork Taxi Co-op Website for more information on Cork taxis.
Following are some well-known taxi calling numbers…
- Cork Taxi Co-op- +353 (0)21 427 2222
- Cork Airport Taxi- +353 (0)87 281 2581
- Cork ABC Taxi- +353 (0)21 496 1961
- Satellite Taxis- +353 (0)21 480 8080
Train
Cork’s main train station is operational since 1893 and was originally known as Glanmire Road Station. The station was renamed in 1966 as Cork Kent Station after Thomas Kent. This station connects Dublin, Tralee, Mallow, Cobh and Middleton. Visit Irish Rail Website to know about Cork Kent station and different rail routes.
Tickets and Passes
There are two Travel Zones (i.e. fare areas) when travelling by Bus Eireann.… one is for standard zone within city (Red Zone) and the other for outer zone (Green Zone).
A Leap Card gives you up to 30% discount compared to cash fare. Adult single journey fare for Red Zone is 2.40 Euros if purchased by cash and 1.68 Euros if purchased using Leap Card. Outer zone single journey fare is 2.80 Euros by cash and 1.96 Euros with Leap Card. A Red Zone day fare is 5.60 Euros and 7-day fare is 23.30 Euros using Leap Card. Train fare for zone A with a Leap Card is 1.73 Euros, 2.43 Euros for zone B and 4.55 Euros for zone D.
You can purchase Leap Card online at Leap Card Website or from one of the authorised agents in Cork. You can top up using their app or at any of the agent outlets.
Getting to Major Attractions
All routes described below originate from the main bus station Cork Parnell Place.
- St Fin Barres Anglican Cathedral is a famous landmark of Cork. It is located around 1 kilometre southwest of the main bus station. Walking time will be around 12 minutes. Alternatively you can take bus 205 towards CIT campus or bus line 208 towards Curraheen Village and get down at Washington Street. Journey time is 7 minutes and then it requires a walk for 500 metres.
- The ancient church Anne’s Church is located on the other side of the river Lee and around 1 kilometre northwest of the bus station. Walk along R847 Street and cross over the river to get there… takes around 12-14 minutes. Alternatively take a line 202 bus towards Hollyhill or a line 203 bus towards Parklands Drive and get down at Mulgrave Road stop, then walk for 200 metres. Bus ride time is 3 minutes.
- The ancient British style fort Elizabeth Fort is located near St. Fin Barres Anglican Cathedral. Follow the same route direction mentioned above for St Fin Barres Cathedral. Alternatively take a line 214 bus from Patrick Street stop (300 metres walk) towards CUH A and get down at French’s Quay, from there it’s around 100 metres walk. Bus ride takes 8 minutes.
- O’Connell Square and Cork Butter Museum are two other exciting attractions of Cork. You should ideally combine the visit with St. Anne’s Church. From the church the square is located only 75 metres southwards. Walk along Exchange Street to get there.
- Cork City Gaol with its gloomy past is located across the river around 3 kilometres west of the main bus station. Bus line number 202, 208 or 220X can be taken. Disembark at Western Road stop (Hollyhill stop for bus 202) and walk for around 1 kilometre further west. Bus ride time is 10 to 14 minutes.
- Crawford Art Gallery with its impressive collections of sculpture, paintings and prints is located 500 metres northwest of Parnell Place and quite walkable. Take Maylor Street and then Opera Lane to get there. Walking time is around 7 minutes.
Day Trips
Following are few well-known day trips from Cork.
- Exploring Blackrock and its attractions requires a whole day. It’s located around 5 kilometres east of Parnell Place bus station. Take a line 202 bus from Merchants Quay stop (1 minute walk from Parnell place) towards Mahon Point Omniplex and get down at Ringmahon Road. From there it is 400 metres walk.
- Another interesting day trip is a visit to Blarney Castle and exploring the town of Cobh. Of course you should also visit the last stop of Titanic. Take a commuter train from Kent station towards Cobh. There is a train every one hour during off-peak hours and every half an hour during peak hours. Journey time is around 25 minutes and the single way train fare is 5.50 Euros. The place is located around 18 kilometres southeast of Cork. You can also go for a guided package tour. Usual tour duration is around 8 hours and the cost is 32 Euros per person.
- The port town of Kinsale is arguably one of the best scenic resorts of Ireland. Kinsale is located around 25 kilometres south of Cork city centre. Take a line 226 bus from Parnell bus station to Kinsale Town car park. Journey time is around one hour. Bus service interval is about an hour. One-way bus fare is 9 Euros approximately.
- The beautiful Copper Coast Geopark is an excellent yet lesser known place for a day trip. It is a UNESCO listed global Geopark. The place is located around 93 kilometres northeast of Cork city centre. Take a line 40 bus from the main bus station towards Rosslare harbour and disembark at Dungarvan, then change to a line 367 bus towards Lower Branch Road and get down at Bunmahon. Total journey time by bus is around one hour fifty minutes. The Copper Coast is only 300 metres away from Bunmahon stop.
- Fota Wildlife Park and scenic village of Ballycotton are located around 40 kilometres southeast of Cork city centre. Take a line 240 bus from the main bus station to Ballycotton. Bus ride time is around one hour. Bus fare is 12.35 Euros.
Bicycle Rentals
Coca-Cola Zero Bike Scheme is quite user friendly. A 3-day pass would be convenient for tourists. It costs 3 Euros with a security deposit of 150 Euros (refundable). First 30 minutes is free, 0.50 Euros for additional 30 minutes, 1.50 Euros for 2 hours, and 6.50 Euros for up to 4 hours, and then 2 Euros for every half an hour over 4 hours. There are 32 rental stations within the city with over 330 bikes. Visit their website for details.
There are several other bike rental companies in Cork. Hire rate varies. Average half day hire rate is 10 Euros, full day 15 Euros and 24-hour rate is 20 Euros. Weekend hire rates are usually higher. Following are few well-known bike rental companies…
- Cycle Scene- http://www.cyclescene.ie/rentals/
- Cork Bike Rental- http://www.corkbikerental.com/
- Cycle West Cork- http://cyclewestcork.com/
Car Rentals
All major European car rental companies are present in Cork. Rental rate for small cars starts from 30-35 Euros per day. Following are few well-known car rental companies…
- Europcar- https://www.europcar.com/
- Budget Car Rental- https://www.budget.ie/corkairport.htm
- Hertz- https://www.hertz.ie/p/car-hire/ireland/cork
Scooter/Motorbike Rental
A rider must be 25 years or older and must possess full motorcycle license from his/her own country in order to ride motorbikes in Ireland. The lowest rental rate is 135 Euros per day. In most cases you need to rent for minimum 3 days. Following are few well-known rental companies…
- Celtic Rider- https://www.motorental.ie/
- Phillip MacCallen Motorcycles- https://www.motorcyclehireireland.com/southern-ireland/
- Lemon Rock Bike- https://lemonrockbiketours.com/