A private 8-hour day tour from Dublin, taking in two of Ireland’s southeast highlights: medieval Kilkenny and the world-famous Waterford Crystal factory. Your chauffeur collects you from your Dublin hotel - just send your pick-up location in advance - and the day unfolds from there.
In Kilkenny, you’ll explore Kilkenny Castle and Saint Canice’s Cathedral, both genuine pieces of Irish medieval history. Then it’s on to Waterford for an exclusive factory tour of Waterford Crystal, where you can watch the craftsmen at work creating the glassware that’s recognised around the world. Admission tickets for all attractions are included, as is a lunch stop at a local eatery along the way.
The vehicle and chauffeur are fully licensed and insured under the Irish Government Transport Authority. This tour starts and ends in Dublin.
This is a private tour, available in English. Infants and small children can travel in a pram or stroller. Public transport options exist nearby. Suitable for all fitness levels.
At Kilkenny - the castle and the cathedral are about 15 minutes apart on foot. Kilkenny is Ireland’s smallest city and most of it fits between those two buildings. Kilkenny Castle was built in 1195 to control a River Nore crossing and the Long Gallery inside is the one room that earns the entry ticket. From the castle gates, the Medieval Mile trail runs up through limestone lanes to St Canice’s Cathedral at the top of the city. The round tower at the cathedral is 9th-century and climbable - 100 steps, but the view makes the city make sense. Your admission to both is already included, so no queuing at the ticket desk.
The Kilkenny Castle parkland is free and worth ten minutes. Fifty acres of gardens and riverside land wrap around the back of the castle. The Nore river walk heads north towards Lacken Weir - herons, an old millrace, a footbridge that creaks - and brings you back in past Greens Bridge. It’s the walk most locals do on a Sunday morning and it’s a good way to decompress between two major sites.
At Waterford Crystal - the factory tour shows you live production. The House of Waterford Crystal on the Mall runs live tours where you watch craftsmen blow and cut the glass. The continuous melt tank produces around two tonnes of molten crystal a day and approximately 45,000 pieces a year. The blowing and cutting are genuinely skilled trades that take years to learn, and watching them in person is a different experience from seeing finished glassware in a shop. Your ticket is included, so just follow your chauffeur’s timing.
Add 15 minutes at the Viking Triangle while you’re in Waterford. Reginald’s Tower - the oldest urban civic building in Ireland - sits at the edge of the Viking Triangle, a short walk from the Crystal factory. The Medieval Museum and Bishop’s Palace are alongside it. The Bishop’s Palace holds the oldest piece of Waterford Crystal in the world. If the factory tour wraps up with a few minutes to spare, it’s worth a look at the tower from the outside at minimum. Waterford was founded by Vikings in 914 and the original settlement is still readable in those three streets.
Try a blaa if you’re near a bakery. Waterford’s signature bread roll - soft white, dusted in flour, eaten warm with butter - has EU protected status (PGI since 2013). Walsh’s Bakehouse and Hickey’s Bakery on Barrack Street are the two main names. Buy one and eat it before you leave the city.