Getting Around Limerick
Limerick is a compact city that straddles the River Shannon, with its historic core on King's Island. For most visitors, the practical approach is simple: walk the centre, use buses for anything further out, and treat taxis as a convenient fallback. There is no metro or tram system in Limerick, so your choices come down to walking, cycling, buses, and taxis.
Walking
Walking will get you everywhere in the city centre. The main sights, shopping streets, and riverside areas are close enough together that you rarely need transport for a day of sightseeing. If you are basing yourself centrally, you can treat the bus and taxi network as something you use mainly for reaching suburbs, hospitals, the university, or the airport.
Cycling
Cycling is possible but not especially convenient for a spontaneous visitor. Bikes need to be rented weeks in advance, and there is only one bike rental shop in town. If cycling is part of your plan, arrange it before you travel rather than expecting to pick up a bike on arrival.
Buses
Bus Éireann operates frequent buses in Limerick, and all routes run via the city centre. That makes the bus network reasonably easy to use even if you do not know the city well: if you are heading out from the middle of town, you will generally find a route serving your direction.
- Bus 301 — from Raheen and University Hospital Limerick in the southwest to Westbury in the north, every 30 minutes daily.
- Bus 302 — loops west from Henry Street in the city centre via University Maternity Hospital, Thomond Park, Limerick Institute of Technology, and Caherdavin, returning to Sarsfield Street in the centre, every 20–30 minutes daily.
- Bus 303 — from Pineview in the northwest to O'Malley Park in the southeast, every 20–30 minutes daily.
- Bus 304 — from Raheen and Ballycummin in the southwest to Castletroy and the University of Limerick in the east, every 30 minutes daily. Bus 304A is similar, running from Raheen via University Hospital.
- Bus 305 — from St Mary's Park in the north to Lynwood Park in the east, hourly daily.
- Bus 306 — from Ballynanty in the northwest to Edward Street in the south city centre, hourly daily.
- Bus 313 — from Arthur's Quay in the city centre to Ardnacrusha in the north, four to five times Monday to Saturday.
The TFI website has a map of the city bus network, which is worth checking before you travel if you want to plan specific journeys.
Tickets and fares
You can pay cash on the bus, but a TFI Leap Card is cheaper. Cash fares within the city are €2.40–2.80 for adults and €1.40–1.70 for children, while Leap Card fares are €1.68–1.96 for adults and €0.98–1.19 for children. On a TFI Leap Card, 24-hour, 7-day, and monthly tickets are also available, which can be good value if you plan to use buses repeatedly during your stay.
Rail
Limerick has a main railway station, Limerick Colbert, on Parnell Street, next to the bus station. It is a terminus station with step-free access to all platforms. The ticket office is open Monday to Friday from 6AM to 6PM, and there are ticket machines, toilets, and a Starbucks on site.
Rail is more useful for arriving in or leaving Limerick than for getting around the city itself. Hourly trains from Dublin Heuston take about two hours; a few are direct, but usually you take the train for Cork and change at Limerick Junction, which is also where you change if coming from Waterford. Five trains a day run from Galway, taking about two hours via Athenry, Gort, and Ennis. Two trains a day run Monday to Saturday, and one on Sunday, from Ballybrophy on the Dublin–Cork line via Roscrea and Nenagh. For timetables, fares, and online tickets, see Irish Rail.
Taxis and Ride-Hailing
Taxis in Limerick bear a yellow bar with their licence number and "taxi" or "Tacsaí" printed on it. If the light is on, the taxi is available for hire. Ignore unofficial taxis.
Fares are nationally regulated, so you pay the same rate whether you are stuck in traffic or taking a back route. Taxis are required to use the meter, to accept credit and debit cards as well as cash, and not to add a surcharge for card payment. However, booking a taxi rather than hailing one on the street or using a taxi rank costs €3 extra, and phone apps may impose a further charge.
Fares are revised every two years. From December 2024, the standard rate (Monday to Saturday, 8AM–8PM) has a flagfall of €4.40, then Tariff A at €1.32 per km or €0.47 per minute up to a maximum of €23.60, then Tariff B at €1.72 per km or €0.61 per minute. The premium rate (Monday to Saturday 8PM–8AM, all day Sunday, and most public holidays) has a flagfall of €5.40, Tariff A at €1.81 per km or €0.64 per minute up to a maximum of €31.80, then Tariff B at €2.20 per km or €0.78 per minute. The special rate (Saturday and Sunday midnight–4AM, 24 December 8PM through Christmas to 8AM on 26 December, and 31 December 8PM to 8AM on 1 January) is the same as the premium rate, but after the flagfall you go straight to Tariff B with no Tariff A.
You may be able to negotiate a rate for a tour around the sights, for example out to the Foynes Flying Boat Museum.
Getting from the Airport into the City
Shannon Airport (SNN) is the main airport serving Limerick, located near Shannon town to the west of the city along the N18. It has flights from Europe and the UK, and from New York, Newark, and Chicago. All the main car rental firms have offices at the airport.
To get into Limerick, Bus Éireann route 343 runs every 30 minutes between 8AM and midnight, taking about an hour via Bunratty; some services may start from Ennis. Bus 51, which runs between Galway, Limerick, and Cork, also stops at the airport hourly.
Dublin Airport (DUB) has a wider selection of flights and is served by Flightlink Bus 723 direct to Limerick, taking about 2 hours 30 minutes.