Private tour companies in Dublin, Cork, Belfast and Bruges????? Must see???

That's Gougan Barra. About 1hr 20 from Cobh. Glengariff is about another 25 min away. I will see if I can find some photos.

If you are really brave you can bring your swim suit and go swimming in Glengariff 😀

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Another vote for eCoach in Cork. We had Ian as our driver/guide and he was excellent! We were the first bus out of Cobh and went directly to Blarney castle - no line to speak of. We did go up in the tower which was a slow climb given the confines of the steep spiral staircase but did not kiss the stone (many did). The view was stunning as were the gardens surrounding the castle, you could spend a long time just exploring those. By the time we left the castle the lines were quite long so we were very glad to have been there very early.

Kinsale was a lovely stop and we had lunch there in a local pub (best fish and chips of the trip). Ian provided lots of commentary on the drive, keeping us all entertained! Had us back to the ship in plenty of time.

We also did the HOHO bus in Dublin, I think it was 15 euros each. Our first hopoff was at Kilmanham Gaol - we did not have advance tickets however they do let a certain number of people in who do not have tickets and we were lucky enough to get in on the 10:15 am tour. We opted for the longer tour which included both the older and newer sections of the gaol. It was amazing....we had just seen the Canadian play 'Rose Upon the Blood', about the Easter Rising of 1916 and the story of Joseph Plunkett and Grace Gifford - it was surreal to sit in the chapel where they had been married hours before he was executed. Definitely a must see IMHO.

Also visited the Jameson Distillery which was very interesting and Temple Bar. By the time we toured that area we decided to walk back to the ship.

In Belfast we had advance timed entry tickets for the Titanic Exhibit. It poured rain all day and we took the free ship shuttle into Belfast then bought all day passes for the Belfast Met....used it to get to the Titanic exhibit. It was a bank holiday and very crowded with families so rather slow going but an amazing place; again we highly recommend a visit there. Got the met back to the city hall and toured that as well which was free....truly a gorgeous building and very worthwhile. The ship shuttle was right across the street so after we had wandered a bit and had a very late lunch at the Morningstar pub (great typically Irish pub), we were pretty well soaked and went back to the ship.

Well the family really wants to go to Kiss the Blarney Stone so...that is what we will do! I see some of you recommended E Coach for a tour in Cork to Blarney. We usually like to take a private tour when traveling. Does anyone have any private tour companies they recommend? Is there any benefit traveling on a large bus with a group to the blarney stone? Thank you!

Well the family really wants to go to Kiss the Blarney Stone so...that is what we will do! I see some of you recommended E Coach for a tour in Cork to Blarney. We usually like to take a private tour when traveling. Does anyone have any private tour companies they recommend? Is there any benefit traveling on a large bus with a group to the blarney stone? Thank you!

No, don't take e coach if you really want to kiss the Blarney Stone. Depending on arrival time and number of other coaches there, you may run out of time. A private driver can pick you group up as early as possible and get there ASAP. I would start a new post re recommended private tour companies.

eCoach has private car - mini buses for private tours. The name is Butler's Buses but they are the same company. Email Ian and he will arrange anything you want. We had a small van for 4 people. The guide was great. You can get to the Blarney Stone before the larger buses.

http://www.butlers-buses.com/cobh-shore-excursion.php

We are planning a BI cruise that stops in Dublin and Cork. Would like to get to Waterford to tour the crystal factory. Recommendations on tour companies from either port.

I used aboutcorktours in Cork and Dublin - there is a lady there who arranges private tours with taxi drivers. very flexible on what trip you want, and prices were fairly reasonable. They offer tours anywhere in ireland i believe.

Dublin: Did the HOHO bus. Bought timed entry tickets beforehand for the Kilmainham Gaol which has limited entrance so is not offered to larger tours. Very interesting as it was central to the late 1800/1900s political history of Ireland

 

Cork: ECoach/Butler tours. Blarney Castle (very crowded but the grounds are beautiful even if you decide not to climb the stairs to kiss the Blarney Stone), lovely Kinsale village for lunch. Short stop at Charlesfort. Very reasonable price.

 

Belfast: City and Causeway Tours with Alistar. If Alistar isn't available, ask for David who was beyond wonderful. REALLY impressed with this company. Alistar called me from Ireland to personally explain his tour offerings! David was our driver and guide and took us to out of the way places we never would have seen otherwise. If you are a Game of Thrones watcher, he knows all the filming spots. He even took us to the Peace Wall in Belfast and let us sign it. Amazing day.

 

cityandcausewaytours@gmail.com

Thanks the ideas.

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Another vote for eCoach in Cork. We had Ian as our driver/guide and he was excellent! We were the first bus out of Cobh and went directly to Blarney castle - no line to speak of. We did go up in the tower which was a slow climb given the confines of the steep spiral staircase but did not kiss the stone (many did). The view was stunning as were the gardens surrounding the castle, you could spend a long time just exploring those. By the time we left the castle the lines were quite long so we were very glad to have been there very early.

 

Kinsale was a lovely stop and we had lunch there in a local pub (best fish and chips of the trip). Ian provided lots of commentary on the drive, keeping us all entertained! Had us back to the ship in plenty of time.

 

We also did the HOHO bus in Dublin, I think it was 15 euros each. Our first hopoff was at Kilmanham Gaol - we did not have advance tickets however they do let a certain number of people in who do not have tickets and we were lucky enough to get in on the 10:15 am tour. We opted for the longer tour which included both the older and newer sections of the gaol. It was amazing....we had just seen the Canadian play 'Rose Upon the Blood', about the Easter Rising of 1916 and the story of Joseph Plunkett and Grace Gifford - it was surreal to sit in the chapel where they had been married hours before he was executed. Definitely a must see IMHO.

 

Also visited the Jameson Distillery which was very interesting and Temple Bar. By the time we toured that area we decided to walk back to the ship.

 

In Belfast we had advance timed entry tickets for the Titanic Exhibit. It poured rain all day and we took the free ship shuttle into Belfast then bought all day passes for the Belfast Met....used it to get to the Titanic exhibit. It was a bank holiday and very crowded with families so rather slow going but an amazing place; again we highly recommend a visit there. Got the met back to the city hall and toured that as well which was free....truly a gorgeous building and very worthwhile. The ship shuttle was right across the street so after we had wandered a bit and had a very late lunch at the Morningstar pub (great typically Irish pub), we were pretty well soaked and went back to the ship.

What is this Belfast met you speak of ? I live in Belfast and I haven't a clue what this is ...

What is this Belfast met you speak of ? I live in Belfast and I haven't a clue what this is ...

It might be a reference to the subway -some call it the Metropolitan. Does Belfast have a subway system? It sounds like the poster had all day transit passes to get about.

In Belfast, Metro is the city bus service. I suspect that is what 'mahi mahi' is referring to. (I also suspect that 'Lovely other' knows that and may have been making a point about the habit many visitors have of shortening words that then make no sense locally - we get this quite often on this board, for example with London streets, where the full name is often important).

'Metro' may often refer to some sort of urban rapid transit rail system, often underground, but Belfast has no underground railway - it is however developing a light rail/tram.

In the UK, 'subway' refers to a pedestrian underpass to cross a road. But the Glasgow Subway is an underground railway [emoji848]

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