Because of the Shannon Region’s size, many visitors find it easiest to rent a car during their stay. This allows visitors to cross the distances between the region’s many attractions with ease, though travellers should keep in mind they’ll be driving on the left side of the road rather than the right. The public rail and bus systems also connect many of the region’s larger cities and offer access to the Shannon Region’s more popular attractions.
Getting from the Airport to the City
Visitors to the Shannon Region usually take a flight into Shannon Airport (SNN), which is located around 4 miles (6km) from the centre of Shannon in County Clare. Public transportation at Shannon Airport includes the local bus system, which connects visitors with cities like Limerick, Cork, Galway and Ennis. Travellers can also arrange for taxis at the airport. Several car rental agencies also have service desks at Shannon Airport.
Shannon airport overview
Shannon Airport is the third-busiest airport in Ireland (after Dublin and Cork), currently seeing almost two million passengers a year. Flights to Shannon Airport arrive from across the UK, as well as from a few key hubs elsewhere in Europe and the US. The five busiest routes include those to the three London airports ( Heathrow, Gatwick, and Stansted), as well as Newark and JFK in the US.
Shannon Airport was the first airport in the world to offer full US pre-clearance outside of the Americas. However, changes to flights offered in recent years has seen a dramatic (almost 40 per cent) drop in annual passengers. The airport has few facilities and is not as busy as it used to be, but staff members are friendly and your experience of this efficient little airport should be a good one.