Bus Tours

Bus Éireann, part of the state-run public-transport network, offers a range of daylong and half-day guided tours from June to September. You can book them at the bus stations in Cork or Limerick or at any tourist office. A full-day tour costs about EUR 30, half-day EUR 15. Bus Éireann also offers open-top bus tours of Cork City on Tuesday and Saturday in July and August for EUR 6.

Dero's Tours and Corcoran's Tours organize full-day and half-day trips by coach or taxi around Killarney and the Ring of Kerry.

Keating Coaches offer day trips and half-day tours of the Shannon region from Limerick City. Themes include "castles and gardens," "waterways, highways, and byways," and "flying boats, monks, and dolphins."

Fees & Schedules

Bus Éireann (01/836-6111 in Dublin; 061/313-333 in Limerick; 021/450-8188 in Cork; 066/712-3566 in Tralee. www.buseireann.ie). Corcoran's Tours (10 College St., Killarney. 064/663-6666). Dero's Tours (22 Main St., Killarney. 064/663-1251. www.derostours.com). Keating Coaches (Ballingarry, Co. Limerick. 069/68201. www.limericktours.com).

Special-Interest Tours

Gerry Coughlan of Arrangements Unlimited can prearrange special-interest group tours of the region. Half-day and full-day tours are individually planned for groups of 10 or more to satisfy each visitor's needs. Country House Tours organizes self-driven or chauffeur-driven group tours with accommodations in private country houses and castles. It also conducts special-interest tours, including gardens, architecture, ghosts, and golf, while Killorglin-based Go Ireland offers comprehensive packages for walking, cycling, fishing, golfing, and equestrian holidays on the Ring of Kerry and the Dingle Peninsula with experienced local guides.

Destination Killarney is the foremost Killarney tour operator. Besides offering full-day and half-day tours of Killarney and Kerry by coach or taxi, the group will prearrange your visit, lining up accommodations, entertainment, special-interest tours, and sporting activities in one package. A full-day (10:30-5) tour costs from EUR 18 to EUR 25 per person, excluding lunch and refreshments. The Killarney Local Circuit tour is an excellent half-day (10:30-12:30) orientation. The memorable Gap of Dunloe tour at EUR 25 includes a coach and boat trip. Add EUR 15 for a horseback ride through the gap. More conventional day trips can also be made to the Ring of Kerry, the Loo Valley, and Glengarriff; the city of Cork and Blarney Castle; An Daingean (Dingle) and Ceann Sleibne (Slea Head); and Caragh Lake and Rossbeigh.

Jaunting cars (pony and cart) that carry up to four people can be rented at a stand outside the Killarney tourist office. They can also be found at the entrance to Muckross Estate and at the Gap of Dunloe. A ride costs between EUR 18 and EUR 35, negotiable with the driver, depending on duration (one to two hours) and route. Tangney Tours is the leading jaunting-car company and will also organize tours by coach or water bus, as well as entertainment.

Fees & Schedules

Arrangements Unlimited (1 Woolhara Park, Douglas, Cork City, Co. Cork. 021/429-3873. www.arrangements.ie). Country House Tours (71 Waterloo Rd., Dublin, 4. 01/668-6463. 01/668-6578. www.tourismresources.ie). Destination Killarney (Scott's Gardens, Killarney, Co. Kerry. 064/663-2638. www.gleneaglehotel.com). Shannon Castle Tours (Bunratty Folk Park, Bunratty, Co. Clare. 061/360-788. www.shannonheritage.com). Tangney Tours (Kinvara House, Muckross Rd., Killarney, Co. Kerry. 064/663-3358).

Walking Tours

SouthWest Walks Ireland has a variety of packages for all levels of walkers along the coast of West Cork, around the Sheep's Head and Beara Peninsula in Bantry Bay, as well as in Kerry. Trips include accommodation, baggage transfer, and evening meals for self-guided or escorted groups. Activity Ireland organizes customized walking and climbing tours on the Ring of Kerry. Go Ireland specializes in active vacations, including walking and cycling excursions along the Kerry Way or the Dingle Peninsula. Michael Martin's Titanic Trail, a 90-minute guided walking tour of Cobh takes its name from the Titanic, but in fact covers the whole of Cobh's fascinating history, from coffin ships to ocean liners via naval firepower and tall ships. Trips are daily at 11 AM starting from outside the Commodore Hotel; the cost is EUR 7.50. Martin can also customize a walk or tour by minibus.

Don Herlihy's Historic Stroll in Old Kinsale departs from the Tourist Information Office daily at 11:15, "hail, rain or shine"; you'll learn Kinsale's links to "Man Friday" and the truth about Kinsale Hookers, a tale from the town's pirate past. Richard Clancy, an expert on the legends and history of Killarney, offers a two-hour guided walk in Killarney National Park daily at 11 AM (other times by arrangement). Trips leave from the Shell gas station on Lower New Street. The cost is EUR 8. Limerick City Tours provides inexpensive walking tours of Limerick from June to September (and by arrangement other months). St. Mary's Action Centre has walking tours of Limerick's historic centers and of locations highlighted in Frank McCourt's Angela's Ashes. They're conducted daily at 11 and 2:30.

Information

Activity Ireland (Caherdaniel, Co. Kerry. 066/947-5277. www.activity-ireland.com). Historic Stroll in Old Kinsale (Kinsale. 021/477-2873).

Go Ireland (Killorglin. 066/976-2094. www.goactivities.com). Limerick City Tours (Noel Curtin, Rhebogue. 061/311-935). Richard Clancy (064/663-3471. www.killarneyguidedwalks.com). St. Mary's Action Centre (44 Nicholas St., Limerick. 061/318-106. www.iol.ie/~smidp). SouthWest Walks Ireland (6 Church St., Tralee. 066/712-8733. www.southwestwalksireland.com). Titanic Trail (Cobh. 021/481-5211. www.titanic-trail.com).