Cork, Blarney and Cóbh from Dublin: By Train and Coach, City Tours

This fun full-day tour combines rail and coach travel to introduce you to some of the loveliest and most interesting parts of southern Ireland.

Catch the Cork train from Dublin and travel through the soft green countryside of Kildare. The journey reveals typically Irish scenes such as racehorses being put through their paces in the Curragh.

Your first stop is the town of Portlaoise, home to Ireland’s only maximum security prison – ask your host to point it out. You will pass the town of Templemore – home of the Garda Síochána Training College – Ireland’s national (and unarmed) police force. Shortly after Templemore, you pass Loughmoe Castle, which can be clearly seen on the southern side of the train.

Stop at Cork and make a side-trip by coach to Blarney with its medieval castle and magnificent gardens. You'll have time to linger and enjoy the atmosphere of this enchanting place. And while you are there don’t miss the chance to kiss the famous Blarney Stone and you’ll never be lost for words again. Or so the saying goes!

Enjoy a city tour of charming Cork before going on by train to the seaside town of Cóbh. You will visit St. Colman’s Cathedral before proceeding down along the seafront, passing the former White Star Line offices en route to the beautifully restored Victorian railway station/transatlantic terminal. This is now the Cóbh Heritage Centre, home to the Queenstown Story exhibition has many poignant accounts of Irish emigration and the first, last and fateful voyage of the great ship Titanic.