Rock of Cashel, Cahir & Blarney Castle Private Luxury Day Tour

About This Tour

Three of the south of Ireland’s most iconic heritage sites, visited privately at your own pace, in a Mercedes-Benz with a professional chauffeur from DM Executive Line. The Rock of Cashel, Cahir Castle, and Blarney Castle make for a genuinely memorable day out - each one very different from the others, and the journey between them is easy and comfortable.

You set the schedule. If you want extra time somewhere, want to add a scenic detour, or fancy stopping for lunch at a local spot along the way, just ask. The tour is built around your interests. Onboard Wi-Fi, water, and device chargers are included throughout.

What’s Included

• Private transportation in a Mercedes-Benz vehicle
• Customisable stops along the route
• WiFi on board
• Bottled water
• Mobile device chargers
• Air-conditioned vehicle

What’s Not Included

• Rock of Cashel admission: Adult €8, Group/Senior €6, Child/Student €4, Family €20
• Cahir Castle admission: Adult €5, Group/Senior €4, Child/Student €3, Family €13
• Blarney Castle admission: Adult €18, Student/Senior €14, Children 8-16 years €8, under 8 free
• Gratuities

Good to Know

• Service animals are welcome
• Public transport options are available nearby
• Specialised infant seats are available
• Child seats available on request
• Suitable for all fitness levels
• This is a private tour

Local Tips

Think about the order. Starting with Cashel makes sense - it’s the furthest from Cork and closest to Dublin, so you hit it fresh at the start of the day. From there, Cahir is just 16km south on the M8 (about twenty minutes), and then Blarney is 45km further into Cork. That flow takes you progressively further south and means you finish closest to Cork if you’re ending the day there.

Allow time at Cahir for the river walk. Most visitors spend an hour inside Cahir Castle and head straight back to the car. But the Suir Blueway path runs south through Cahir Park from the castle to the Swiss Cottage - about 2km of flat riverside walking through woodland, ending at a John Nash building with Parisian wallpaper from the 1810s. It’s free to walk and most tour parties miss it entirely. Factor in an extra hour if the schedule allows.

Cashel early, Blarney late. The Rock of Cashel gets its coach traffic from mid-morning; Blarney gets its queues for the Stone from midday through mid-afternoon. If you can reach Cashel by 9:30am, the OPW site opens at 9am and you’ll have the complex to yourself for the first hour. Blarney in the late afternoon, after 4pm, is quieter on the queue and the light in the castle grounds is better.

At Blarney, the grounds repay the admission even if you skip the Stone. The Rock Close - standing stones, wishing steps, witch’s kitchen - is Victorian garden theatre doing its best impression of something ancient, and it’s genuinely atmospheric. The Lake Walk is another 3km of peace if anyone needs to stretch their legs properly before the drive home.

Nearby on IrelandMe

• Cashel - where St Patrick reportedly drove his crozier through a king’s foot during a baptism and neither man mentioned it afterwards; Cormac’s Chapel holds the only Romanesque frescoes in Ireland
• Cahir - Cromwell took this castle without firing a shot, the river is still the moat, and John Nash built a pleasure cottage 2km south that Parisians would recognise
• Blarney - a word entered the English language because Elizabeth I got tired of a Munster lord’s smooth excuses; the castle is 1446 and the grounds are better than the queue