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(Small Group) Shore Tour from Cork: Blarney Castle & Jameson Distillery
3.3
29 Ratings
Cobh
Explore Blarney Castle and Jameson Distillery on a luxury small-group tour from Cork. Book early to secure your spot and avoid disappointment.
Duration:
7 hours
Cancellation:
1 day
learn more
Highlights
- Port of Cobh - Cobh (Cork) Cruise Ship Terminal - We collect passengers from the cruise ship at 07:30 for departure @ 08:00. Where your ship docks later than 07:30 the tour will begin 30 minutes after disembarkation commences.
- Blarney Castle & Gardens - Our first stop of the day is Blarney. Visit the most famous Castle in all of
Ireland!! Lie back and kiss the magical Blarney Stone and get the gift of the
gab! Your admission is included saving you 12 euro.
WE ARE HAPPY TO INCLUDE ADMISSION TO BLARNEY CASTLE:
others will make you join a queue and pay at the gate!
- Blarney Woollen Mills - You will also have time to visit the world famous
Blarney Woolen Mills. Famed as the largest Irish Store in the world, many take advantage of its tax free shopping offers on quality Irish products.
- Jameson Distillery Midleton - Our next stop is the beautiful town of Midleton, famed as being the home of Jameson distillery since 1825. Today it is home to many Irish whiskeys such as Jameson, Powers, Paddy, Redbreast, Green Spot, previously produced in separate distilleries.
In 1992, the Old Midleton Distillery reopened as a visitor’s centre, known as the Jameson Experience.
- Cobh Cathedral - Our last stop before boarding the ship, Cobh is famed as the final departure
point for the Titanic. Built on a side of the hill, time permitting, we visit the St.
Coleman’s Cathedral one of the most magnificent Cathedrals in the country.
Time permitting, those on ships with late departures will have time to visit the
Titanic experience 100m from where the ships dock.
- Cobh - We structure each tour to make sure you are back on board at lease 1 hr before time for departure. The service ends back at the dockside after approximately 8 hours on tour. If the boat is leaving earlier we will amend the itinerary as necessary.
What's Included
- Port pickup and drop-off
- Live commentary on board
- In-vehicle air conditioning
- On-board WiFi
- Bottled water
What's Not Included
- Gratuities
- Lunch
Additional Information
This small-group shore excursion from Cobh Cruise Terminal accommodates no more than 24 passengers on a luxury small van and allows for a particularly intimate day on shore. The tour begins with a pick-up from the cruise liner terminal in Cobh, Cork Harbour, where your driver will be waiting for you to drive you to Blarney Castle and Castles, where the admission is included. Take a panoramic drive through Cork City, where your guide will point out the highlights of the southern capital. In the afternoon visit Jameson @ Midleton and enjoy a tour of this famous whiskey distillery. GUEST ADVICE: During peak- season (May 1st - September 30th) multiple cruise ships are expected at the major ports on a daily basis. This small group tour tends to sell- out well ahead of departure for most dates within this period. Accordingly, we recommend advance reservation where possible, to avoid disappointment.
- At time of booking, Cruise ship passengers must provide the following information: ship name, docking time, disembarkation time and re-boarding time
- Children must be accompanied by an adult
Location
Port of Cobh
Cobh (Cork) Cruise Ship Terminal - We collect passengers from the cruise ship at 07:30 for departure @ 08:00. Where your ship docks later than 07:30 the tour will begin 30 minutes after disembarkation commences.
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
3.3
(29 Ratings)
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Carleen_g
May 5, 2024
Great experience - Pull the tour operator was very knowledgeable. Great driver and a wonderful tour guide. He did a wonderful job of getting us to the site and getting us there early enough so we avoided the crowds.
Review provided by Viator
Gammamik
Oct 15, 2023
great tour - Fantastic tour. They took excellent care of our vacation experience, ensuring that we were the first to get to Blarney Castle. So many participating in the cruise ship excursion did not get the same experience. Lovely tour of Jamison and local area.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Kimberly_s
Oct 8, 2023
Amazing tour - You may not get the small little black van, but 33 people on a bus gives everyone room to stretch out. Our tour was on September 25. 2023, our guide got us to Blarney Castle before all the NCL tour buses and we were able to tour the castle and the stone in less than an hour. There was time to tour and grab a sandwich. We had an amazing tour at Jameson Distillery. I would recommend this tour to everyone and not get so caught up on words small group and a black van. I know many that booked the same tour thru NCL however they didn't have time to climb up the Blarney Castle and kiss the stone because there was already a 2 hour wait by the time they got there.
Review provided by Viator
Kimberly_g
Aug 21, 2023
Absolutely amazing - Loved the driver and the actual experience of the tours. Pricing was great!! Would definitely do it again!
Review provided by Viator
Jad304
Jul 29, 2023
Great tour/great Port - Great Day! Our tour guide/driver was knowledgeable and friendly. He was one time and returned us back in cobh on time.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Michael_m
Sep 29, 2023
You MAY not get what you paid for. - For tour dates September 25, 2023. Our personal experience.
Be careful when booking, the tour operator is not forthright in providing what you MAY have paid for.
Paddywagon states they have "small groups transported on one bus".
Really? 33 people on one bus is NOT small groups.
Additionally, if you book the small "black bus" tour by Elegant Irish Tours, you will later discover, as one of the drivers told us, "there is no Elegant Irish Tours...". You will also discover the tour itinerary you pay for has stops you will never see on a Paddywagon tour.
Now, the tour itself was fine. The driver/tour guide took decent care of passengers. Be aware that lunch, which you pay for, will be while visiting the Blarney Woll Mills. Our drivers did not demarcate time for lunch, and there is not another opportunity for 2+ hours after you depart.
Also, in fairness, Viator did arrange for a partial refund of the approximate difference between "big groups" and "small groups" tour costs. But the experience was somewhat sullied by the feeling that had we not complained they would have kept our money.
This is not a new issue, as reviews back as far as 2019 note the exact same bait and switch. Yet neither Paddywagon or Viator have addressed it.
So in review, be careful in your booking, insist you get what you paid for, and do not be afraid to complain if necessary.
Review provided by Viator
Sandi
Aug 5, 2023
Can't say good or bad - Can't say good or bad. Just a learning experience. We go sea sick from a horrible night. Couldn't get up. We lost our money. I don't think we will ever book an excursion a head of time again.
You can just get off the ship and book with others and not lose money if something happens.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Vacationer85090
Aug 15, 2023
Bait and switch. - Look at the pic. Advertised as a small, 16 passenger bus run by "elegant Irish tours". What we actually got was a big 50 place bus from a company called "Paddywagon" (a company with many bad reviews) . They also combined two different iteneraries...so about half the people rightfully ticked off about missing some castle that they had been promised and were now going with us to Jameson's distillery for a tour. The driver was very informative and entertaining, but had been dealt a very bad situation. I know that the world is having staffing problems but this one was somewhat unacceptable. Bait and switch.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Kathy_s
Aug 3, 2023
Blarney castle and Jamison distillery - The reason for the low rating was it was supposed to be a small group tour to Blarney castle Jamison distillery and Kinsale. We were told to look for a small black van at our port. The day of the tour there was no black van. No one with a sign of our tour. We finally found someone and we’re told the tour was combined with other groups and a large green bus was there we no longer were visiting kinsale The tour guide Brian was very good knowledgeable and entertaining It was good we got to blarney castle and went to the castle directly as when we were done there was a line with a 90 minute wait for the castle. The grounds were nice and the distillery tour was good too.
Review provided by Viator
Coreen_l
May 18, 2024
BE WARY - I paid for a small group in a van, which did not happen. Instead, we were told the van was not allowed in the port but it would meet us at blarney. It didn’t. We were then designated to another bus, the passengers of which were from a different cruise ship. After the Distillery tour, the bus driver let us know he had ordered a taxi for our group (4) back to the ship since the bus was headed to a different port. Thus, we missed part of the excursion commitments. I have called and emailed to give them the opportunity to make this right but without a response. Be wary. I was told Viator overbooks their local tour companies resulting in issues like this.
Review provided by Viator
