Can't Decide on Which Shore Excursion To Do In Cork

We have booked a British Isles Tour for next May and I am having a difficult time deciding on which shore excursion I prefer. I am leaning towards a private Ring of Kerry Highlights tour versus a private tour with Blarney Castle, Woolen Mills, and Kinsale. The former tour appears more scenic and would include Muckross House. Has anyone previously done these tours? Your opinion and advice would be appreciated.

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I've been to Ireland & the Ring of Kerry would be my pick of those two.

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Also wondering about which option to choose here. Why would you choose Ring of Kerry, Pigskin?

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The scenery is beautiful on the Ring of Kerry tour. I was on a Brenden bus tour. You might be able to pull up something on You Tube or people might be able to show you photos on Facebook.

Blarney Castle ---lots of steps to the top. The Woolen Mills is nice for some shopping if you will not have any other time for shopping. There is also a place to get something to eat at. Now I was on a Bus tour around Ireland so I was able to do all. You will just have to decide what you want most. Try You Tube/Facebook for things on those places. Good Luck.

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We'd spent an overnight in Kinsale on a land trip so for our port day in Cobh I organized a Ring of Kerry highlights tour for 16 roll call members with Munsterbus.

We were only in port from 10 - 7, so the tour felt rushed to me. We did not have time for Muckross House, had a very brief stop in Kenmare where a few of us grabbed a quick but great lunch at the Atlantic, then a few stops for scenery, a quick hike to a waterfall and then a longer time in Killarney, where most of the group took a very late lunch.

If you've not been to Kinsale, then I'd recommend that over Kerry! It would make for a far more relaxing day since it is closer to Cobh. You can book a walking tour of this charming village, have a leisurely lunch and perhaps go further afield to Charles Fort.

As for us, the Blarney Stone holds no interest and the Woolen Mills can be found all over the Emerald & British Isles.

Last month we took a private taxi tour to Kinsale and Charles Fort. We've been to many forts in the US, Canada, Caribbean and Europe, and we were going to skip Charles Fort. Our taxi driver suggested that we just go to take a look at it. We got inside, and we spent an hour and a half there. It was by far the most interesting and extensive fort we've seen.

Kinsale was a quiet little fishing town; we wandered around the shops and had a great lunch at the pub The Lord Kingsale which was suggested by our taxi driver.

I'll post our taxi driver/guides name if anyone is interested.

I have been watching YouTube videos and researching all day and have decided to go with the Highlights of the Ring of Kerry shore excursion. It was actually a poster at TripAdvisor who finally convinced me to go with this choice. This person described herself as a Cork native who now lives in Killarney. She states that it is surrounded by a beautiful national park that has a castle, a 14 century abbey, an 18th century mansion, a waterfall and the breathtaking Gap of Dunloe, which is probably the best glaciated valley in Europe. Also...Killarney boasts more heritage sites than anywhere else in Ireland. It is also steeped in culture as it is a gaelteach area (Irish is the natives' first language) and has been listed by the National Geographic as one of the most beautiful places on the planet. Hopefully, we will be able to cover more ground on this tour since there are only 3 of us. I wish we had the time to do the whole route. Thanks to everyone who posted offering their suggestions.

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Last month we took a private taxi tour to Kinsale and Charles Fort. We've been to many forts in the US, Canada, Caribbean and Europe, and we were going to skip Charles Fort. Our taxi driver suggested that we just go to take a look at it. We got inside, and we spent an hour and a half there. It was by far the most interesting and extensive fort we've seen.

 

Kinsale was a quiet little fishing town; we wandered around the shops and had a great lunch at the pub The Lord Kingsale which was suggested by our taxi driver.

 

I'll post our taxi driver/guides name if anyone is interested.

I did a ship's excursion from the Caribbean Princess a few months ago that included these two places and enjoyed both of them very much. I would not hesitate to recommend seeing them to others.

We did a private tour there that included Blarney Castle, Kinsale and more. It was cheaper than the ship excursion.

http://www.ecoach.ie

Cost is now 39 euros

Sorry, Blarney and Kinsale is 49 euros.

When are you in Cork? Camden Fort in Crosshaven is very interesting to visit.

I live in Cork, and Cork has some very beautiful places to visit. If you are doing a private tour I would recommend Garnish Island and Glengarriff a beautiful small town with some lovely walks, if the weather is fine there is even sea swimming 😉 . This is close to Bantry House and Gardens,

I wouldn't recommend Ring of Kerry personally (not because it's not beautiful) just that you will spend the whole day on a bus, and you really need good weather for it, and one thing you can't predict is the weather.

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We did a private tour there that included Blarney Castle, Kinsale and more. It was cheaper than the ship excursion.

http://www.ecoach.ie

 

We are thinking about reserving the Blarney Castle/Kinsale tour with eCoach. I was wondering if you felt you had enough time in Kinsale? Were you able to eat lunch and wander around/shop a bit?

We did a private tour there that included Blarney Castle, Kinsale and more. It was cheaper than the ship excursion.

http://www.ecoach.ie

 

We are thinking about reserving the Blarney Castle/Kinsale tour with eCoach. I was wondering if you felt you had enough time in Kinsale? Were you able to eat lunch and wander around/shop a bit?

 

Yes, we had plenty of time in Kinsale. We had time for a relaxing lunch and then to walk around the town. The town is in a beautiful area, very scenic. Our tour took us to an old fort the overlooked the bay and town, while our guide described the history.

May I please have the contact information for your driver/guide for the Kinsale Charles Fort tour?

Last month we took a private taxi tour to Kinsale and Charles Fort. We've been to many forts in the US, Canada, Caribbean and Europe, and we were going to skip Charles Fort. Our taxi driver suggested that we just go to take a look at it. We got inside, and we spent an hour and a half there. It was by far the most interesting and extensive fort we've seen.

 

Kinsale was a quiet little fishing town; we wandered around the shops and had a great lunch at the pub The Lord Kingsale which was suggested by our taxi driver.

 

I'll post our taxi driver/guides name if anyone is interested.

i would also like the taxi driver's info please

Also how much was the tour

Thanks

Would a tour to Cashel be an attractive alternative to either. Blarney or the Ring of Kerry.

We visited here on a land trip enroute to Kinsale. We spent @2 hours there. I would recommend it as being a true historic ruin rather than the touristic Blarney Castle. Not many visitors there, which is a good thing.

I would combine it with a visit to Cork.

It is a far different experience than a Ring of Kerry tour.