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

Dublin, Ireland

Explore Cork, Blarney Castle and the stunning coastal scenery of the Ring of Kerry at your leisure on this relaxed overnight rail and coach tour from Dublin. With an overnight stop in the lively town of Killarney, this is the ultimate opportunity to soak up the friendly Irish culture and enjoy the company of the charming locals.

Departing from Dublin Heuston Station, you'll catch the train to Cork and then travel by coach to the famous Blarney Castle. There'll be time here for you to kiss the famous stone, and enjoy some free time for shopping and lunch in the village of Blarney before returning to Cork for a short city tour.
You'll then transfer to Cobh, where the Queenstown Story Heritage Center is located in the beautifully restored Victorian railway station and transatlantic terminal. This was the embarkation point for generations of Irish emigrants from famine times to recent years.

Transferring back to Cork station, you'll catch the train to Killarney to stay in comfortable bed and breakfast accommodation (with en-suite facilities). Your evening in Killarney is free.

Next day, you'll take the lovely Ring of Kerry coastal drive around the Iveragh Peninsula, flanked by Dingle Bay. The stunning mountain and coastal scenery includes the famous Lakes of Killarney.

Your return train to Dublin departs Killarney at 5:50pm and arrives at Dublin Heuston at 9:15pm.

USD $304.15

Traveler Reviews

Review by: Margaret M K	September 2010
Our trip was great! Our tour guide was fantastic.

Review by: S D, United States of America	June 2010
The tour was good. I was not happy with the B&B - the hostess was very nice and hospitable, good breakfast, but the place was dated and was not cozy. Need a better place in Klarney and a means to upgrade as the Railtours people did. The tour guide was good, funny but monotone, and in the end they left us at the rail station to go back to Dublin on our own device - with very little prior information that we were on our own. I think the tour is excellent but they need to tweak it a bit for the comfort of the trip takers.

Review by: SIMRAN D	June 2010
The tour was good. I was not happy with the B&B - the hostess was very nice and hospitable, good breakfast, but the place was dated and was not cozy. Need a better place in Klarney and a means to upgrade as the Railtours people did. The tour guide was good, funny but monotone, and in the end they left us at the rail station to go back to Dublin on our own device - with very little prior information that we were on our own. I think the tour is excellent but they need to tweak it a bit for the comfort of the trip takers.

Review by: Erin J, United States of America	September 2009
Ah, this tour was so cool! Well worth every penny! Our tour guide was incredible! So funny and laid back. A must do is the Blarney Castle. I kissed the stone and I recommend that to anyone to do. But the stairs are very steep and wound around a lot. So be careful of that if you get dizzy easily or are out of shape. But to walk through that thing was amazing! On the tour you must sit on the right side of the bus to get the best views.

Review by: Lauren P, United States of America	July 2009
The bed and breakfast that we stayed at was terrible. There were spiders everywhere, and the room smelled like mildew.

Review by: Russell H, United States of America	June 2009
The Ring of Kerry trip was good. Picked us at our B&B and waited a bit to fill the bus for our day's excursion. A camera was left behind at the B&B and your tour company nicely took us back to retrieve it before our day journey. Only thing disappointing was that we were left at the Killarney train station with very little guidance. We had to change trains on our journey back to Dublin. All in all, we recommend this excursion.

Review by: Russell H, United States of America	June 2009
Our experience was wonderful. There were guides on the train with us from the first morning. They guided us until we arrived in Cork and had another guide with us the rest of the day. Our B&B was fabulous that evening. Wonderful breakfast in the morning.

Review by: Janae A, United States of America	December 2008
Blarney Castle was a fantastic experience. I really enjoyed the time we had at the castle and shops nearby. I was also extremely impressed with our guide, the information he shared and his personal yet professional demeanor. I was extremely disappointed in the Ring of Kerry tour. The tour guide was not friendly nor was he very effective at describing what we were seeing. By having to pick every person up at their individual hotels we left quite late. The location he selected to stop for lunch was not ideal would have been better to stop at the next town where there was also shopping available, and he didn't provide enough time 30 minutes when there was a lot of shops for us to be in. We returned severely early for the money I spent. I had two additional hours waiting for the train. I was not pleased.

Review by: Brittany L, United States of America	July 2008
This trip was amazing. Every step along the way was perfectly planned, and there were people there to help you with anything you needed. The accommodations were adorable and quaint; all the tour guides were helpful and knowledgeable. At one point, I think part of the tour was late and we missed a train, but we didn't even know anything had changed until later on. Everything was so smooth, and they got us everywhere we needed to be without skipping a beat. It also wasn't too planned - there was plenty of time to do your own thing, every second wasn't orchestrated. As for Ireland, it was magnificent! The Ring of Kerry was one of the most beautiful sights I've ever seen in my life. This is definitely a tour of a lifetime!

Review by: Margaret J	July 2008
This trip was amazing. Every step along the way was perfectly planned, and there were people there to help you with anything you needed. The accommodations were adorable and quaint; all the tour guides were helpful and knowledgeable. At one point, I think part of the tour was late and we missed a train, but we didn't even know anything had changed until later on. Everything was so smooth, and they got us everywhere we needed to be without skipping a beat. It also wasn't too planned - there was plenty of time to do your own thing, every second wasn't orchestrated. As for Ireland, it was magnificent! The Ring of Kerry was one of the most beautiful sights I've ever seen in my life. This is definitely a tour of a lifetime!

Review by: Jeffrey L, United States of America	June 2008
This was a GREAT trip! Loved it!!!! Would recommend!!!

Review by: Anonymous, United States of America	December 2007
There were rail issues that delayed the trip outbound and caused a bus to be substituted on the return. The bed & breakfast was marginal. Too much time spent in transit. Stop at one location was a joke - a 'museum' that was definitely a tourist trap with an admission fee.

Review by: Cynthia N, United States of America	November 2007
Excellent value. The quality of the Bed and Breakfast was a bit disappointing. The tour operators were wonderful.

Review by: Debbie F, United States of America	July 2007
This was a great tour! We had plenty of time to see everything and shop for everything. I would definitely recommend this trip to all who go to Ireland.

Review by: Carol A, United States of America	July 2007
What a beautiful area of the world. I am so glad we did not have to drive the narrow winding roads to see this fantastic countryside.

Review by: Stuart F	July 2007
This was a great tour! We had plenty of time to see everything and shop for everything. I would definitely recommend this trip to all who go to Ireland.

Review by: Ashley R, United States of America	December 2006
The tour was wonderful overall. It gave me a perfect taste of the Ireland that I wouldn't have received otherwise. However, my travel partners and I were disappointed that we did not have a tour guide accompany us to our overnight accommodation. Instead we had to navigate a rail system that we were unfamiliar with on our own.

Review by: Anonymous, United States of America	August 2006
I thought this tour was excellent.