In Cobh, which excursion should I choose?

[ManM]

I'll be on the Norwegian Jade in June, and visiting Cobh, I dont know if I should visit Blarney village and castle or go to Killarney and visit Muckross house.

 

As anyone been there?

[Rickey 88]

Having spent some time in Ireland over these past years, I have to say that both options are inviting and would be enjoyable. However, your time is limited, so.....

 

My preference would be to visit Killarney and tour Muckross House. Blarney is enjoyable, to be sure, but it is a bit "touristy" and who wants to wait in line to kiss a stone, while upside down?

[Fblack]

We took the Blarney Castle tour. The village is not much but the Castle is worth the time. The lines are pretty quick and it's one off those famous landmarks to see.

[ManM]

Thank you very much for answering me.

[rhumney]

Hard decision.

 

Killarney & Muckross House - may give you a better feel for Ireland (co. Cork & co. Kerry) and the Irish people. Killarney National Park is spectacular - it is told this is where the fairies live.

 

Blarney Castle - Kissing the stone is the easy part. Navigating the narrow, winding stairs up - can be a challenge. If you are looking for Irish clothing, Blarney Woollen Mills is very close.

 

Regardless, make sure you visit the Queenstown Story at the Cobh Heritage Centre. It is a very moving experience and should not be missed.

 

I vote Killarney!

[sustyse]

Hard decision.

 

Killarney & Muckross House - may give you a better feel for Ireland (co. Cork & co. Kerry) and the Irish people. Killarney National Park is spectacular - it is told this is where the fairies live.

 

Blarney Castle - Kissing the stone is the easy part. Navigating the narrow, winding stairs up - can be a challenge. If you are looking for Irish clothing, Blarney Woollen Mills is very close.

 

Regardless, make sure you visit the Queenstown Story at the Cobh Heritage Centre. It is a very moving experience and should not be missed.

 

I vote Killarney!

 

Haven't seen a fairy in Killarney or elsewhere in Ireland since we got electricity!:)

 

I would recommend visiting Killarney, much more to see and do there.

[skyboy]

Has anyone done the ship's excursion to Killarney and the Muckross house.

Wondering what they thought of it??

[luvnorway]

I was browsing through this forum, looking for posts relevant to the cruise we're doing this summer, and came across this thread asking about tours from Cobh.

This is what I posted after our visit there in 2007, but I checked the company's website and the tours still appear to be offered - I didn't read the details on the website, so some info from this prior post may have changed, but I thought it might be of use to someone:

 

 

If you're looking for one that departs from Cobh (though it doesn't focus heavily on Cork City), I strongly recommend you consider this

http://www.butlers-buses.com/cobh-shore-excursions.htm

 

I found the information about it and several good recommendations posted on this board by just using the 'Search this Forum" function. You can do the same to verify my recommendation.

 

We took their tour to Blarney and Kinsale from Cobh last summer and thought they did a great job for the very reasonable price of 15 Euro each.

At the time, we were on a HAL ship and they offered separate shorexes to Blarney and Kinsale (morning and afternoon) for about 50USD pp each, but no combined, full day tour.

 

We were picked up right on the pier at Cobh (very handy for anyone physically challenged) and right at the time scheduled, and driven in a van with 3 other couples directly to Blarney where we had enough time to visit the castle/kiss the stone etc. (at our own expense) if we wished, or as we chose, to wander the village of Blarney and enjoy an Irish Coffee.

 

We were then driven, via Cork, to Kinsale. We first visted the fort at the harbour entrance and then drove along a beautiful, narrow waterside road to the town of Kinsale. Here we stopped for several hours, lots of time for lunch and shopping and exploring the village on our own.

 

We returned to Cobh and Kevin, our driver/guide, who lives in Cobh, gave us a tour of the town and took us up to see the impressive church which looms over the harbour.

 

As other posters mentioned in the posts I read which convinced me to investigate this tour, Kevin has a great sense of humour and was very knowledgeable about all the places we visited.

 

Some of the advantages of the way this tour works are:

1) the earlier you book, the lower the price

2) unlike many private tours/guides, you book and pay per person, not by the van load - so you don't have to try to find others to go with you if you are travelling as an individual or a couple

3) the van is small enough that it can get down narrow roads that large coaches can't -> see more, and less walking necessary if physically challenged

4) you're only paying for what you use (ie guide's commentary and transportation)

- eg. a) we weren't interested in going to Blarney Castle - if we had taken a ship's shorex, the price would be inflated to include admission to the castle regardless of whether we went in

- eg. b) we weren't interested in spending our time sitting in a restaurant in Kinsale, but preferred to walk around there - others in our group chose to go to a restaurant - they could pick their own place and chose their own meal (there are lots to choose from - and many recommendations on internet websites)

 

 

All in all, we had a great day - I only wish tours orchestrated this way for this price were offered in more ports!

 

Hope this helps.

[kzoegirl2012]

Thank you for this post! This sounds like just what we were looking for! I just checked it out and it is still exactly as you explained. We are sailing Aug 27th and the rate that we were quoted is 35 Euros.

[4774Papa]

I was browsing through this forum, looking for posts relevant to the cruise we're doing this summer, and came across this thread asking about tours from Cobh.

This is what I posted after our visit there in 2007, but I checked the company's website and the tours still appear to be offered - I didn't read the details on the website, so some info from this prior post may have changed, but I thought it might be of use to someone:

 

 

If you're looking for one that departs from Cobh (though it doesn't focus heavily on Cork City), I strongly recommend you consider this

http://www.butlers-buses.com/cobh-shore-excursions.htm

 

I found the information about it and several good recommendations posted on this board by just using the 'Search this Forum" function. You can do the same to verify my recommendation.

 

We took their tour to Blarney and Kinsale from Cobh last summer and thought they did a great job for the very reasonable price of 15 Euro each.

At the time, we were on a HAL ship and they offered separate shorexes to Blarney and Kinsale (morning and afternoon) for about 50USD pp each, but no combined, full day tour.

 

We were picked up right on the pier at Cobh (very handy for anyone physically challenged) and right at the time scheduled, and driven in a van with 3 other couples directly to Blarney where we had enough time to visit the castle/kiss the stone etc. (at our own expense) if we wished, or as we chose, to wander the village of Blarney and enjoy an Irish Coffee.

 

We were then driven, via Cork, to Kinsale. We first visted the fort at the harbour entrance and then drove along a beautiful, narrow waterside road to the town of Kinsale. Here we stopped for several hours, lots of time for lunch and shopping and exploring the village on our own.

 

We returned to Cobh and Kevin, our driver/guide, who lives in Cobh, gave us a tour of the town and took us up to see the impressive church which looms over the harbour.

 

As other posters mentioned in the posts I read which convinced me to investigate this tour, Kevin has a great sense of humour and was very knowledgeable about all the places we visited.

 

Some of the advantages of the way this tour works are:

1) the earlier you book, the lower the price

2) unlike many private tours/guides, you book and pay per person, not by the van load - so you don't have to try to find others to go with you if you are travelling as an individual or a couple

3) the van is small enough that it can get down narrow roads that large coaches can't -> see more, and less walking necessary if physically challenged

4) you're only paying for what you use (ie guide's commentary and transportation)

- eg. a) we weren't interested in going to Blarney Castle - if we had taken a ship's shorex, the price would be inflated to include admission to the castle regardless of whether we went in

- eg. b) we weren't interested in spending our time sitting in a restaurant in Kinsale, but preferred to walk around there - others in our group chose to go to a restaurant - they could pick their own place and chose their own meal (there are lots to choose from - and many recommendations on internet websites)

 

 

All in all, we had a great day - I only wish tours orchestrated this way for this price were offered in more ports!

 

Hope this helps.

YES, the Butler tour, it was great and inexpensive. You still have to pay to enter Blarney Castle, but it is still a great deal and good tour.