In the UK and Ireland you can take (almost) any train you want with a pass. It’s a real golden ticket. There’s no fuss about it, if you have a pass you’re ready to board almost any train. For some trains it’s recommended to have a seat reservation, but these are free of any charge (mostly GWR, Avanti or LNER trains (the first goas quite far west in the UK, the latter go to Scotland, all from London) in the UK. England especially has a very extensive rail system, so Eurail probably is your best deal. It’s a really pleasent rail country.

What do you mean exactly by understanding the “speed of trains”? 

At what destinations you’re looking at?

There’s also some discounts on ferries with a pass, but it doesn’t serve as a ticket for the ferries.

As well as all the trains radiating from London there are many cross country networks allowing easy travel within the whole of the main island. The UK is not blessed with true high speed trains but it is a relatively small country that can be easily traversed in a few hours. 

To reach that smaller green island over the sea-to which so many a USAer has links to: there are ferries-several in fact, and most of these offer discounts off full fare to passholders-but it may mean that a special promotional off-peak fare turns out a little lower. There used to be quite good direct walks train-to-ship, but that is mostly no more, as cars are by far the main transportation now. This means longer walks or perhaps a shuttle bus in between. IF you are not to averse to that, it may also mean that a direct coach (BUS, like Greyhound) from larger towns in GB and IE works out faster, cheaper and more comfy in all.

IN IE there is a limited network mostly as rays of a star from capital Dublin to other major towns-I kind of guess you have some tiny village in mind where once your grand-grand parents or so came from-in that case do further research. A general touristy forum like tripadvisor is brimming with that type of Qs.

It is always worth checking out seat61.com for travel info across Europe.

Despite what Mcadv says there are only a few viable ferries across the Irish Sea and the departure ports are Holyhead (for Dublin) which has a railway station and for Belfast Cairnryan (nearest rail Stranraer about 4 mile away - taxi or bus) or Liverpool (Lovely city as well as port).

Liverpool has a less frequent ferry service than Cairnryan.

Check out Stena and Irish Ferries websites for more info.

Any quick google check will show how limited the rail network in Ireland is, especially in Northern Ireland. However it is easy to hire a car or travel by intercity buses.

A quick reread of your initial post was about cross border trains - Needless to say on the main island        ( called Great Britain) the borders are purely geographical and trains cross all the time. In Ireland the only cross border rail line is the one between Dublin and Belfast , and again it is a border in name only (for the moment).

Hello, I am thinking of making the same trip and the original post questioned.  I am more interested in the train and not ferry.  Which Station can I leave from in London to go to Dublin and Back? Anyone know this answer, I would appreciate it.  I will be using the Global Rail pass and taking advantage of the sleep night trains on my itinerary in UK (Caledonian) and Eurostar and OBB.

I hope to have a great trip laid out but I would like to go to Ireland by train only.  Please give me any suggestions.

ggc

There are no trains between the UK and Dublin (Ireland) so you either need to take the ferry or go by plane.

As said there is the 120 km Irish Sea in between! No tunnel in the near future but there are plenty of ferries.

The easiest harbour from London is Holyhead, there are direct trains from Euston. You can either take Stena Line or Irish Ferries -> both give a 30% discount for Interrail/Eurail travellers. I've taken that route last year so feel free to ask questions.

Off-topic but remember to book Eurostar and night trains in advance. The former has a passholder quota and the latter are really popular -> Nightjet (ÖBB) now uses dynamic pricing so the earlier you buy the cheaper. Unfortunately this has led to sleepers being a lot more expensive...

The route from London to Dublin is explained here

https://www.seat61.com/train-and-ferry-to-dublin.htm#london-to-dublin-recommended-departure

As @thibcabe says, you leave take a train to Holyhead from London Euston (included in your pass) and then a ferry across to Dublin (not included, but you get a discount). It will take most of a day, but it’s a nice route. 

Of course you might wish to stop off on the way

Good morning to all of you kind enough to reply.  I am so sorry after I looked at the Global Pass map, I realized my question was not a good one.  I see that I have to take a ferry across….now I would have to consider my options.  If I can take the train in Ireland to the north part of Ireland and then cross back over to head to Scotland…..it would be a worthwhile trip….but I think I could be wasting time to return back to Holyhead to head up norh in UK.  (It pays to do my research before asking questions here….I had just gotten started yesterday when posed the question...so sorry)

I will get back with some other questions about night trains after I get my itinerary together.  I will definitely use the night trains instead of the hotels, if I can work them out.  I know OBB and Caledonia has a schedule and will accept the Global Pass with supplement….so this is good news.

Thanks again….appreciate all of your comments

ggc

No worries :)

Here is some info on the most convenient route from Belfast : https://www.seat61.com/train-and-ferry-to-belfast.htm#london-to-belfast-via-cairnryan (disregard the London - Glasgow bit)

The Dublin - Belfast route is good but not that frequent (although for Ireland standards, it’s frequent!).

Night trains aren’t as common as they used to be, mainly killed by high-speed trains and low-cost flights. Have a look at this map : https://nachtzugkarte.de/en/

Further questions welcome

Yes, the Enterprise is the train link between Dublin & Belfast. That’s included in the rail pass. Details, again, on Seat61.

Most people tend to fly between London & Dublin. It’s a short flight (albeit you have to get out to an airport). 

Caledonian Sleeper runs between London and Scotland. The pass covers it, but you need to pay quite a high fee to use a sleeping cabin. You can travel in the seats without paying extra, but not recommended!

thibcabe, my plan is to fly into Manchester from USA, then start either at Hayhead going to Ireland or start at Inverness and work down.  I am not sure….seems to be easier to do Ireland heading North then cross over to UK….pick up all 3 of those areas and take the night train on Caledonian south to London Eustace and then go to Amsterdam to Vienna and back to Manchester via Brussels on the way back.  I think it would be an exciting trip.  I do plan to throw in the NIGHT TRAINS AS MUCH AS I can.  Not interested in fast trains so much….if I am comfortable on the trains most of the time...I am good.  1st class all the way.  Less walking around on the stops….will check areas around the train station and maybe Hop on Off buses...then back on train.  Do not want Hotels if I can avoid them with good schedules on trains.

Thanks for the links I will look at what you have shared

Raiderton, I do intend to be comfortable even with the cost.  I am not sitting up in chairs for 10 hours...I would agree should be very uncomfortable.  I am a senior and those days are over for backpacking….at the time of my life where I should be able to afford a great trip.

Thanks

If you’re starting in Manchester, then you might also like to consider the ferry from Liverpool to Belfast. It’s only a short journey from Manchester to Liverpool, then an 8 hour ferry. You can do a day ferry, or a night ferry, and there are cabins available.

Details on the Liverpool-Belfast and Belfast-Cairnryan ferries are on this page. (It’s written as if from London, but you can just ignore the London section.)

Then travel through Northern Ireland and Ireland, before a ferry to Cairnryan in Scotland.

Once you’ve travelled around Scotland, you can take the Caledonian Sleeper from many places in the Highlands or Glasgow/ Edinburgh to London.

The Nachtzugkarte map that @thibcabe gave is a really good way to visualise the night trains around Europe. And you can see what it would cost to book a cabin on each route here.

Even though night trains are a good way to travel, I’d still spend a night at the destination for a real night sleep. Of course it’s your trip!

Coming from Manchester I’d also head to Holyhead and Dublin first, then Belfast and Scotland. There are a few beautiful railways there, let me recommend one :

• Glasgow - Fort William during the day, maybe further to Glenfinnan Viaduct if you wish → https://www.seat61.com/west-highland-line.htm
• Caledonian Sleeper Fort William - London Euston

No night trains across the Channel but you can easily get to Brussels or Amsterdam. Remember to get your Eurostar reservations (38€ in 1st class incl. little meal) in advance as it’s a popular route and there’s a passholder quota.

Nightjet (OBB) sleepers are pretty expensive, especially single cabins, but if you’re willing to share with 2-3 other people it’ll bring costs down. :)

For a first look : https://www.seat61.com/interrail-and-eurail-reservations.htm (but Nightjet now uses dynamic pricing, even for Interrail/Eurail reservations so you’ll never know what you’ll get)

It could be also a good idea to look at open-jaw or multi-city tickets : landing in Manchester and leaving from Vienna for example.