(Small Group) Shore Tour from Cork: Blarney Castle & Jameson Distillery
Description
This small-group shore excursion from Cobh Cruise Terminal accommodates no more than 24 passengers on a luxury small van and allows for a particularly intimate day on shore. 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 you to Blarney Castle and Castles, where the admission 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 Jameson @ Midleton and enjoy a tour of this famous whiskey distillery. GUEST ADVICE: During peak- season (May 1st - September 30th) multiple cruise ships are expected at the major ports on a daily basis. This small group tour tends to sell- out well ahead of departure for most dates within this period. Accordingly, we recommend advance reservation where possible, to avoid disappointment.
Tour Options
Itinerary
Cobh (Cork) Cruise Ship Terminal - 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.
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 12 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.
Our next stop is the beautiful town of Midleton, famed as being the home of Jameson distillery since 1825. Today it is home to many Irish whiskeys such as Jameson, Powers, Paddy, Redbreast, Green Spot, previously produced in separate distilleries. In 1992, the Old Midleton Distillery reopened as a visitor's centre, known as the Jameson Experience.
Our last stop before boarding the ship, Cobh is famed as the final departure point for the Titanic. Built on a side of the hill, time permitting, we visit the St. Coleman's Cathedral one of the most magnificent Cathedrals in the country. Time permitting, those on ships with late departures will have time to visit the Titanic experience 100m from where the ships dock.
We structure each tour to make sure you are back on board at lease 1 hr before time for 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
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Specialized infant seats are available
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Service animals allowed
- Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness
- At time of booking, Cruise ship passengers must provide the following information: ship name, docking time, disembarkation time and re-boarding time
- Children must be accompanied by an adult
Reviews(77)
Great tour, though we did arrive to the Blarney Castle a little later than what was described and thus we had to wait in line for about an hour to “kiss the blarney.” The wait wasn’t a big deal but didn’t allow us a much time to explore the grounds. The tour of the Jameson distillery was great, especially the taste test at the end. Convinced me to buy a couple bottles of “redbreast.” Our guide was great, though regrettably I forget his name. Very personable, lots of knowledge to share along the way. Would definitely recommend this tour just keep in mind that you may not be first in line to kiss the stone.
This was an outstanding tour with Ryan as our guide. It was fast paced enough to enjoy the island, with slow enough to be able to observe and have a leisure morning.
Great tour! They picked us up at the port. We went to the Blarney Castle but didn’t want to wait 1.5 hours to kiss the stone. The Blarney Gardens are very beautiful. The Jameson tour was informative with a little sampler afterwards. Our driver was fun and we made it back to our cruise ship in plenty of time
Fabulous! While we didn't spend the time to wait in line to kiss the Blarney stone, the grounds were spectacular and the greeting of bagpipes playing was magical! The Jameson distillery was very enjoyable and was a nice contrast to the castle. A great day!
My wife and I are in our 80’s and don’t move so quickly anymore. The tour leader was very helpful. We never felt rushed and the other people on the tour were also very considerate and helpful.
Poor - rating should be 0. A large bus arrived for a large group 31+ people with no explanation of what happened to the small group tour in a small van. No wifi, no water, no tour of the town or cathedral. We arrived and parked quite a distance from the Blarney Castle and had to walk about 15 minutes to stand in 1.5 hour line to get to the top. We were given no information on the Woolen Mills and by the time we walked back from the castle we needed to be on the bus. The distillery tour was great but overall a disappointing tour.
Do not book this tour. Nothing was as advertised. It was NOT a small group tour in a van. We were on a chartered tour bus with a large group. We did not see or do anything we were supposed to except Blarney Castle and Jameson Distillery. We did not have wifi or bottled water on the bus *as stated), we did not receive a narrated tour and, most disappointing, we did not get into Blarney Castle until after the ship's Tours and at least another 5 tour groups so we had over an hour long wait. We were supposed to be on the bus 15 minutes early and leave promptly at 8:00 am, we did not leave until 8:25. We were really looking forward to this tour, and I spent the day being upset. The bus, tour guide and itinerary were not as stated, not even close.
Wasn’t the vehicle they advertised! Were told it would be small group and it wasn’t! Couldn’t find the bus and either could anyone else on the bus! We were all misled! Weren’t looking for a white bus and no one was there to help us!!
Big queues for Blarney Castle but we were forewarned to be fair. Irish woollen mills shop 3 stories of gifts. Jameson was a really good tour and we all enjoyed it, guide took us through the distilling process step by step and the tasting was as good as you would expect from a big name like Jameson's. Better to do this here instead of Dublin, because we wouldn't have had time there!
I was disappointed at this excursion because it was not the one I paid for. The excursion was supposed to be a small group of 25 in a luxury van with air conditioning. We were in a bus with 34 people and very little relief from the heat. Also, nothing against our tour guide who was knowledgeable but we could not understand most of what he was saying.
