3-Day Cork, Blarney Castle, Ring of Kerry and Dingle Peninsula Rail Tour

About This Tour

Three days at a comfortable pace through some of Ireland’s best-loved landscapes. This rail and coach tour from Dublin takes you to Blarney Castle, through Killarney, along the Ring of Kerry and out to the Dingle Peninsula - some of the most dramatic scenery the country has to offer.

All travel is by rail and coach from Dublin Heuston Station, with a host on the trains and a qualified driver-guide on the coaches. Two nights’ B&B accommodation with full Irish breakfast is included.

What’s Included

• All travel by rail and coach from Dublin Heuston Station
• Reserved seats on trains with a host on board
• Qualified driver-guide on coaches
• 2 nights B&B accommodation with full Irish breakfast
• Information pack

What’s Not Included

• Gratuities
• Food and beverages, unless specified

Meeting point: Check in 20 minutes before departure (6:40am). The yellow Railtours Ireland check-in stand is near the Customer Service Desk at Heuston Station - look for the person in the bright yellow jacket.

Good to Know

• Infants and small children can travel in a pram or stroller
• Service animals are welcome
• Public transport is available nearby
• Suitable for all fitness levels
• If booking a double occupancy room, specify in your Special Requirements whether you’d prefer a double or twin-bed room (subject to availability)
• Conducted in English
• Maximum group size of 53

Local Tips

At Blarney - the queue for the Stone can stretch to an hour or more in peak season, so arrive as early in the morning as the coach schedule allows. Once you’ve done the castle, don’t rush back to the bus. The Rock Close behind it - a Victorian rock garden full of standing stones, a wishing well and mossy paths - is quieter and takes about forty minutes to wander properly. The castle is the draw; the grounds are the bonus.

In Killarney - the town sits at the gateway to Killarney and Ireland’s first national park, so if you have any free time in the afternoon, skip the high street and walk ten minutes to the Knockreer demesne. It’s through the gate beside the cathedral, down to the lakeshore, and on a clear day Carrauntoohil frames the far shore. Almost no one does it, which is exactly the point.

On the Ring of Kerry - the driver-guide will handle the road (coaches should drive it clockwise; cars do better anti-clockwise). Watch for the stop at Waterville or Sneem depending on the day - these are the towns where the road touches the sea and the coffee is decent.

On the Dingle Peninsula - Dingle is a small fishing town with 52 pubs and a trad session most nights. If your tour overnights here, eat at Out of the Blue if it’s open (they only serve what came off the boats that morning, and close if the boats didn’t go out). Murphy’s sea-salt ice cream on the main street sounds like a gimmick and isn’t. The Pier Loop - out the pier, past the lighthouse, back along the lower road - takes forty minutes before breakfast and sets the day up right.

Nearby on IrelandMe

• Blarney - Cormac MacCarthy built the castle in 1446, and Elizabeth I’s complaints about his smooth talk gave English the word “blarney” four hundred years before the tourist industry noticed
• Killarney - Ireland’s first national park starts at the end of the high street; the Gap of Dunloe walk, Innisfallen Island by rowboat, and Muckross House are all within striking distance
• Dingle - a working fishing town at the end of the Dingle Peninsula, with Slea Head’s beehive huts and Blasket Islands offshore, and a trad session going most nights