Park Explorer Tour (Half Day Tour)
Full description
Included / Excluded
- Bus and Boat transport
- Meals are not included in the tour price.
- The tours of either Ross Castle or Muckross House are not included in the tour price.
Itinerary
The first stop for the bus is the world famous Ross Castle. Passengers will disembark here to explore the castle exterior and surrounding area. Boats will depart at 10.30am so the guided tour of the Castle will not be possible before departure. The boats depart from the stone pier on the lake side of Ross Castle. Please check in with Rory at the pier.
The first stop on the boat tour is the 7th century monastic settlement on Innisfallen Island. Passengers will have 15 minutes to explore the area. The boat driver will provide a history of the local area as part of the tour which helps to provide context to this peaceful setting.
Pass by: Lough Leane is the largest of the 2 lakes upon which the boats will be travelling. The boats will head towards the shore of Tomies Mountain, where our resident White Tailed Eagles have been nesting for the last 18 years since their reintroduction.
Pass by: As the boats make their way out of Lough Leane, they will pass under the Gothic inspired Brickeen Bridge. This bridge is the gateway into the Muckross Lake.
The boat tour finishes at the Dinis Cottage and the Meeting of the Waters. Dinis Cottage is an early 19th century hunting lodge which is now a wonderful café in the heart of the National Park. After exploring the area and grabbing a coffee, the walk to Muckross House is next. The walk is 5km and will take around 1hr and 15 mins. The road is sealed all the way so no special footwear is required. The walk is relatively flat and is closed to any cars.
At the end of the walk is Muckross House and Gardens. There are numerous departures of the Big Red Bus and it will meet passengers in the main car park next to the public toilets. Departure times are as follows: 1.02pm, 2.02pm, 3.02pm, 4.40pm, 5.30pm. This means that passengers will have plenty of opportunity to explore the area, do the tour of the House or have lunch in the lovely Garden Restaurant.
Meeting point
Start Location
Unknown location
Cancellation policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Accessibility
- Stroller Accessible
- Service Animals Allowed
- Infants Required On Laps
Traveler reviews
Must Have Experience!
Amazing experience at Killarney National Park! Rory was an excellent guide and extremely knowledgeable about the history of the area. He shared fascinating stories and insights that made the whole trip even more special. The boat was beautiful and the ride through the park was absolutely stunning. Highly recommend this experience to anyone visiting!
Highly Recommend!
This tour was an excellent experience. Rory is a great guide and boat captain. He is very friendly and provided history of the areas visited. He is knowledgeable and was able to answer all of my questions about the area. I highly recommend this tour. It was convenient to be able to take the Big Red Bus to Ross Castle and back to Killarney after the walk to Muckross House. The 5 km walk from Dinis Cottage to Muckross House was an added pleasure to the boat tour.
Rory was great and very prompt/communicative. technically a half day tour but also you can just go slow and enjoy
Rory was a fabulous boat guide, he was very prompt and also very knowledgeable about the lake!! He also emailed me about 30 minutes before the tour to confirm and give me his number which was appreciated. The half day tour also takes you inishfallen island which has some ruins, Rory gave us ample time and really explained the background of the island. We then looked at some eagles before proceeding to Divis cottage where we bid farewell to Rory and proceeded to enjoy a leisurely walk to Muckross house. I will note that the tour’s label is a “half day tour” but your bus ticket is good all day. So we really enjoyed just slowly walking the trail, eating at Muckross and then got back to our accommodation at 4, so it was able to be an all day tour for us.