The Gap of Dunloe Tour is a must do for visitors to Killarney. The ‘Adventure’ begins daily from our head office at O’Connor’s Pub, 7 High St., Killarney at 10:00am for check in. We can also collect clients from their accommodation in the Killarney area. Your journey begins with a bus trip to Kate Kearney’s Cottage or Ross Castle (recommended starting point for walkers as it allows more time). From here visitors make the 7 mile walk (please allow 2.5 to 3 hours for the walk). For those who do not wish to walk Jaunting cart’s are also available (at extra cost of €25 per person) to take the clients through the natural unspoilt beauty of the Black Valley, a walker’s paradise. Upon reaching Lord Brandon’s Cottage, there will be time to enjoy refreshments (not included) at the Cafe, before taking your boat trip through the Lakes of Killarney to Ross Castle where your bus will be waiting to take you back to Killarney. As noted, this tour can also be done in reverse.
Passengers can take in the breathtaking beauty of the Gap of Dunloe by travelling the 7mile/12km journey on foot or can also hire a Jaunting cart (optional extra cost).
For those client's who wish to complete the tour by beginning their boat journey at Ross Castle, will have some time to look around the grounds prior to the boat departing Reen Pier (red boats) at 11am
Traveller's will have time to avail of refreshment's at Kate Kearney's Cottage either at the start or end of their tour (depending which direction they are taking the tour).
We collect from traveller's hotels/accommodation within the Killarney area
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Bus & Boat Tour lasts about 6 hours. The itinerary has 3 stops.
Prices start at $75 per person for this Killarney experience, booked through Viator with the price shown before checkout. There is 1 booking option, so the final price depends on the option you choose.
Yes. Cancel at least 1 day before the start for a full refund. Later cancellations are non-refundable.
Yes, pickup is offered. We collect from traveller's hotels/accommodation within the Killarney area Pickup points include McSweeney Arms Hotel.
The experience is available in EN.
It is a small-group experience with a maximum of 60 participants.
Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
Yes, bookings are confirmed instantly.
Before our three-hour hike, we bought the ticket for the return trip by boat at the cafe. At the end point of the hike, everyone gathered at the boat landing. Our ticket was already checked twice. After four boats had already departed, we were informed that our boat was overbooked, 18 instead of 12 people. We were left stranded without an alternative. Phone call to the provider: we should walk back or find a horse-drawn carriage or taxi. Poor service for the 50€ per person.
The tour is beautifull and well recommendated. However when the river is low you have to walk a path in the woods with treetrunks and rocks to catch the second boat. Its impossible with an electrike bike. A women fell and broke her wrist, she even passed out because of the pain. There was no help from the organisation. Even more so they urgent the people who were helping to hurry up beacuse the boat was leaving.
The tour itself was okay, but overall, we found the Gap of Dunloe experience somewhat overrated. The logistics were generally well organized, but it would have been nice to have the option to choose the direction of the tour (boat-to-bus or bus-to-boat). When we arrived at Ross Castle, there was hardly any time to explore it, as the guide seemed keen to keep everyone moving and stick to a tight schedule. Unfortunately, the guide was also not particularly friendly or patient when some of the other participants had difficulty understanding his instructions on the boat, which were sometimes mumbled and unclear. Overall, the scenery is beautiful, but the experience did not quite live up to our expectations.
The driver was very friendly, making the start of my trip an enjoyable one. The driver of the boat was informative, friendly and humorous with the Irish charm who pointed out different landmarks, which was very interesting.
Just 🤩. The boat return after the 10 km hike is really worth it. Thank you to the whole team. 🇨🇦
Efficient bus into park and lovely boat ride through lakes with good commentary from guide. We then walked out over the gap - a good workout for us older folks but fun and very beautiful
This tour was one of the highlights of our trip to Ireland. After having plenty of time to explore Ross Castle, we got to take a boat through the lakes. Our guide was very knowledgeable and shared so many interesting things about the national park. Upon arrival at Lord Brandon’s cottage we had enough time to eat a quick lunch, before setting off on our hike through the Gap of Dunloe. We had plenty of time to complete the hike, before being picked up at Kate Kearney’s Cottage and taken back to Killarney. I highly recommend going on this tour. It was such a great adventure!
A great experience! Taken by bus from downtown Killarney to Kate Kearney's Cottage. Wonderful walk through the Gap of Dunloe to Lord Brandons. There after picnic by boat sailed over the Killarney lakes to Ross Castle. A wonderful tour! Highly recommended!
Overall, the boat and hike was a 10/10 experience. The boat guide was very kind and gave very interesting explanations of everything we saw and we had a lovely time on the boat. The hike itself was absolutely lovely, my best experience since being in Ireland with absolutely gorgeous views. However, I may recommend doing this tour with a different company due to the behavior of our bus driver. Our driver, Tadgh O’Connor, who has asked us to review this tour, made a racist comment to one of my friends I am traveling with. He asked where she was from, and he then offhandedly told her that he knows that there are a lot of Asians in California. (She is not from California nor had she mentioned anything about California, she had stated she was from Sydney) Additionally, he offered to drive us to the airport to catch our flight after the tour. The way he worded it, we assumed he was doing us a big favor and that the ride would be free. He did not disclose he would expect payment and even rushed us after the tour to get to the airport, and because we assumed he was doing us a big solid, we operated on his schedule rather than ours. However, when we got to the airport he asked for €45. When we explained our confusion and asked for a slightly cheaper price, he lied and told us any uber or taxi would charge even more. When we checked uber to fact check him, we saw all Ubers charged around €30. Had we known he was going to charge us so much and rush us to the airport, we would have just taken an uber instead.
Beautiful experience by boat and then by foot through the Gap of Dunloe. Comfortable to be picked up at the fixed meeting point to go by coach. It can also pick up and leave the clients at the nearby hotels and accomodations. The boat tour was great, beautiful nature and the weather was fine. The walk is not very complicated. Went with kids 8 and 12, everyone is fine. The road was very crowded, though, between the hikers, the cyclists, the jaunting cars and the cars the road is very busy. Recomend to go.
| Tour | Duration | Rating | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bus & Boat Tour | 6 hours | 4.0 (67) | $75 | |
| Bus, Boat & Jaunting Cart Tour (Jaunting Cart Paid Separately) | 5 hours | 4.7 (120) | $75 | View |
 Gap of Dunloe Tour (Boat & Bus) | 5–6 hours | 4.6 (80) | $81 | View |
 Boat Only Ticket (Walk the Gap of Dunloe) | 1h 30min | 4.7 (61) | $45 | View |
 Gap of Dunloe Day Tour and Boat Ride from Killarney | 6 hours | 4.5 (42) | $58 | View |
 Dingle Peninsula & Slea Head - Private Mini Bus Tour | 6–7 hours | 4.8 (9) | $905 | View |
 Muckross House and Gardens - Boat Tour (Min 4 People - 1 way). | 45 min | 3.4 (5) | $35 | View |