Park Explorer Tour (Half Day Tour)

Overview

Available languages

English

Mobile ticket

The Park Explorer Tour is the only half day tour of Killarney National Park. It is a great opportunity for families or those on a tight schedule to visit areas of the Park that they might not find themselves.

The tours has 3 elements; a bus tour, a boat tour and a 5km walk through the National Park. Along the way, passengers will visit the monastic ruins on Innisfallen Island, the beautiful café in Dinis Cottage and have a chance to see the biggest bird of prey in Europe; the White Tailed Eagle.

The walk through the National Park is on a road that is closed to any motor traffic and has Lake views on both sides. The walk is along a sealed, flat road and there is no rush because the bus has multiple departure times from Muckross House.

At the end of the walk, passengers can enjoy exploring Muckross House and Gardens, have lunch at the lovely Restaurant before catching the bus back to Killarney (15 minutes), departure times are as follows: 1.02pm, 2.02pm, 3.02pm, 4.40pm, 5.30pm.

Additional Info

Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller

Service animals allowed

Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap

Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health

Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness

Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

What‘s Included

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.

What To Expect

Ross Castle

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.

50 minutes • Admission Not Applicable

Innisfallen Island

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.

15 minutes • Admission Not Applicable

Options

Park Explorer Tour (Half Day Tour)

Reviews

5.00

2 reviews

Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor

Highly Recommend!
Footsteps2Somewhere,
Sep 3, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00
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
Holly H,
Jun 30, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00
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.