Shore Excursion From Cork: Including Blarney Castle and Kinsale
Description
The tour begins with a pick up from the cruise liner terminal in Cobh, Cork Harbour, where your driver will be waiting for you to drive to Blarney Castle. Admission to the Blarney Castle and Gardens is included. Take a panoramic drive through Cork City, where your guide will point out the highlights of the southern capital. In the afternoon visit Kinsale and tour Cobh.
Tour Options
Itinerary
We will collect you in style from your Cruise Ship. When you leave the Ship, turn to the right, and your guide will be waiting for you near the pedestrian exit gate. We collect passengers from the cruise ship at 07:30 for departure @ 08:00. Where your ship docks later than 07:30 the tour will begin 30 minutes after disembarkation commences. We like to get ahead of the crowd and avoid the queues in Blarney!
Our first stop of the day is Blarney. Visit the most famous Castle in all of Ireland!! Lie back and kiss the magical Blarney Stone and get the gift of the gab! Your admission is included saving you 15 euro. WE ARE HAPPY TO INCLUDE ADMISSION TO BLARNEY CASTLE: others will make you join a queue and pay at the gate! You will also have time to visit the world famous Blarney Woolen Mills. Famed as the largest Irish Store in the world, many take advantage of its tax free shopping offers on quality Irish products.
We depart Blarney and take a panoramic drive through Cork City. We view the highlights of this fine City such as the River Lee, St Finbarre's Cathedral, Shandon Bells, English Market and Grand Parade. Cork was recently considered by the Lonely Planet one of the 10 must see cities in the world. Some of its famous sons include Henry Ford, Michael Collins and of course world famous footballer Roy Keane.
We drive through the beautiful Cork Countryside to the charming town of Kinsale! Enjoy typical views of the rolling fields of West Cork and also a stop overlooking picturesque Kinsale Harbor and its 2 forts - Charles Fort and James Fort. It was just off the Old Head of Kinsale that in 1915 the Lusitania sank with grave loss of life.
Our next stop is the historical town of Kinsale for, a town famed for the battle of Kinsale in 1601. Today it is Ireland's gourmet capital with winding streets, great pubs and fine restaurants. On our standard 8h tours we stop in Kinsale for lunch, however depending on the departure time of the ship this must be at the drivers discretion (NO EXCEPTION). The town is beautifully situated at the mouth of the harbor and is exceptionally colorful with picture post card buildings and many country Irish folk with strange and distinguished accents
If time allows, we can explore Cobh Cathedral.
We depart Kinsale and to make sure you are back at least 1 hour before departure. The service ends back at the dockside after approximately 8 hours on tour. If the boat is leaving earlier we will amend the itinerary as necessary.
Highlights
What's included
Pickup Locations & Times
We collect passengers from the cruise ship at 07:30 for departure @ 08:00. If your ship docks later than 07:30, don't worry! The tour will begin 30 minutes after disembarkation commences. Example. If you dock at 11:00 am, we will operate the tour as soon as customers have disembarked the liner.
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Specialized infant seats are available
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- Children must be accompanied by an adult
- Booster/Baby seats required, and available. Please advise if you require at booking.
- Collapsible scooters and wheelchairs can be stored under coach. Responsibility for the passenger for the day.
Reviews(483)
Our driver did not know the way and took two wrong turns that added 30 minutes to our driving time. He was not clear about when and where to meet so people got lost and were late to pick up places. Because we were behind there was no time for lunch. Either he didn’t know how to work the AC in the bus or it was broken, so we were all sweating. We left the bus in Cobh and took a commuter train back to Cork. It was that bad.
Our guide was hilarious!! Thoroughly appreciated him level setting bus etiquette and appropriate boundaries at the very start of our excursion. He told some fascinating stories throughout our experience. In spite of moments of temporary “liquid sunshine”… our day was absolutely FANTASTIC! Plenty of time to kiss the Blarney Stone and tour the gardens. Lunch in Kinsale at Fishy Fishy was DELICIOUS!!!
Conner was a great guide! He knew facts and was such a delight. Went at a good pace and had time for the Blarney Stone and the Mill. We had a little time left over and he took us to another site for pictures. He was very good and passionate about his job.
Better than a ship excursion. Our driver JD managed to coral a busload of people to Blarney castle ahead of all the tour buses but one ahead of us. He purchased the tickets and told of to head straight away to the castle! We climbed the stairs and kissed the stone in about 20 minutes, then explored the beautiful gardens, had a whiskey coffee and visited the gift shop with plenty of time to spare. Jd was entertaining, and he can carry a tune nicely! He was very knowledgeable about the area, we stopped for lunch and was back in plenty of time to enjoy music by the ship. I would be very comfortable booking this tour again and using this company for future tours. Beautiful Ireland we will meet again.
Forgot his name.. I was on princess majestic on may 13. Tour left from cork . he was outstanding. Very informative, humorous and friendly
Connor our driver/guide was friendly, nice and told us about Irish history; he did a good job driving. We recieved emails prior that said they wouldn't tell the driver to wait while we went through immigration. That they won't wait for government issues. The bus will leave. The seats are first come, first served which is ridiculous if you have a ticket in hand and the excursion was specifically for cruise ship guests. Connor made sure everyone was on the bus before leaving. The emails were stressful and unnecessary.
Terrible weather left us exposed to the elements ..extreme wind and cold rain. Was sick for the next 2 weeks. The Cork shopping part should have allowed those who wanted to stay on the bus to be out of the elements. Otherwise, the Blarney Castle stop was interesting.
Efficient way to get from the port to the Blarney Castle. Beat the cruise excursions there so minimized the wait at the Blarney Castle.
Great information on the bus ride. The grounds of Blarney castle, were gorgeous! Touring the castle, however, did not happen. There was a 90 minute wait to get into the castle, which would’ve taken up our entire time there. Kind of disappointing.
We recently chose Paddywagon Tours for a shore excursion from Cork, Ireland. We were met at the cruise terminal by a Paddywagon representative. We then boarded their custom bus to Blarney Castle. We spent almost 2 hours visiting the castle, kissing the Blarney Stone and touring the many gardens on site. Next, we drove to the seaport town of Kinsale. There, we toured the small town and had fish and chips at Dino’s. We got back to the cruise ship in plenty of time. This was a good tour that was significantly less expensive than the cruise ship offerings.
