Day 3: Cork, Ireland (Cobh - for Blarney Castle)

DIY trip to Blarney Castle (and kiss the Blarney Stone) and downtown Cork

We slept in a little bit this day and got off the ship at 9:30am. We headed to the train station which is right across from the ship's gangway. See photo below. Bought return tickets for €8.50/person. The train ride took about 25 minutes. The train station at Cork had an ATM and we got some euros there. We walked about 15 minutes to the bus station at Parnell Place and bought return tickets for bus 215 for €7.60. The 215 bus left at 11am for Blarney and the ride took about 40 minutes. The bus stop for Blarney Castle is Woolen Mills. We headed to the castle and fell in line for the Blarney Stone. The line was long and moved at a snail's pace. It took about 1.5 hours to finally reach the Blarney Stone. If you're afraid of heights (as I am), you might think twice about going up the castle to kiss the stone. I decided this is a once in a lifetime experience so I might as well go for it. And it wasn't that bad. There was actually a person holding you while you lie on your back to kiss the stone.

Train station across from ship's gangway

Parnell Place Bus Station

Ticket prices for Blarney Castle

Blarney Stone seen from the outside

Kissing the Blarney Stone

We left the Blarney Castle and took the 215 bus back to Cork at 1:50pm and had lunch at Farmgate Cafe inside the English Market. We walked back to the train station and caught the 4pm train back to Cork.

Train ride back to Cobh:

We arrived back in port at 4:25pm. Since the ship wasn't leaving until 6pm, we walked around the port area and looked into going inside the White Star Line building. Since it cost €9 to get in, we decided against it since we only had a short amount of time left. We just bought some groceries and soda at a grocery store and headed back to the ship.

So the total cost of visiting the Blarney Stone was €29.10/person. Compare that to the cost of the ship tour and you can see why a DIY tour is much cheaper. And the ship tour doesn't even allow you to kiss the Blarney Stone because of time limitations.

While going to the Blarney Stone is considered a tourist activity, the train and bus ride, plus lunch at a local restaurant and walking around the city, also enabled us to experience Cork as a local would. Ultimately, this is what we try to do whenever possible when visiting a new place.