Off the beaten track

[kerryincork]

I live in the cruise port of Cobh in Ireland,

I often read requests about what to do in such and such Port.

 

I thought I would start a thread about places the average cruiser doesn't get to see. This is for the cruiser who has been to the same port many times and is looking for something different.

 

Or the more adventurous cruisers who don't want to go to the usual tourist spots.

 

So if you live in or near a cruise port why don't you post some recommendations of your favourite spots or cafes, pub restaurants, etc.?

[kerryincork]

CourtMacsherry in West Cork, which is part of the great Atlantic way.

 

If you hire a car a lovely spot to stop for a walk, some photos or a snack.

[kerryincork]

Unfortunately the day I visited it was very cloudy, which is a common occurrence in Cork

[VMax1700]

On 5/18/2019 at 11:20 AM, kerryincork said:

Unfortunately the day I visited it was very cloudy, which is a common occurrence in Cork

 

Ahh, you went in the summer then!

[kerryincork]

LOL you never know what type of weather you will get.

 

It's really beautiful in West Cork, I don't think it gets enough credit. ☺️

 

Oops accidentally added pictures of an amazing Supervalue in Clonakilty

 

But there is a great wooded walk in CourtMacsherry.

 

[Dorh]

This is a great thread and your pictures look great. We are 4 adults on a Royal Caribbean cruise going to Cork April 21, 2020.

I'm just started to review areas to visit.  Are there tour guides available at the port that might take us around the area for a few hours? 

[kerryincork]

There have been good reports about local taxi drivers giving tours of the area. You would have to negotiate the price and have an idea of what you would like to see.

[VMax1700]

13 hours ago, Dorh said:

This is a great thread and your pictures look great. We are 4 adults on a Royal Caribbean cruise going to Cork April 21, 2020.

I'm just started to review areas to visit.  Are there tour guides available at the port that might take us around the area for a few hours? 

 

It is not like the caribbean ports with tour operators waiting at the port to offer tours or trips.  There may be some taxi cabs waiting to give tours but negotiation would be necessary over the price.  

The train station is right beside the dock and trains run to Cork City every 30 minutes.  

 

@kerryincork does the tourist train still run?  the visitcobh.com website looks as if it has not been updated recently.

[kerryincork]

I haven't seen it about yet this season.

[kerryincork]

Another idea is to go to Spike Island. They leave for Spike Island on the hour up to 14.00 hrs. The kiosk is located in the centre of town by the pier where you leave from.

 

The tickets are €20 pp. For adults and €17 for oap. I think child tickets are €12.

 

Spike Island was once used as a prison. Lots of interesting exhibitions for you to visit. As well as fantastic scenery to look at.

 

There are public toilets on the island and cafe that serves coffees/teas/cakes/sandwiches /soup. They take cash or cards.

 

There are lots of walks to take around the island with viewing stations scattered around.

 

There are three ways to see the islands: guided tour, audio tour or free style. Both of the tours are included in the ticket price.

 

There are lots spaces for kids to run around in, they are not allowed to climb on the ruins or the exhibitions. Certainly there are enough green spaces and hills to charge about. There are no playgrounds for them though.

 

This provides an interesting insight into the life of prisoners over the past 200 years as well some excellent views of Cork Harbour.

[kerryincork]

Photos of Spike Island

[kerryincork]

A view of Cobh from Spike Island

[BarbinMich]

We've been to Cobh several times as we like to do TAs and Cobh is the first stop on a WB TA, at least for Princess ships.  We also put in there unexpectedly on a TA that wasn't scheduled to stop there; capt had heard the weather was deteriorating west of there and he'd been advise to "lie low" in Cobh.  It gave us the opportunity to take the train over to Cork, which we hadn't been to before.  I also just love walking around Cobh: there's a beautiful neighborhood up above the dock---there are stairs near the dock to access that area.  The last time we were there, I walked along the shore in front of the town and enjoyed that as well, lots of sea birds.  Then stopped in a cafe for a cup of tea.  Low key, but a memorable experience.

[kerryincork]

This a picture of bantry Bay. This is about an 1hr 40min from Cobh. Taken on one of the many walks around Glengarriff in beautiful West Cork 🙂

[kerryincork]

And 15 min further down the coast

Glengarriff .pdf

[kerryincork]

Certainly earning the 'Wild' today. Outside Kenmare, if anyone is wondering this photo was taken a couple of hours ago 🙂

[kerryincork]

This was taken by my sister about 20km away at the same time.

Her family are currently playing on a beach 🌊⛱️🙂

[Anyislandwilldo]

Great idea Kerry!