Blackrock Castle Tour

Ireland Castle Tour – Castle Observatory – Cork, Ireland

Blackrock Castle, which is located about 2km from the city centre of Cork, Ireland on the banks of the River Lee.  The original fort was built in 1582 and it was redeveloped as a castle in 1604.  A castle observatory was added in 2002 and houses an interactive astronomy center open to the public with exhibits.

The Blackrock Castle Tour will kick off with meeting up with your assigned Cork local tour guide in the Cork city centre at the Patrick Quay bus station at 9:00am.  From there, you will board a local bus with your tour guide and head off to Blackrock Castle.  When you arrive to the castle, you will have time to walk around outside the castle grounds and have opportunities to take photos of the castle from outside and the surrounding area before entering the castle.  Also, your tour guide will be there to accommodate you and your group of taking any photos or group photos needed with your camera or cellular phone.

Next, you will enter the Blackrock Castle grounds and have the opportunity to tour the castle, and observatory and take photos.  There is also a gift shop that attracted many tourists at the end that wish to buy a t-shirt, or other souvenirs to take home.

Irish Pub Lunch Experience

Many tourists then goto eat at the restaurant on the castle grounds, however we are going to skip that part and once you are finished touring the castle, your tour guide will take you on about a 5 min walk to a neighboring authentic Irish pub perfect for lunch.  We find this pub will give you a better food selection, along with alcohol served and better prices as well.  During the lunch break you can ask more questions about what you have seen so far and maybe any other questions you might have about Cork City.  Once lunch is finished, you and your local tour guide will then proceed to the nearest bus stop and head back to Patrick Quay in the Cork City Centre where you originally met up.

This Blackrock Castle Tour is considered a half day tour, which means it can run anywhere from 3 to 5 hours depending on traffic, lines, weather conditions, and other obstacles.  Since Ireland is not considered a warm climate, we always recommend wearing or bringing along a coat, scarf, gloves, umbrella and comfortable shoes since you might do a bit of walking.

Once you have returned back to the original meeting point at Patrick’s Quay, it will be time to say goodbye to your assigned Cork Local Tour Guide and this is the perfect time to show your appreciation and tip your tour guide.  Tips are not required, but highly recommended, especially if you felt you have had exceptional service and you feel this tour was something you are gonna take home as a special memory from your holiday or vacation.

If this day tour sounds like something you definitely want to do when you are visiting Cork, Ireland, then take a few minutes and fill out our price quote form so we can obtain a price for you and your guests to make this experience a reality.