Travelling with 3 bicycles

[martinbelcher]

Hi,

I have planned a cycling holiday in Ireland, starting from Galway or Westerport and wanted to take the train from Dublin (we arrive at the airport and will cycle to the station). Coming from Sweden, I assumed this would be easy to just book online...

The problem is that there are 3 of us (1 adult, 2 children) and it seems (according to the Irish Rail Web site) that only 2 bikes spaces exist on the trains on those routes. This rail users site seems to say that there are 3 spaces on those kinds of trains. Which is correct?

From people's experience, do the guards on trains strictly enforce the number of bike rules? Are the going to allow 3 bikes or are the chances high that if we try and travel like that, then we'll not be let on?

The added complication is that officially, children can't travel with bikes without an adult. So splitting the group is a bit tricky! Catch 22.

Perhaps the trains and guards are like those in the UK (where similar restrictions officially apply). 9 times out of 10 the guard will just let it go and travel is not a problem (especially with children and being holiday makers). It is just the rare occasion that it gets difficult.

Of course the next challenge is actually booking the bike spaces online!

Thanks for any guidance you can offer.

Martin (Lund, Sweden).