Our driver, Bryan (from Paddywagon) led us on this tour. The castle itself, is pretty cool. So much history within the walls. He was able to get us to the castle and queued up before many other tours arrived, which made the tour that much better not having to fight huge crowds. And kissing the Blarney stone, what a production! Lots of photo ops, plenty of time to explore and soak in the ambiance. The 2d half of the tour in Cobh (pronounced "Cove") was equally intriguing. This port city is just outside of Cork, the main city in the south. Cobh was the last port of call for the Titanic and there is an interactive exhibit (Separate entry fee) related to the ship. There is much history in the town as well, as this deepwater port also hosts the Irish navy's southern fleet. It is a very colorful, if small, town area that displays a small town Irish vibe replete with several good pubs in which to grab pint and have a very tasty and filling meal.

Two very nice places, each could use more time.

In Blarney it was great that we could get to the "Stein" without having to stand in a long queue. Overall, we only had 1.5 hours and we would have liked to have stayed longer in the beautiful park. In Cobh we had 2.5 hours. We could have endured it there longer... Then the driver who still wanted to go to the Distellerie in Midelton drove there and everyone else drove back to Cork, where we were back shortly before 4 p.m. So not an 8 hour tour at all. In addition, GetYourGuide did not transmit the persons booked with Paddywagon. We weren't registered, but we were lucky because there were still enough free places.

This tour was great! This isn't a tour you would take if you're looking for a guided tour of Cobh or Blarney. Rather, you take it if you want free time to walk around both areas. I felt I had ample time to full explore each area and would highly recommend this to anyone looking to visit these beautiful places! We also had the choice at the end to either go to the Fota Wildlife Conservation Park or to the Jameson Distillery. I chose the Wildlife Park (I was the only one!) and I LOVED IT! Even in the rain, I had so much fun. You have two hours at each stop. Also, Jim, our guide, was so knowledgeable and even though it wasn't an actual tour, I learned a lot from him!