Anyone ever got the bus from Dublin to London?

Chuck Stone · 10-08-2011 05:38PM

I want to do it for some reason!

Darkginger · 10-08-2011 05:39PM

Did Westport > Victoria a few times - worst part was when you had to take your luggage off the bus when you got on the ferry, which left you stuck with it all during the crossing. Not a lot of fun when you're travelling on your own.

Mint Sauce · 10-08-2011 05:41PM

sunflower27 wrote: »

Thanks for that

Trains are quite expensive in the UK from my experience living there. be interesting to see how much it costs

Sailrail is very cheap. About €50 to €60 if I remember a couple of years ago.

Trains in the UK, especailly long distance services are only expensiivve if you book at short notice. I got a train from Padington to the South West once, a 3 to 4 hr journey. First part was an Intercity Service, booked my seat on a specific train, 2nd train was a commutor service. Booked it in advance at a cost of about £30. Had I booked an open ticket, meaning I could have taken any train that day or paid before boarding, it might have cost nearer a £100.

Cool Mo D · 10-08-2011 05:44PM

The sail rail price is fixed, and one way train and ferry from any station in Ireland, to any station in the entire UK is always 60 euro, so no way would I get the bus. You don't have to book months in advance either.

sunflower27 · 10-08-2011 05:46PM

irish-stew wrote: »

Sailrail is very cheap. About €50 to €60 if I remember a couple of years ago.

Trains in the UK, especailly long distance services are only expensiivve if you book at short notice. I got a train from Padington to the South West once, a 3 to 4 hr journey. First part was an Intercity Service, booked my seat on a specific train, 2nd train was a commutor service. Booked it in advance at a cost of about £30. Had I booked an open ticket, meaning I could have taken any train that day or paid before boarding, it might have cost nearer a £100.

I usually fly into Luton and then get the train to where my friend lives in North London and that train costs £21 return on top of my flight.

Mike 1972 · 10-08-2011 05:48PM

irish-stew wrote: »

Virgin all the way.

Does not compute

(sorry)

sunflower27 · 10-08-2011 05:49PM

Chuck Stone wrote: »

I want to do it for some reason!

The coach or the sail/rail?

I don't think I'd mind the sail/rail.... the coach - no chance

OPENROAD · 10-08-2011 05:50PM

Don't do boats imo

dj jarvis · 10-08-2011 05:51PM

pppfffttt !! amateurs !!!

i done berlin 2 dublin ( 38 hrs !! ) after 3 days non stop raving at the love parade in 96 ( one and a half million attended - it was mental :-) )

on the way we had to stop in the biggest kip on the planet BRUSSELS :-(
it was 3am and we stopped at the main bus station , went into the building 2 drop a rope and at the toilet entrance was a 110 year old witch collecting the 50 francs (0.50 ) for entry , as i had come from germany heading for london i had deutchmarks , sterling and punts but no feckin Belgian coins

i offered said witch 5 marks - NO she cackled , i offered 3 pound coins - still NO , at this stage king kong's finger was making a break for freedom so i just let a really loud roar and told her if she did not let me pass i was going to crap on her desk , she then spat on the floor , lifted her little barrier and with applause from my fellow travelers i finally got to poo

silly bitch could have made a tidy profit but still was having none of it - and tbh i was so pissed off with her i was 100% willing to carry out my threat

i ended up spending more on water/food/and sundries it would have cost the same 2 fly :-(

poxy poxy trip home - dont do it kids

Mint Sauce · 10-08-2011 05:57PM

pragmatic1 wrote: »

Done it once from Letterkenny. Never again. Worst journey ever.

Dublin to letterkenny, and visa versa is bad enough. Bus took about 7 hrs once.

:eek:

Was raging because Mr Chippie was closed by the time the bus pulled in.

:mad:

Rabidlamb · 10-08-2011 06:04PM

Ah the old abortion bus, remember it well from the 80's.
Quivering wrecks of young ones traveling with their older sisters.
Good to hear it's still going.

steve9859 · 10-08-2011 06:08PM

sunflower27 wrote: »

steve9859 wrote: »

You've got two 2 hour trips. Holyhead to Chester then Chester to London Euston. Or a 1 hour and a 3 hour if you change at Bangor. 1st train is local, 2nd is Virgin express complete with wifi. It's a good comfortable train.

Thanks for that

Trains are quite expensive in the UK from my experience living there. be interesting to see how much it costs

Did it the other week. Book online with Irish ferries for the leg to London. €50 Inc booking fee & credit card fee for the trip on the fast ferry. Then book the return in the station in London (as then u can reserve your seats) and it is £38 (no booking fee). And no luggage fees of course. And no extra cost of getting from the airport into the city. Fixed price no matter when you book.

poisonated · 10-08-2011 06:10PM

I have. I left at 8pm and got to London at 8am. It cost me 25 euro. It was ok but I don't know if I would do it again. I much prefer the sail and rail. It is a little more expensive(40 euro) but much more comfortable!

Killer Pigeon · 10-08-2011 06:12PM

I got this one once to Holyhead;

http://www.fugly.com/media/IMAGES/Random/bus_boat.jpg

sunflower27 · 10-08-2011 06:13PM

Killer Pigeon wrote: »

I got this one once to Holyhead;

http://www.fugly.com/media/IMAGES/Random/bus_boat.jpg

How long did it take and how much did it cost? Can you remember?

galah · 10-08-2011 06:15PM

Did Hamburg - Dublin via London once. Back in 1996 or so. Never again, ever (cheapest option at the time, plane tickets were stupidly expensive then).

On the way back, I had to share the bus with a bunch of German boyscouts singing holy Christian songs ALL the way back.

Torture.

Also had the bright idea of including England and Ireland in an interrail ticket once. Got to Dublin and realised that Ireland has about 3 trains in total, ALL going through Portarlington or Portlaoise, no matter where you want to go. D'oh.

pragmatic1 · 10-08-2011 06:16PM

irish-stew wrote: »

Dublin to letterkenny, and visa versa is bad enough. Bus took about 7 hrs once.

:eek:

Was raging because Mr Chippie was closed by the time the bus pulled in.

:mad:

21 hours including the boat.

Diageio_Man · 10-08-2011 06:42PM

i got the bus to bristol last year for a festival near there cause the pasport office fcuked up my passport. It was the most grim bus and ferry ride ever. when i got onto the ferry from rosslare about an hour into the sailing a group of travelers decided to run amok on the ferry smashing each other up so we were asked to go down to the lower decks. And the thoughts of gettig the bus back home was even worse after a weekend of madness. got my passport sorted the day i came back so i vow never to ever get that bus again. just not worth it.

Chuck Stone · 10-08-2011 06:44PM

sunflower27 wrote: »

The coach or the sail/rail?

The worst one.

My worst journey was from Cork to Leipzig when they tried to blow up the planes in England.

Bus from Cork to Shannon
'Sleep' in Shannon airport
Shannon to Stanstead (total chaos - all flights grounded due to attempted bottle bombers)
Girlfriend upset as she wanted to get to her best friend's wedding.
Decide to head for the South coast to the ferries.
Bus from Stanstead to London
Bus from London to Dover.
Ferry booked out.
Ran up the road and blagged our way into a Polish family's car.
Ferry to Calais
In Calias Polish people said we'll give you a lift to Belgium (very nice people).
Belgium to Bonn train
Bonn to Leipzig train
Round of applause at the wedding the next day for being the only people to get there from the Islands

.

T'was a great experience looking back.

Stinicker · 10-08-2011 07:08PM

I flew to London this year last minute and took the bus & ferry home London-Cork was like 20 hours. Still felt better than giving Ryanair €300 for a oneway flight. Wrecking is all I can describe it as, I flew to Bangkok only a few weeks before the trip and the bus from London was a more trying journey.

sunflower27 · 10-08-2011 07:12PM

Stinicker wrote: »

I flew to London this year last minute and took the bus & ferry home London-Cork was like 20 hours. Still felt better than giving Ryanair €300 for a oneway flight. Wrecking is all I can describe it as, I flew to Bangkok only a few weeks before the trip and the bus from London was a more trying journey.

I can never sleep on a bus. The road is bumpy, people talking... I wouldn't mind so much getting the bus if I could actually nod off.

nitromaster · 10-08-2011 07:18PM

Did it from London to Dublin when i got fed up and wanted to go home...departed at 6pm, was in dublin for the train to next morning home.
Couldn't get sleep on the ferry so it was uncomfortable.

Actually was looking at from Dublin to London the last day...and could only find services leaving in the evening (like 8pm -> 8.15am)
Is there none any earlier with anyone? Like 6/8am?

Chuck Stone wrote: »

Surely the bus to London couldn't compete with Ryanair any more could it?

With Ryanair you'd still need to get a bus/train into the actual city, both ways...:pac:
Ryanair would probaly be the better option most of the time in advance...

Darkginger wrote: »

Did Westport > Victoria a few times - worst part was when you had to take your luggage off the bus when you got on the ferry, which left you stuck with it all during the crossing. Not a lot of fun when you're travelling on your own.

What were timings/etc like? Might end up doing likewise sometime...

thee glitz · 10-08-2011 07:35PM

I've often got the morning sailrail from Dublin to London. It makes a big difference getting the Swift over the ferry. It's about €88 vs €80 and very worth it.

The last time, the swift was full and i had to get the ferry. I just missed the direct train to London. It leaves from platform 1 and i didnt know about it...
that'd really help!

I've always changed in Chester, about 1hr 45 from Holhead. Then it's 2hrs direct to Euston on the much nicer Virgin train.
Depart Dublin @8:45 and get to London by 4 for €44, not too bad

Plus, you do meet some characters on the boat.

sunflower27 · 10-08-2011 07:43PM

thee glitz wrote: »

I've often got the morning sailrail from Dublin to London. It makes a big difference getting the Swift over the ferry. It's about €88 vs €80 and very worth it.

The last time, the swift was full and i had to get the ferry. I just missed the direct train to London. It leaves from platform 1 and i didnt know about it...
that'd really help!

I've always changed in Chester, about 1hr 45 from Holhead. Then it's 2hrs direct to Euston on the much nicer Virgin train.
Depart Dublin @8:45 and get to London by 4 for €44, not too bad

Plus, you do meet some characters on the boat.

Last time I flew to London it was 40e return plus £20 in train fares, so I'd probably always fly. In saying that, there is something about the sail/rail that makes me want to at least try it

slapbangwallop · 10-08-2011 08:48PM

Used to do it all the time pre-Ryanair budget airline explosion.

Hated it everytime but it did get better and actually got me over my travel sickness.

All I will say is does anyone remember the horrors of waking up in Birmingham-Digbeth bus station at some ungodly hour.

Jesus thats a painful sight.

God bless Ryanair!

(although now I have a kid I've been gets a lot more ferries - I had almost forgotten what a knacker ridden mode of transport it was!)

Run_to_da_hills · 10-08-2011 08:58PM

I would feel sorry for anyone travelling from Dublin to London on a bus, compared to flying a bus is dirty, smelly, noisy,slow full of diesel and screaming babies.

mel.b · 10-08-2011 09:35PM

I did Ennis - London last year when flights were stopped because of the volcanic ash. Had to get to a course that I had paid for. Worst parts of the journey were having to stand out in the freezing cold after getting off the ferry to get my passport checked (I'm non-eu), and then the hour long stop the bus driver took in the middle of the night about 30min after getting off the ferry.

Actually, the worst part was catching the bus & ferry and then learning the next day my flight hadn't been cancelled

CorkMan · 10-08-2011 09:36PM

Apart from London-Cork, the other long term bus journey I took was Amsterdam-London. It took 12 hours to get from Amsterdam to London. I remember when I got on in Amsterdam a black fella was questioned by the bus driver was he on the same bus the previous morning, and the black fella said no. (he had an African accent, not sure which specific country it could have emanated from) When the bus was travelling into France the border police had their guns and the black fella got very jittery all of a sudden, I reckon he could have had some drugs on him.

On the ferry from Calais to Dover I was washing my hands and an elder Roma man, he looked like scum of the earth, spotted my gold watch. I walked around the place keeping an eye on who was behind me and my pockets. I went up to a cash-transaction counter (I was going walk away when I was at the top of the line) and a Roma man, about 11 stone, was a couple of steps behind me. I am 19 stone of bulk and I sensed some nervousness in him and he walked away. On the way into London from Dover I heard a London fella, (or bloke

) talking to someone, he finished off the conversation by saying "I want him dead by 8.30 tomorrow morning." Damn like. One thing I noticed was "pawn" shops were prominent in some areas, I came through south-east London which I heard holds some of the less affluent areas of London. I saw a fella driving a car worth around €80000-€100000 on the way through.

Believe it or not, I only had €15 going into London on the night. I found an internet café and stayed up browsing all night and just had enough to pay for the underground to Heathrow. (I contacted my cousin online and I used his Visa to book an Aer Lingus flight the next morning) Same situation happened when I came back from Amsterdam (via plane) years previous, I had 0 notes left and could only pay the taxi driver in coins. I really need to stop stretching my luck :P

thee glitz · 10-08-2011 09:49PM

sunflower27 wrote: »

Last time I flew to London it was 40e return plus £20 in train fares, so I'd probably always fly. In saying that, there is something about the sail/rail that makes me want to at least try it

I meant €88 and €80 return btw. I'd fly to gatwick for 40 return but that's probably impossible. i'd usually splash out
for aer lingus to heathrow. once before, i got the paddington express from heathrow for £16 return (half price).
im not sure how often they do that, possibly on bank holidays or other busy weekends to get people off the
picadilly line. it's only 15mins into the city

the sailrail is a good thing to experience... but i once got the boat over and
then back the next day. It was worth it that time but never again.

Coeurdepirate · 10-08-2011 10:20PM

Stop feeling sorry for yerselves, a friend of mine drove to Lithu-fücking-ania this summer!

Anyone ever got the bus from Dublin to London?

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