Airport Transfers in Galway

Shannon, Knock or Dublin

Shannon and Knock are a similar distance from the city. Shannon is about 90 to 94 km, roughly 1 h 10 to 1 h 15 by road; Knock is about 86 km, and the airport itself puts the drive at 60 to 65 minutes. Dublin Airport is about 210 km and around two and a half hours. In practice the flight timetable decides: Dublin has the widest choice of routes, Shannon offers US preclearance for passengers flying to America, and Knock is a small airport with a single terminal. A day return to Dublin keeps a driver at the wheel for about five hours, so the operator fits in the 45-minute rest the law requires once a driver has done 4.5 hours behind the wheel.

The three roads

To Shannon, the coach leaves Galway eastwards to junction 18 on the M6, turns south onto the M18 and runs past Gort and Ennis to junction 9, where the N19 leads to the terminal. The M6 toll plaza is east of that junction, so the Shannon run carries no toll. To Knock, the coach takes the M17 north from the same junction to Tuam, then the N17 through Claremorris to the airport, again toll-free. To Dublin, it stays on the M6 past Athenry, Ballinasloe and Athlone and joins the M4 at Kinnegad, paying at the Galway–Ballinasloe plaza at Cappataggle, at the M4 Kilcock–Kinnegad toll and on the M50 between junctions 7 and 6.

Meeting the group at each terminal

Each airport handles group vehicles differently. At Shannon, coaches and minibuses never park outside the terminal; they wait in the airport coach parks, with hired minibuses using Coach Park 2 at departures. Knock publishes no coach park, bans waiting in its drop-off zone by the entrance, and sends people who are collecting passengers to its own car park, so the meeting point needs agreeing in advance. At Dublin, any coach may drop passengers in the inner lane of the Terminal 2 departures road, but private-hire pickups happen only at the Zone 16 coach park, a walk from arrivals. Whichever airport is used, the operator needs the flight number to follow the real landing.

Into Galway, or straight past it

All three routes meet at junction 18 of the M6, so every arrival comes into the city from the east past Oranmore, where the weekday peak adds time. The main hotel areas are Eyre Square and the city centre, the docks by Lough Atalia, Salthill on the seafront, and Oranmore to the east. Vehicles cannot enter the pedestrianised Shop Street and Latin Quarter, so a central hotel may mean a short walk with cases. Plenty of groups skip the city on arrival: Rossaveal, for the Aran Islands ferry, is about 45 minutes west, and Kylemore Abbey about an hour and a half into Connemara. Race week at Ballybrit, just off the M6, runs from 26 July to 1 August 2027; the eastern approaches are then at their busiest, so book early and allow extra time.

Which airport is nearest to Galway?

Knock and Shannon are close to level: Knock lies about 86 km to the north, while Shannon is some 90 to 94 km south, both a little over an hour. Dublin is about two and a half hours. Pick the airport with the right flight, since the drive time barely separates the two western options.

Is there a toll on the way to Shannon?

No. The M18 begins at junction 18 of the M6, and the Cappataggle toll plaza is further east, so the coach never reaches it. The Knock run is also toll-free. Only the Dublin transfer pays tolls, on the M6, the M4 and the M50.

Can we fly into Shannon and see the Cliffs of Moher on the way to Galway?

Yes. Both the cliffs and the Burren sit on the way north from Shannon, so an early arrival can tour and still reach the hotel by evening, with cases kept in the hold. The cliffs visitor centre takes coaches and groups above nine people by advance booking only.

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Request a quote online, or call +353 1 265 9152 and we will price it on the spot.

Pick-up points we cover in Galway

• Eyre Square
• Salthill promenade
• Galway city docks
• Oranmore and the eastern approach