Hello everyone,
I'm planning the last leg of our 10 trip to Ireland in late July. Do you think it's possible to take a Gap of Dunloe hike/boat tour AND visit Muckross house in the same day? I would definitely book a Gap tour that departs and returns to Ross Castle, to make the logistics easier. Are the Muckross House tickets hard to get? I believe you have to get tickets the same day, no advance sales? I would probably visit Ross Castle and the Traditional Farm the next morning. Thanks so much for any help; really appreciate it!
Posted by
Connecticut
337 posts
You probably could, but here's another suggestion. Ross Castle is about 5 miles up the road from Muckross House, but the Traditional Farm is right next door. So why not tour the Farm and House one day, and tour Ross Castle and the Gap of Dunloe on the other day? That way you won't be backtracking so much. Plot all those places on a map, and you'll see what I mean.
There were no advance ticket purchases at Muckross House last year, but the tours are limited to about 20 people at a time, so you might have to buy tickets for a tour that's an hour or two later. Not sure about the farm or Ross Castle.
Have fun!
Posted by
WI
370 posts
I think it depends on the length of the tour you select. Some of the tours that cover Gap of Dunloe are several hours long, and if you have younger kids with you then Muckross House after hours of tour riding will be a tough ask.
We did something like this in March with our family of 4, although we did not have a horse drawn tour. We parked near Kate Kearney's Cottage and walked a winding, lovely road from there into the Gap of Dunloe. We wandered about for 2 hours or so and came back to enjoy lunch at Kate Kearney's Cottage. We then drove to Muckross House, decided that our younger kids needed a little more active/outdoor time than the tour of Muckross House would provide, and opted instead to do Muckross Farms (which the whole family really enjoyed - more than we expected hontestly). We spent 2-3 hours there, and were back into our hotel in Killarney in the late afternoon with a little rest time before heading out to dinner.
So, I think it is doable to the Gap of Dunloe/Ross Castle/Muckross House in a single day, you probably just need to pick the right length tour to give yourself enough time to enjoy it all.
We picked up tickets easily on the day of in March, not sure what July will look like.
Posted by
OP
Dix Hills, NY, US
14 posts
Thank you both for the good suggestions! Nothing like insights from folks who've recently been there. Hiked the Gap more than 12 years ago and can't wait to do it again!!