Cork is situated 257km (160 miles) southwest of Dublin, and the road connecting the two cities, through the midlands and Golden Vale of Ireland, is the N8, which branches off from the Dublin-Limerick N7 road and runs south via several towns before it enters the eastern outskirts of Cork city. There it connects with the N25 southern ring road, which to the east heads towards Waterford and to the west enters the Jack Lynch Tunnel under the River Lee and so constitutes a traffic link between east and west. The N22 stretches west from Cork, towards Killarny. North of the city the N20 heads to Limerick and Shannon. The distance to Limerick is 105km (65 miles). Belfast is 424km (263 miles) away.

Tourist members of the AA in their own country (with evidence of current membership), can use the AA Ireland free car rescue service while in Ireland. The emergency number to dial is 1 800 667 788.

Other companies advertising 24-hour breakdown service include Ardfallen Motorcare (tel: (021) 432 2999 or 0872 556 675) and Fitzpatricks Recovery Ltd (tel: 0862 500 789).

Coach services: The main coach operator to and from Cork is Bus Eireann (tel: (021) 450 8188; www.buseireann.ie), which offers frequent coach services between most of the major towns and cities in the Republic of Ireland and the bus station at Parnell Place in Cork.