From an ancient stone circle to the last cliffs before the Atlantic, in one private day.
Start Point
Your Hotel Or
Address In Cork
Duration
9 Hours
Difficulty
Easy
West Cork is the wilder, quieter side of the county, all small harbours and colourful villages with long views out to sea. This private West Cork tour follows the coast from Cork to Mizen Head, the most south-westerly point in Ireland, where the land runs out in a tumble of cliffs above the Atlantic. Along the way there’s a stone circle older than almost anything else you’ll see on your trip, and plenty of good excuses to stop for coffee.
Our first stop, just past Clonakilty near Glandore, is Drombeg, one of the best-preserved stone circles in Ireland. It’s a ring of standing stones on a hillside terrace looking toward the sea, laid out so the midwinter sun sets in line with it. It’s a quiet, slightly mysterious way to start the day.
From there we head on to Skibbereen, a busy market town with a creative streak. Its Heritage Centre tells the story of the Great Famine, which hit this corner of Cork as hard as anywhere in Ireland. If your own family left Ireland in those years, it’s a moving stop.
Out onto the Mizen Peninsula, the road takes you through Ballydehob, with its old twelve-arch railway bridge, and on to Schull, a small sailing harbour. Both are small, colourful and entirely unhurried, and Schull is a lovely spot for lunch by the water.
Then the road simply runs out. Mizen Head is the most south-westerly point of Ireland, and a path and footbridge across a deep sea gorge lead out to the old signal station, with the Atlantic crashing far below. There are a good number of steps down and back up again, so take it at your own pace; the views are worth every one.
On the way home we stop in Bantry, at the head of Bantry Bay, where Bantry House and its gardens look out over the water. It’s a lovely place to catch your breath before the drive back to Cork.
The day starts at your door in Cork and ends there too. As with all our private day tours from Cork, the time is yours, whether that means longer at the Heritage Centre or a second coffee in Schull. Your driver-guide knows West Cork’s back roads and its stories, and where the seafood is worth stopping for. Cruise passengers can do it too, from Cobh, on a longer port call.
Your guide comes from a family business that has been showing visitors Ireland since 2006, led by a certified, badged tour guide and rated 5.0 from reviews on TripAdvisor. The car is a Mercedes from our own fleet, sized to your group.
Yes, there is a fair walk involved. From the visitor centre, a path leads down toward the footbridge and the old signal station, and the return means climbing a good number of steps back up again. For most people it is very manageable if taken slowly, and there are places to pause and look out over the cliffs along the way. If anyone in your group has limited mobility or would rather not do the full walk, that is no problem at all: the visitor centre and the views close to it are well worth the stop in their own right, and your driver-guide can plan the rest of the day around what suits everyone. Tell us about your group when you enquire and we will make sure the pace of the day is right for you.
West Cork is quieter, more spread out and more about small places than big set-piece views. Where the Ring of Kerry is a famous loop with well-known viewpoints, West Cork is a coastline of harbour villages, painted shopfronts, market towns and headlands, with a strong local food and arts culture running through it. You get ancient history at Drombeg, the story of the Famine at Skibbereen, and the drama of the Atlantic at Mizen Head, all without the traffic that the busiest routes see in summer. It suits travellers who like to wander a village, stop for lunch somewhere local and feel that they have found a corner of Ireland that has not been packaged. It is also a long drive from Cork to the Mizen, which is exactly where having your own driver-guide makes the difference: you sit back, listen to the stories and let the coast come to you.
Yes. The stops on this page are the outline of the day, and because the tour is private to your group, you can change it. If you would like more time in Skibbereen and less driving, or you want to add Clonakilty on the way out, just tell us. You might want a long harbourside lunch in Schull, or as much coastline as the day allows. Within what the road and the daylight allow, the answer is almost always yes. If you are especially drawn to mountain passes and remote coastline, you might also look at our Ring of Beara tour, which heads further west on the neighbouring peninsula. Tell us what you enjoy when you enquire, and we will shape a plan before you arrive, then fine-tune it on the day with your driver-guide as you go.
Yes, with a long enough day in port. Any of our day tours from Cork can be arranged as a private Cobh shore excursion, with pickup at the port and the day planned around your ship’s schedule. West Cork and Mizen Head are at the far end of the county, so this is one of the longer options, and whether the full route fits depends on how long you have in port. When you enquire, send us your ship’s name, arrival time and all-aboard time, and we will tell you honestly what is realistic. If the complete run out to Mizen Head would be too tight, we can plan a shorter West Cork day around Drombeg, Skibbereen and the nearer harbour villages, so you still get the character of the region without any rush. Your driver-guide keeps an eye on the time throughout, and because the vehicle is yours for the day, you are never waiting on anyone else.
A badged national guide and a family with more than sixty years of showing people around Ireland.
Book this day tour below, or tell us your dates and we will plan it with you. If you would like to see more, we can plan a longer trip around Ireland.
