Ireland's Iconic South: Cliffs of Moher & Blarney 2-Day Tour

Enjoyed this trip very much. Beautiful places to see. Overnight in an old fashioned hotel downtown Cork. Great food, friendly people.

Great tour/ saw what we were hoping to see. Friendly and helpful drivers. My only negative was the hotel we were out in. Very old, small, smelly, etc… they need to improve those accommodations. Overall good trip!

Richard on the first tour to Blarney Castle and Alex on the second tour to the cliffs were both very Imformative and funny in diffrent ways. Their info and hostory rarely overlapped. They both ran a tight ship and everything went smoothly. The sites themselves were well worth seeing. On the second tour we met up with Richard at one of the rest stops and even though he wasnt our guide that day he told us he would be saving my family with kids seats that day. I dont think we met a person in Ireland that wasnt friendly.

I really enjoyed this trip. I am glad we did the two day tour and got to stay overnight in Cork. We especially loved the Cliffs of Moher. The bus drive home was too long. We went out of our way to switch buses.

The overall experience was poor. The 2 day tour is not recommended. You are switched between 3 buses, which was not known previously. The hotel in Cork was extremely poor quality, hostel quality (spiders on the ceiling). The itinerary was changed compared to the description. We did not have the opportunity to see Bunratty castle and village due to bus changes and lack of time - not sure why it is on the schedule if there is no time to see it (if you decide to see it, entry free is NOT included in tour cost). Lunch at the Frantic Chef was 5 out of 10. Throughout the tour, we were not allowed to bring food on bus, and not enough time to grab and eat at the stops. Basically choosing between eating and touring! Overall, I would not recommend a 2 day tour. Rather do day trips, but note that the trip from Dublin to the south or west is a long drive so be prepared. The good…if you go to Cork, eat at Mayne’s (Pembroke street)…great place for cocktails and food. If you go to Bunratty, save time to grab ice cream and food, very good.

Unfortunately I can't recommend this tour to many people. On day one we travelled down to Blarney Castle and Gardens with a short stop at Rock of Cashel. Rock of Cashel was really nice and the stop was long enough to have a look at everything. I can't say the same for Blarney. If you want to go there just for the Blarney Stone, it'll be fine and you'll have enough time. If you plan on seeing more than just the castle and a fraction of the gardens, you'd have to spend more time there. After that we headed down to Cork and got dropped off at our Hostel or at the Hotel. The Hostel was "Sheila's Hostel" and despite some critical reviews on Google my experience was good and I felt comfortable throughout. JJ was our driver that day, he talked a lot and was fairly entertaining but not extremely informative. On day two our goal was the Cliffs of Moher, where we spent 90 minutes. It was enough time to to walk up and down some of the trails and have a quick look at the museum too -- I thought it was great :) The itinerary promises a lot more of a "roadtrip" afterwards but most things were just mentioned by our driver, Paul, in a sentence and then we moved on. The Wild Atlantic Way, Galway Bay, The Great Famine or Black Head was not mentioned and we did not see it (or passed without knowing it) -- that was disappointing, I was looking forward to it. The second stop at Bunratty castle had potential. We got there at 2:50pm and left at 5pm: plenty of time to look at the castle and the park -- or so you'd think. We were told we shouldn't go into the castle, because we had to be back by 3:40pm. So we didn't go in and were at the bus at 3:40pm. There we were told we won't leave until 4:30pm. So we went back to waiting. At 4:30pm we were told we actually weren't gonna leave until 5pm. I think poor communication and unlucky timing both played equal parts here. I'm glad I booked the Backpacker option, because 300$ wouldn't have been worth this trip. To finish off on a good note: The evening in Cork was very lovely and I think everyone enjoyed their stay there. Also we got really lucky with the Cliffs of Moher, we had perfect weather, barely wind and clear skies! Lunch was also really good, well organised and quick (price is not included in the tour, but there were affordable options). If your main goals are to see the Cliffs of Moher and the Blarney Stone, book this tour, it will be a good fit! My expectations were higher after reading the itinerary.

I had a question as am planning this trip. For a late August travel, is the 2 hours at Blarney enough? Also, does the drop off at Cork between 3 and 4 pm allow time for a visit to Cobh. Conh visitor center may close at 5 pm, but is it worth the journey to Cobh and back.

All of it and thank you Clsire from the office for you helpfulness and friendliness and Richard, bus driver for your sense of humour and trying to keep me ‘on time :) Liz Opielinski

Great, friendly drivers who are knowledgeable about the areas and history. The wifi wasn’t working but not a big deal. A great way to see a lot and not have to worry about all the planning and coordination. Plenty of rest stops for food and bathroom breaks. The only downside was the two day tour means you start on one bus and then transfer to another on day two due to the routes. For us at least, this meant being dropped off at a location and told we had 40 mins to explore before the other bus came. But it ended up being over and hour and a half but we had to sit in one spot so we didn’t miss it. It didn’t ruin the day but was a bummer.

We did the two day tour and were so glad we decided to stay in Cork. The only issue we had was the pickup point. People were left standing on a corner, across the street from Paddy’s Palace, when in fact the pickup is around the corner where the buses stop. All very confusing. On day 1, Paul was our driver and guide and was fantastic. He was informative, patient and went that extra step. When we stopped in Cork for lunch he made sure he escorted us to the B&B and provided an introduction to Charlie. He gave some advice on evening places for dinner and entertainment as well. He gave us plenty of time to explore but was available for questions along the way. It was pelting rain at the Rock of Cashel so he made sure we were all warm enough once we got back on the bus. Blarney Castle was wonderful to see and we walked the park area and over to the current Blarney House. The fern garden was something to see! The B&B was a bit noisy with trucks and people whooping it up throughout the night. Would definitely need to ensure you are mobile as it was 45 steps up to our room. Luckily we left our luggage at the hotel in Dublin and only brought a backpack with us. Our second guide was Aiden for our continued journey to the Cliffs of Moher. A spectacular sight with some tips on the best viewing points. The St John’s castle picture opportunity is literally a drive by on a round about after picking up more tour passengers in Limerick. Lunch at the Frantic Chef - plenty to choose from and delicious as well. Into the Burren - windswept and worth the walk to the small cove. Be very careful! We were dropped off at Bunratty Castle where we met up with Eduardo to bring as back to Dublin, as Aiden and group were going back to Cork. A wonderful two days spent.