Blarney Castle and Kinsale Tour from Cork
Description
This is the only day trip from Cork that combines all of the most popular sights in one day: Blarney Castle, Kinsale, Charles Fort and Cobh (Titanic's last port of call).
Tour Options
Itinerary
Enjoy three hours at Ireland's premier fairytale castle - Blarney. Climb the battlements, kiss the stone (or cheer on the crazy ones who do), walk in the gardens and shop tax free at the famous Woolen Mills. VIP Skip the Line access has already been arranged for you - so no worries about the long lines on days when the world's biggest cruise ships are at nearby Cobh.
Next up is the spectacular 17th century pentagon shaped fortress, Charles Fort - named after Charles II. Built when Ireland was the second seat of the British Empire, Charles Fort was a major British Army and Royal Navy base overlooking the approach to Kinsale for 200 years. The structure, grounds and coastal vistas will excite both adults and kids and provide excellent opportunities for photos. Look out for marine wildlife from strategic vantage points where cannons used to perch. Your entrance fee (EUR 5.00 adult / EUR 3.00 student & senior) is included with the cost of your tour!
The resort town of Kinsale is a delight and a highlight for many this afternoon. Nicknamed "Ireland's Riviera" the town features a marina full of yachts, winding cobbled streets with galleries and pubs and one of the best gastronomy scenes in the region. Enjoy 80 minutes at leisure to stroll around soaking up the atmosphere or pop into a good pub for a pint of Murphy's Cork Stout and a plate of trawler fresh seafood. You'll find plenty of delicious options to choose from including pubs, cafe's and sandwich shops. Some of our favourite's include The Spaniard Inn, The Bulman Bar, Lord Kingsale and Fishy Fishy. (For those who prefer to explore or to shop, feel free to take a packed lunch or to grab a sandwich at Blarney)
Our last stop of the afternoon is in the historic port of Cobh. Scene of many tearful goodbyes for generations of Irish emigrants on their way to the United States and Canada, these days Cobh hosts the biggest cruise ships in the world on blue skied summer days. If you have Irish ancestors who left the Emerald Isle before the 1950s it's likely you're now standing on the same soil as they did all those years ago. Check out the Titanic Museum (optional) in the White Star Line ticket office, check out the colourful houses and streets with a casual stroll or pop in to the spectacular St Colman's Roman Catholic Cathedral which dominates the skyline.
You'll arrive back in downtown Cork 9.5 hours after departure (the 160 minutes allocated to this "attraction" of the total 9.5 hours is spent touring in the bus through the countryside of Cork during the day).
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Specialized infant seats are available
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Reviews(24)
This tour was great! The perfect mix of tour guide during the bus ride and then self guided site visits at your pace. We arrived at Blarney Castle as it opened, which means - no crowds, no lines!! On to Charles Fort which we didn't know about but was our 2nd favorite stop. Then the history and beauty of the coast in Kinsale and Cobh.
We had a great time on the tour despite hiccups out of anyone's control. Blarnwy Castle was fantastic. Power was out in Kinsale and Cobh had a festival going. Tommy our guide was fantastic....very knowledgeable and a great sense of humor.
I do NOT recommend this experience. The itinerary was good except it felt rushed in Kinsale. And quite frankly, Tommy’s chattering and rambling was too much. A few facts are nice but his incessant talking prevented us from enjoying and digesting the experience. Also, I am on vacation and not interested in others’ political diatribes. By the end, I just wanted off the bus so I would not have to listen to him. Besides, he is driving the bus! How much attention is he paying the road if he was rambling and ranting? Not much, I bet.
This was a nice tour - only issue was the rain which began the minute we left Blarney. The Blarney experience was great and this tour gets you there early. We decided that we wouldn't waste time in line to kiss the stone, but there was no wait at all so we were able to do it! I think the overall schedule could be adjusted to offer more time in Kinsale since once you have lunch there, it was time to head back to the bus. We felt that we could have easily skipped the stop at Charles Fort since you just walk around. without a guide anyway. The views are nice, but it would've been better to use that time in Kinsale. We were a little cheated in Cobh because it was a bank holiday and very little was open, but on a normal day, there are cute shops and a lovely area to walk along the water.
I booked the Blarney & Cobh half-day tour more than a month in advance, only to have it canceled shortly before my trip due to an “unforeseen issue.” While I understand that unexpected situations can happen, what I cannot understand is the complete lack of transparency and poor customer service. I asked multiple times why the tour was canceled because the booking was made through Microsoft for a company event, and I needed to provide an explanation. Instead of answering a simple question, I was repeatedly told that “all information was provided in the first email”—even though the email never explained the reason for the cancellation. A company that cancels confirmed bookings at the last minute should at least be willing to provide a basic explanation. Instead, I received dismissive responses and no accountability. The cancellation itself was disappointing, but the way it was handled was far worse. If this is how Paddywagon Tours treats customers when something goes wrong, I cannot recommend booking with them. There are plenty of tour operators in Ireland that value communication and customer service more than this one.
The trip was well run. Our guide told us about Cork and Irish history. He kept things interesting. Good value for all we were able to see. I wish we had reservations for the Titanic Experience in Cobh. Otherwise everything went smoothly.
Tommy, our bus driver was very knowledgeable and very nice. Did an exceptional tour. We have a really nice day.
There is lots of time at each stop. Maybe too many stops for a single day. The steps at Blarney Castle are super steep, and it was crowded by the time we left. The driver had us there very early, so we didn’t have to wait.
Great day out, brought to life by our driver Tommy. Very informative, plenty of time at each venue with clear timings, and Tommy kept us entertained with local history, facts and figures throughout the driving time.
Everything very nice.. if you do not have the possibility to rent a car, it is a recommended excursion! I do not understand, however, why different stop times were indicated on the program.. more precisely, a 3-hour stop is indicated at the castle and we stayed 2 hours.. at the fort the stop was an hour and we barely spent 20 minutes.. probably some communication difficulty? I wouldn't know... but this thing obviously left me quite puzzled! The places themselves, however, are wonderful!
