Wandering through the throngs of Christmas shoppers between Birmingham\u2019s New Street station and Digbeth Coach Station, the\u00a0absurdity\u00a0of the journey ahead was not lost on me.\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n
With budget\u00a0airlines offering\u00a0flights between Birmingham and Dublin for less than \u00a320 one-way, and arriving in under an hour,\u00a0why on earth\u00a0would anyone\u00a0choose\u00a0to spend\u00a0more than\u00a0nine hours\u00a0making that journey\u00a0in varying degrees of discomfort?\u00a0<\/p>\n
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An\u00a0excellent question. However, there is a market for\u00a0no-fly\u00a0coach travel between England and Dublin, whether\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0to be more sustainable,\u00a0because of\u00a0a fear of flights, or simply wanting\u00a0to bring more luggage than is financially viable\u00a0on no-frills airlines.\u00a0Living in the Midlands, a no-fly European city break often means first heading south to London to catch the Eurostar across the Channel \u2013 both time-consuming and expensive.\u00a0<\/p>\n
However, demand ensures that\u00a0Bus \u00c9ireann\u2019s bi-weekly service runs consistently.\u00a0\u201cOver the past year, we have seen steady growth in demand for our services, reflecting a strong and continuing appetite for affordable, reliable international travel by coach,\u201d said Alan Brennan, head of Eurolines (which runs this cross-border route for Bus \u00c9ireann).<\/p>\n
While my journey took me directly from\u00a0Birmingham to Dublin, via the Holyhead ferry, the route originates at London\u2019s Victoria Coach Station, with a journey time of 12 hours and 30 minutes.\u00a0Tickets\u00a0can be booked\u00a0directly\u00a0through Bus \u00c9ireann or\u00a0via\u00a0FlixBus or National Express,\u00a0which offer\u00a0routes from Manchester that\u00a0connect\u00a0with the London-Dublin\u00a0service\u00a0at Cheshire Oaks.\u00a0<\/p>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/SEI_278297710-e1766062527945.jpg\")
A hold bag is included in the price of a ticket<\/p>\n
With\u00a0prices\u00a0from Birmingham to Dublin starting at \u20ac42 one-way or \u20ac74 return,\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0cost-effective\u00a0\u2013 the\u00a0first hold bag\u00a0is\u00a0free, and\u00a0you\u00a0canbring\u00a0on board the equivalent of a cabin bag at no extra cost. With\u00a0no-frills\u00a0airlines charging anywhere between \u20ac9.49 to \u20ac44.99\u00a0each way\u00a0for 10kg of hold luggage, if\u00a0you\u2019re\u00a0not travelling light,\u00a0the\u00a0overnight coach could be an ideal solution.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Stepping on board felt like being transported into a Tron film or an early-2000s nightclub. The interior was completely dark except for bright blue trim lighting along the ceiling, floors and power outlets \u2013 I didn\u2019t know whether to try and sleep or down a bottle of WKD.<\/p>\n
To my surprise,\u00a0though,\u00a0the seats were plush,\u00a0comfortable\u00a0and\u00a0reclined\u00a0slightly. Overall, much nicer than\u00a0I\u2019ve\u00a0had on many long-haul flights.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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We were due to\u00a0depart\u00a0Birmingham at\u00a09pm\u00a0and arrive in Dublin city centre\u00a0bright and early\u00a0at\u00a06.30am. However, Irish Sea conditions\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0always follow a schedule. A text from Irish Ferries announced the sailing was being brought forward an hour for \u201coperational reasons\u201d.\u00a0While our non-plussed driver assured us\u00a0we\u2019d\u00a0get there in plenty of time,\u00a0I\u00a0wasn\u2019t\u00a0particularly keen on the idea of\u00a0arriving\u00a0in Dublin at 5.30am on a Sunday.\u00a0<\/p>\n Settling into my seat, I was pleased to see a half-full bus, meaning two seats to myself. Headphones and a hastily packed blanket on, I drifted off somewhere in Cheshire.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Nevertheless, my semi-comfortable sleep was rudely awoken at Holyhead, where we had to disembark and show our passports before staggering back onto the coach to board the ferry.<\/p>\n I\u00a0rudely awoken at Holyhead, where we had to disembark\u00a0and\u00a0show our passports\u00a0before\u00a0staggering\u00a0back onto the coach to board the\u00a0MV Ulysses, run by\u00a0Irish Ferries<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n With a\u00a0cabin\u00a0booked in advance\u00a0\u2013 available for as little as \u00a334 \u2013\u00a0I clambered\u00a0up\u00a0the stairs to the reception,\u00a0while\u00a0other passengers stretched out on communal padded benches or headed to the duty-free shop.\u00a0<\/p>\n I\u2019d\u00a0gone for a\u00a0roomy\u00a0two-bed\u00a0suite with a corner sofa and picture windows (\u00a368).\u00a0Flopping into bed, hearing the deafening safety briefing (do not try to sleep before you set sail), we were at sea, and I quickly\u00a0dropped off. With the blare of my alarm at 4.15am, I gathered my things, tidied myself up, grabbed a tea and a pastry in the Club Class Lounge, and returned to the coach.\u00a0<\/p>\n I\u2019d\u00a0managed a total of\u00a0four and a half hours of sleep,\u00a0so when we arrived\u00a0in Dublin\u00a0in darkness\u00a0at 5.30am\u00a0\u2013\u00a0before the bus station\u00a0had\u00a0opened\u00a0\u2013 and\u00a0our driver announced we could all stay onboard\u00a0until\u00a06am,\u00a0I was\u00a0somewhat relieved.\u00a0<\/p>\n After a couple of strong coffees, my day passed as if\u00a0I\u2019d\u00a0slept for eight hours,\u00a0exploring the delicious independent\u00a0cafes\u00a0of\u00a0Stoneybatter\u00a0and ducking into the National Museum of Ireland to avoid drizzle.\u00a0While I did need an early night\u00a0before tackling the Dublin Coastal Path with\u00a0Howth Adventures<\/a>\u00a0the following day,\u00a0I had no regrets about\u00a0my flight-free journey to Ireland<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n It had been\u00a0comfortable enough to get some decent sleep,\u00a0taking me\u00a0from city centre to city centre.\u00a0I\u2019d\u00a0do it again\u00a0if\u00a0I\u00a0had a lot of\u00a0luggage\u00a0\u2013 particularly in summer, when the longer daylight hours mean\u00a0you can make the most of\u00a0arriving early without paying for an extra night\u2019s\u00a0stay\u00a0(though\u00a0I\u2019d\u00a0bring an eye mask).\u00a0A win all round.\u00a0<\/p>\n How to do it<\/strong><\/p>\n The writer was a guest of Bus \u00c9ireann<\/a>, Irish Ferries<\/a> and West Midlands Railway<\/a>. Bus Eireann runs the Birmingham to Dublin route twice a week each way, using Irish Ferries from Holyhead.\u00a0Birmingham New Street is served by trains from various other cities, including London, Liverpool and Bristol.<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t![\"Article](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/1766631867_939_SEI_278603051.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/SEI_278377417.jpg\")
The coach crosses the Irish Sea aboard MV Ulysses (Photo: Irish Ferries)<\/p>\n![\"Dublin's](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/SEI_278299712.jpg\")
Dublin\u2019s Temple Bar area is popular with visitors (Photo: Pawel Gaul\/Getty)<\/p>\n\n