Discover everything you need to know about Blarney Castle & Gardens, Dublin including history, facts, how to get there and the best time to visit.

The Basics

Rail and bus tours that showcase the best of the Irish western and southern coasts—including the Ring of Kerry scenic drive, the Cliffs of Moher, Galway Bay, and the Burren—often includes a stop at Blarney Castle. Find an itinerary to suit your interests, and choose one with a tour guide to learn about the history of the castle and the stone. Make the most of your time with combination tours to other sites such as the Rock of Cashel, the Celtic Cathedral, the Hall of Vicars, the Galtee Mountains, and County Kildare.

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Exploring Cork City

A Cork day trip often includes time in the city as well as a visit to Blarney Castle. Stroll down St. Patrick Street and stop for lunch at the English Market, which hosted a visit from Queen Elizabeth II of England in 2011, or do some tax-free souvenir shopping at Blarney Woollen Mill. The Irish countryside throughout County Cork is picturesque and makes for a lovely drive.

Recent reviews from experiences in Dublin

Great way to spend a day out of the city.

Richard_H, Jul 2021

Blarney Castle Day Trip from Dublin

Great itinerary if you only have a day to get out of Dublin. The driver was great, very funny, personable and knowledgeable. Plenty of opportunities to stop, eat and walk around. Given COVID restriction we still got a lot out of our tour. Will take one of their other tours next time we are in Dublin.

Great day of castles/gardens

Laura_S, Sep 2021

A really well organised trip with a mixture of a self guided look round (rock of cashel), plenty of time to explore (blarney castle) and a short guided tour (cahir). I was surprised that the blarney stone was ‘open’, and I decided not to participate, but it was well worth walking up to the top of the castle to see it and enjoy the spectacular views. The castle gardens were another highlight - so varied and fun to explore. Barry was an entertaining and informative guide.

Amazing Castles

CYNTHIA_R, Sep 2021

Blarney Castle Day Tour from Dublin Including Rock of Cashel & Cork City

It was very good! The castle was amazing and the guide gave us very useful tips to cover the most important stuff! The time in cork was short but very enjoyable as well !

Cashel & Blarney

Jackie_W, Sep 2021

Barry was an excellent guide. He shared stories along the way and provided information on each stop. We were given plenty of time to explore each attraction and breaks were planned out in timely fashions. I would highly recommend this tour for families.

No Barney here!

Neil_D, Sep 2021

Barry was a very good tour guide. He didn't bring the perfect weather, but was very informative. We were allowed a good amount of time at all the sites.

Great tour!

bouchardrob, Jan 2020

The driver, Jerry, was awesome. The bus was clean and comfortable. Cork is a cool city. I would definitely recommend this tour.

3 amazing Castles in 1 day

Linda_L, Sep 2021

Saw 3 amazing Castles in 1 day. Phil was an excellent tour guide. He gave us so much information. Well worth it!

Excellent guide and tour!

Curiosity65434083569, Dec 2019

Cobh (Cork) to Blarney Castle & Kinsale - Shore Excursion

Full day tour and it was not rushed. Had time for lunch in the lovely little town of Kinsale! Castle was good to see, but very long line to enter, so we chose not to do so. Instead walked the grounds and viewed other points of interest. Very good choice for seeing some of the Irish countryside.

Blarney Castle Tour from Cork including Cobh

Departure656015, Nov 2019

Run by locals. Got us there just before the crowds. The grounds of Blarney Castle are beautiful. Loved the walk out to the lake. Trip to Cobh also interesting and very scenic.

Blarney Castle

C W, Nov 2019

Cobh (Cork) to Blarney Castle Half Day Shore Tour

It was a beautiful day to visit & our driver was very knowledgeable. The walk up the stairs to the Blarney stone was challenging if you are not in fairly good physical condition.

A great way to see Ireland

Linda, Aug 2021

The short and sweet tours of the castles allowed time to explore. The countryside is beautiful. Biggest problem was our drivers inability to regulate the temperature in the bus. The heat was blasting from the lower vents while the AC was cranking out cold air from above. It took until the afternoon to figure it our.

Tn traveler

smithonshadylane, Nov 2019

2-Day Cork, Blarney Castle and Ring of Kerry Rail Trip from Dublin

We had a great time due to our driver/guide Ray. We saw everything we expected to see and more, always with a through explanation. We had some rain, but that didn’t stop us. The B&B was in a good location and very nice.

Blarney Castle & Gardens

The Basics

Recent reviews from experiences in Dublin

Things to Know Before You Go

How to Get to Blarney Castle