Cork and Blarney Castle Rail Trip from Dublin

Dublin, Ireland

No visit to Ireland is complete without a visit to Blarney Castle! On this full-day trip from Dublin you'll kiss the famous Blarney Stone, walk through the castle grounds and hear the moving story of Ireland's emigrants at the Queenstown Story in Cobh. Traveling by train and coach, you'll take a journey through Ireland's rich history and scenic countryside.

Departing from Dublin Heuston Station, you'll catch the train to Cork (full breakfast service available onboard). From Cork, you'll travel by coach to the famous Blarney Castle. There will be time here for you to kiss the famous stone and thus acquire the gift of eternal eloquence. 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.

USD $138.71

Traveler Reviews

Review by: Mike D	April 2012
Had a wonderful tour. Blarney is beautiful and cork had a wonderful history that I never knew.

Review by: AMY W	April 2012
Wonderful compact trip. It is a long day, but well worth it. I was traveling with my 12 year old son and he enjoyed the trip as well. So much history, especially in the quaint city of Cobh. We had plenty of time to explore the sights on our own and it was so nice not to worry about the logistics of travel.

Review by: Richard B	April 2012
A long day but an enjoyable trip. Were given plenty of time at Blarney Castle. Cork was also interesting and would have liked a bit of free time there. The guide was good.

Review by: Kurt B	April 2012
The sights were definitely worth the trip. I was not happy with the tour guide nor the bus driver. The guide seemed liked he either didn't know what he was talking about at times or he forgot what he needed to say. The bus driver almost got into an accident and was arguing with another driver even though our driver cut the other guy off. The sights were spectacular, kissing the Blarney stone was great. The Blarney House was closed for renovations so i did not get to see that.

Review by: Ryan O	April 2012
Bob was our tour guide and then we had him again for our trip to the Cliffs of Mohr. He did a great job. We appreciated his sense of humor and thoughtfullness. The trip was highly enjoyable.

Review by: Roseann and John W	March 2012
Great day! We really enjoyed the Queenstown Heritage Center at Cobh. Blarney Castle and the surrounding gardens were beautiful. Our tour guide Dave Gallagher was especially helpful with interesting, insightful information about each part of our tour. He also gave us suggestions regarding additional activities and eateries for the rest of our time in Dublin. We felt that we got o see another side of the beautiful country of Ireland besides the city of Dublin. Money well spent!

Review by: James D	March 2012
Great trip!

Review by: Robert M	March 2012
Excellent. Highly recommended. Only complaint was the train ride back from Cork. The train was overloaded, and despite our tour guides attempt to secure our reserved car, the train employee ordered him to share the car with the other riders. The train employees need to understand the arrangement that was made, and the money we paid for our seats!!!

Review by: Brian B	March 2012
Just want to note the professionalism displayed by Brendan on our return ride to Dublin. While trying to reserve a car on the train for us on this trip, a bunch of drunken lads were basically giving him a profanity laced hard time. He remained calm and collected and kept the kids from being further disruptive than they already were. Please recognize Brendan for his job well done.

Review by: Keith B	March 2012
What a great trip. Our Guide was the best.

Review by: Julius H	March 2012
Quite interesting tour. Be prepard for a long day.

Review by: Julius H	March 2012
Quite interesting tour. Be prepard for a long day.

Review by: Michele M	March 2012
The only complaint I have about our recent trip was that the weather wasn't better. I loved all the stories that our guide told us. He took wonderful care of us every step of the way. We had plenty of time at the castle to explore the gardens. They were just as interesting as the castle itself. We loved all the history of Cobh and being able to stop to see the graveyard where the Lusitania victims were buried. It was all so interesting. I've been doing more research at home and appreciated the history lessons from our guide. Thanks for a wonderful time I hope to come back to Ireland again some time and wouldn't hesitate to take another tour with you!

Review by: Mary A W	February 2012
Highlight of this day is visiting Blarney Castle and kissing the Blarney stone. Great tour guide. Very interesting to see the Queenstown Centre.

Review by: Eleanor S	February 2012
Great trip.

Review by: Kim H	December 2011
We thoroughly enjoyed our Viator tour to Cork and Blarney Castle from Dublin. The tour guide was friendly and informative. The only thing we would have done differently was to have some time in downtown Cork.

Review by: CATIA C	December 2011
Awesome time, our guide Norman was such a gentleman, very kind, very knowledgeable, I think everyone, our whole group had a time we'll never forget. So glad I found this online, so glad Norman was our guide... Thank you!!!

Review by: James P	November 2011
Great tour and great guide!

Review by: A K M	November 2011
Enjoyable day with a great host (Edmond). We really liked Blarney Castle and gave it a big fat kiss! The tour was well organised.

Review by: Constance B	November 2011
The trip was lovely and I enjoyed the train ride. The only down side was not enough time to fully explore Blarney Castle.

Review by: Mona W	November 2011
Super trip, one of the best I have been on and I am just coming off an around the world tour.

Review by: Robert B	October 2011
Our tour to Cork and Blarney was a very enjoyable day trip. We enjoyed travelling by train through the countryside; very comfortable and beautiful views. The stopover at Blarney Castle was long enough to allow us to view everything that we wanted to see. The stop at Cobh was also very interesting but a bit too short to be able to fully appreciate this beautiful seaside town. All in all, we would recommend this trip- it was a great day!

Review by: Dirk D	October 2011
Wonderful trip! The tour guide was extremely helpful and everything went on time without a hitch. I'd recommend this tour to anyone. Well worth the money.

Review by: Roger R	September 2011
excellent

Review by: Sid R	September 2011
This was a great day trip! My husband and I had a great time and felt it was well worth it. Communication was great.. we knew to be at train station... that morning everything was registered and the guides were friendly and attentive. Our actual guide for the day, Niall McNeil was EXCELLENT... he had lots of history and stories to share on the way and while we were at Blarney Castle and the bus part of the trip he managed to get us to see a few extra sites (another castle, a church or even two) which was excellent. Cork was a great little place to visit, again lots of history to soak up.Our trip was basically the full day (morning to about 8pm evening) others did travel on as they had the overnight or 2 day trips booked and again everything was quite organized and everyone was properly looked after. We are pretty seasoned travellers, and from our experiences this rates very highly in our books (and we usually do not like to partake in guided tours but this was definitely a good one) If you want to "Kiss the stone" this is a good way to go about it. Enjoy and say hello to Niall if he is your guide- he is really a nice guy.

Review by: Leah E	September 2011
LOVED this trip. Well organized, great sites, a definite must do.

Review by: Deanna L	September 2011
Well organized and enjoyable with lots of free time to explore on your own.

Review by: Mrs R J L	September 2011
Good mix of organized tour and free time.

Review by: caroline p	September 2011
Excellent day. Beautiful countryside.

Review by: Bobbie O	September 2011
I went to 4 countries on my vacation and my Blarney Castle Tour was the best. Very organized which means I can totally relax and that is what a vacation is for. Relaxation! Had a great time. Thank You.

Review by: James C	September 2011
Great time. Great tour. Interesting and fun.

Review by: Vicki S	September 2011
I loved it. Beautiful day. Grounds were beautiful. Rail system great, clean, and on time. I would recommend it to everyone! :) Vicki

Review by: BeeJay	August 2011
You can't go to Ireland and not go to Blarney Castle! I wish the trip would have ended there and we had gone back to Dublin. Our tour guide was not always able to convey where he wanted us at what time, so we were uneasy the rest of the trip.

Review by: Jamie O	August 2011
I was very disappointed in this trip. I believe it is too long of a trip for a one-day excursion. It's 3.5 hours on the train each way. Too short of a time to truly explore Blarney and try to grab a quick bite for lunch. A lack of leadership or itinerary to understand what the day's plan was an where we were going. A brief stop at a church for 10 mins after again being on the bus and then a final stop at a museum which was sub-par and had way too long of a time there. I would have preferred to have more time at Blarney. Then an additional half an hour wait at the train station to meet back up with a group that had taken a different tour. The entire 15 hour day trip felt wasteful just to have an hour at Blarney. I would not spend the money unless you are able to stay overnight and do a multi-day tour.

Review by: Wang O	August 2011
It was ok.

Review by: Ren	July 2011
It was a great rail trip and we were lucky to have fantastic weather. Some people opted not to kiss the Blarney Stone, but everyone enjoyed the grounds at the Castle. A fun day.

Review by: Carolyn B, United States of America	July 2010
This trip is a must for anyone staying in Dublin! The sights are awesome and fun! Everyone in Ireland is really nice which you will realize no matter where you are. Even though it was pouring during our trip, we still made the most of it. Our tour guide was so funny and great as well. Do it!

Review by: Floyd C, United States of America	June 2010
The guide was simply wonderful. We were treated like royalty the entire trip. The trip was fantantic made even better by the unbelievable guide. You can't go to Ireland without going to Blarney. If all the guides are like Dave, you can't help but enjoy the trip.

Review by: Dave O, United States of America	June 2010
It was a great trip! Billy our tourguide was the best. He took time to know everyone and try to show everyone something interesting for them. He was great.

Review by: Douglas U, United States of America	June 2010
We really enjoyed this tour. The guide had lots of good information for us. I would highly recommend it.

Review by: Chrystal V, United States of America	September 2009
Our guide was so great! He knew a lot about the area, and really kept a good eye on everyone. Cork was so beautiful, even though it wasn't sunny. I highly recommend this tour!

Review by: Anonymous, United States of America	September 2009
This was one of the most amazing experiences of my life! It is so beautiful on the castle grounds, and the inside of the castle takes you back to another time. Truly magical!

Review by: Anonymous, United States of America	August 2009
The trip was fantastic! The guides were organized and everything was fun, efficient, and timely. The castle is beautiful as well as the countryside. We look forward to going on another trip on our next visit to Ireland!

Review by: Kasiani F, Canada	August 2009
I loved this tour, what can I say! It was exactly what we where looking for and I would do it again, and tell anyone we knew this was something worth your time!

Review by: Carolyn M, Canada	August 2009
I had a wonderful time! Our guide was very knowledgable, and I loved every second of the trip. It was wonderful to be on a structured trip yet still have the freedom to explore Blarney on my own without restriction. I found everything very well organized and would highly recommend this tour to anyone!

Review by: Anonymous, United States of America	August 2009
Nice countryside to see on the train trip to Cork. The grounds of Blarney Castle are beautiful!

Review by: Thomas M, United States of America	July 2009
Still can't believe we kissed the Blarney Stone! Our guide was terrific. Such an interesting man, knowledgeable and very very funny. He even helped about 6 of us back in Dublin get on the right tram. A long day for him, but he still helped us along. He was great! We loved the day!

Review by: Leo C, United States of America	July 2009
They take a picture of you kissing the stone. The picture costs extra, but is well worth it!

Review by: Jessica N, United States of America	July 2009
Best tour ever, beautiful area, knowledgeable guide.

Review by: Kimberly M, United States of America	July 2009
Loved the castle. Wish we could have stayed longer!