Title: Tourism in the Republic of Ireland - Wikipedia
Headings: Tourism in the Republic of Ireland
Tourism in the Republic of Ireland
Contents
Transport in Ireland
Sail Rail
Cities
Dublin
Other Attractions
Cork
Other Attractions
Limerick
Other Attractions
Galway
Waterford
Coastlines and resorts
Tourism routes and regions
Wild Atlantic way
Ireland's Ancient East
Ireland's Hidden Heartlands
Reeks District
Festivals and events
Geological tourism
Statistics
Entry regulations
Tourism organisations
References
External links

Content: Transport in Ireland
Ireland's national flag carrier is Aer Lingus, which services Europe, North America and North Africa, but the vast majority of flights originating from continental Europe come from another Irish company, Ryanair, the biggest low cost airline in the world. These airlines, along with others, fly into all three of Ireland's international airports, Shannon Airport, Dublin Airport and Cork Airport. Dublin Airport is by far the busiest, accounting for over 80% of passenger entering and leaving Ireland in 2011. Along with these airports there are several other regional airports in the country including Ireland West Airport Knock and Kerry Airport, which both operate international flights to Europe. For travellers from mainland Europe and the UK, another way to enter the country is by sea, with connections by ferry to Roscoff and Cherbourg in France, Liverpool in England and Pembroke, Fishguard and Holyhead in Wales, Douglas on the Isle of Man and Santander in Spain. These routes are operated by Irish Ferries, Stena Line, Celtic Link Ferries, P&O Ferries and Brittany Ferries. Motorways link Dublin with all the major cities in the country and there are plans to extend the motorway system in the future. In recent years the quality of Irish roads has improved dramatically with the advent of the Celtic Tiger and significant European Union funding, although outside the main routes, roads can be quite unpredictable in terms of quality and upkeep, especially in rural areas such as Co. Kerry and Co. Donegal. The rail and light rail network in Ireland is not as extensive as it once was, but it is still possible to get from city to city using the rail system, although many rural stations have closed along these lines. At the moment there is only one Light rail system in the country, the Luas in Dublin.