Shore Excursion From Cork: Including Blarney Castle and Kinsale
Cobh, Ireland
- 8 hours (approx.)
- Pickup offered
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
Why travelers loved this
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Overview
Maximize your time on land in Ireland on a full-day shore excursion. From Cork Harbour, travel through the Irish countryside to the 13th-century Blarney Castle. Kiss the world-renowned Blarney Stone for good luck, if you like. Return to Cork for a coach tour of the city’s sights; visit the charming town of Kinsale, and make a brief stop in Cobh, famous as the departure point of the Titanic.
- Explore the best of County Cork on a shore excursion
- All entrance fees and round-trip port transfers are included
- Learn more about the region through live guided commentary
- Avoid rushing with a full-day tour on land
What's Included
- Driver/guide
- Live commentary on board
- Port pickup and drop-off
- Blarney Castle and Gardens Entry Fee included
- Air-conditioned vehicle
- WiFi on board
- Back at port 1 hour before last boarding.
- Gratuities
- Lunch
Meeting and Pickup
You can head directly to the meeting point, or request pickup
Start time.8:00 am
Itinerary
Cobh (Pass By)
1
Blarney Stone
1 hour 30 minutes • Admission Ticket Included
The English Market (Pass By)
2
Charles Fort
20 minutes • Admission Ticket Not Included
3
Kinsale
1 hour • Admission Ticket Free
St Colman’s Cathedral (Pass By)
Port of Cobh (Pass By)
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Infant seats available
- Children must be accompanied by an adult
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Stroller accessible
- Near public transportation
- Most travelers can participate
- 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.
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 58 travelers
Supplied by
Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Reviews
4.2
based on 495 reviews
Sort by: Most insightful
Melissa_L, Aug 2026
Totally worth the price. I would get into the line ASAP when you get there because it gets long quickly. I would go first thing in the morning annd take the earliest tour.
Joseph_S, Aug 2026
Great guide gave us lots of free time plus took us to 9/11 Memorial which was very very sobering Blarney castle was fun got to kiss Blarney Stone
Sheryl_F, Aug 2026
Very good tour. Blarney Castle is fun. We got confused going back to the bus and couldn’t find it. We wound up being late getting back. Another driver from the tour company helped us reconnect with our group. We appreciated the extra effort from the tour company.
Connie_L, Aug 2026
First of all, the “small”bus was not at the port. Another Paddy wagon guide had to call. Then. It was not a small group, it was a big busload of tourists. We spent the majority of time driving to Giants Causeway where we were left to explore. It’s quite a walk down/up hill so we got a a shuttle for a small fee. Then the bus was very hard to find, down a steep hill behind 4 other buses on a very narrow street.
Most importantly, the tour left out the main places we wanted to see, sights in the city of Belfast. No maps available when we asked the guide/driver. It was Music Week and many roads were blocked off, so we were just dropped off at a pub and told “just go down that street and you will see City Hall’. We did enjoy the public music at City Hall and a nice lunch at a pub. However, it may be a European thing to have lunch at 3:00, but we would have preferred a noonish time since our dinner reservations on the ship were 5:30.
Regarding the driver, he spent more time telling us about his work experience than interesting things about Ireland and sites we would see. I guess it’s because we didn’t see many sites. Our group agreed it was a waste of valuable vacation time and money.
Carol_W, Aug 2026
Alex was a great guide.
Barney Castle was very busy, which you'd expect in a tourist area. Waited 1 1/2 to get into the castle and see / kiss the Blarney stone.
Toni_C, Aug 2026
Our Tour operator was excellent. Very knowledgeable and very patient with the people. He always gave us times to return to the bus and made account before we left.
Diana_F, Jul 2026
This was a great trip, and our driver Ruairi (pronounced Rory) was wonderful & funny! He made the driving part of the trip fun and engaging! Blarney Castle and the gardens are beautiful, and kissing the Stone is a fun thing to do. Kinsale is a cute coastal town and we were lucky, they were having a craft / food market in their square while we were there. Great day & trip.
susan_h, Jul 2026
We were at the meeting point 10 minutes early as instructed on all communications, including one received less than 48 hours before the trip was due.
After waiting 20 minutes I sent an message on the same chat the company had been using ask for confirmation of the meeting point.
I received no reply.
I managed to find a direct telephone number for the company on line and called them.
I was told to make my way to the main office. The office was 25 minute car drive away.
When I booked the trip all detail were exchanged about us arriving on a cruise ship, and pick up was confirmed by the company to be at the port.
Once we released the office was in the next town my husband made another call to the office to be informed the trip had been cancelled.
He was told they was an email sent the day before. However, the only email I received about a cancellation was sent after both those phone calls, me sending another message to the company and to Viator asking about a refund as nothing had been mentioned on the phone.
I did then received a phone call back from the company after Viator had contacted them stating they would issue the refund now.
I am confused to why Viator was not contacted and the refund wasn't issued the day before if they had tried to contact me then as they said they had.
Mike_F, Jul 2026
We had a beautiful sunny day temperature about 70. It was very busy and the line was long, but we got through the line up to the top. Kiss the Blarney Stone and got down inside of 90 minutes. It was well worth it. The man at the top who helped us kiss the blinding stone was great. We also bought the photos. Very happy overall.
DavidE_A, Jul 2026
Overall was an interesting and informative journey. Certain comments made could have been avoided when it came to other countries. But a good experience all the same and comfortable ride.
Eileen_L, May 2026
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!!!
Pam_H, May 2026
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.
Linda_S, May 2026
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.
Robert_S, May 2026
Forgot his name.. I was on princess majestic on may 13. Tour left from cork . he was outstanding. Very informative, humorous and friendly
Leia_R, May 2026
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.
cathy_w, May 2026
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.
Stephanie_L, May 2026
Efficient way to get from the port to the Blarney Castle. Beat the cruise excursions there so minimized the wait at the Blarney Castle.
Nancy_M, May 2026
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.
AnneMarie_S, Apr 2026
Long wait if you want to kiss the Blarney Stone or go through the castle. They did tell us that before we arrived.
The grounds are gorgeous at this time of year with everything flowering.
Philip_N, Apr 2026
Wonderful tour. SW so much. Excellent driver, clean bus and on time. I cannot say enough positive things. We loved it!
Hardy_C, Oct 2025
An excellent tour, with a cordial, competent and safe driver. Kevin did a great job driving and informing our bus of passengers through the day. The visit to the Blarney Castle was great fun and kissing the Blarney Stone was a uniquely enjoyable experience. I highly recommend this excursion and Kevin as your driver/leader!
Amanda_R, Oct 2025
Kevin shared so much history and was very funny. Thoroughly enjoyed every stop of the day! Got us to the castle early so very little waiting time to go up to the stone. Wait times were 2 hours by the time we left!
Kevin_S, Oct 2025
A long trip which could have been much nicer if it was a little shorter. Too long in Kinsale where, once we had had lunch and a walk round we still had an hour and a half to kill. The guide was ill informed and quite often telling outright lies. In addition we found his description of the potato famine to be very depressing and interminable.
Andrea_T, Oct 2025
Well organized, getting to Blarney Castle right when it opened meant a very short wait to kiss the stone. Kinsale is a beautiful seaside town with great pubs and shops galore
Richard_M, Sep 2025
The organization, actually the lack of organization was terrible. We had to walk at least 1/2 mile I a crowd of people who like us had no idea where we were going. I walked ahead of the line, several people were upset to asking a man were to go. He checked and said not with us to get back in line. I kept going and found a man with a green Paddywagon sign in his front pocket talking to someone whose name wasn’t on his list. He led us across, j-walked, two danger streets with cargo trucks entering and leaving the port. We were lucky. several people got on the wrong bus and at least on couple had to hire a private car to get to the castle. The exterior of the Castle and grounds were beautiful but to stand in line for 90 minutes to just turn around because we couldn’t climb the stairs was a joke. The town of Kinsale was cute but we only had 2 hours so lunch was about all we got to do. I’ve used Viator in Europe, Australia and New Zealand using small vans with expert guides, they were great. So far in Iceland, Ireland and the UK they have fallen short, large poor quality buses and the absence of true professional guides…our driver to Blarney was both driver and guide. I think I spend enough money traveling it’s time to hire professional guides and not depend on 3rd party services.
sbergslp, Sep 2025
Our tour was outstanding Our guide Zikor from Croatia made our excursion memorable. He spoke clearly, was extremely informative and told jokes and played music for us (Irish and popular) on our ride back to the cruise port. The bus was waiting and he got us to the castle before all the other buses showed up so our wait was not that long.👍We had experienced an excursion with friends to Glasgow with Viator and was very disappointed with the guide Therefore we were a little concerned how this excursion would be. What a wonderful experience and because of Zikor we kept our Viator excursion to Normandy. 👍👏
Jacky_W, Sep 2025
This excursion took us to the Blarney Castle, Garden, and the Kinsale downtown. The driver from Paddywagon is very punctual and humorous. He is not only the tour bus driver but also a tour guide. He highlighted all the attractions and interesting things along his drive. We listened Irish music along the way so it was very relaxing even though there was traffic. Since the drive was punctual, we were the second bus arrived the Blarney Castle, so the queue wasn’t that long. We were able to walk up the castle and the Kissing Stone without a long wait. Garden is very pretty. If you enjoy nature and garden, you can a whole day there. We only had less than three hours in Kinsale, so we didn’t have much time to walk around after lunch. I wouldn’t blame on the driver because he had to bring us back to our cruise ship. Other than that it is a well worthwhile tour.
Glen_P, Aug 2025
Nice tour not overly expensive. Bus driver was well aware of the problems with Castle Blarney, the hordes of people. We were the second bus there that day and were able to kiss the stone. Later in the day the line up to ascend the castle were well over 1.5 hours
Jane_S, Aug 2025
Blarney castle and grounds was great. It would have been better if the driver gave more info on the history, economy, traditions etc about Ireland. Also, a drive around and tour of Cork with some time to walk around.
Debbie_I, Aug 2025
Great bus driver/tour commentator Paul. Better price and destination stops than Princess Cruise excursion.
From $104.50
per personup to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)
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