- Duration1 hour
- Time inside the parkAbout 1 hour in the park, including a 20-minute stop at Ross Castle
- Departs fromKillarney
- FormatPrivate — your group only
- CancellationFree up to 24 hours before
- LanguagesEnglish
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead — you can hold the date and decide later.
Killarney National Park Jaunting Car Tour — Park to Ross Castle
An hour by jaunting car from Killarney town centre into the national park, with twenty minutes at Ross Castle on Lough Leane. The lowest guided fare here.
Starts in the town centre
The Great Southern on East Avenue, beside the railway station — no car needed to get to the start.
Twenty minutes at Ross Castle
The longest stop at the fifteenth-century keep of anything listed here.
The lowest fare in the park
An hour of guided park time for less than most half-day tickets cost.
Three landmarks on the way
St Mary’s Cathedral and Killarney House Gardens pass by before the castle.
Ireland’s native herd
The route crosses the ground the country’s only indigenous red deer graze.
From the Great Southern to the lakeshore
You start in the middle of Killarney, at the Great Southern on the East Avenue road, beside the railway station and the outlet centre. That matters more than it sounds: this is the one tour here you can walk to straight off a train, with no car and no transfer.
The jaunting car — a horse-drawn trap, and the way visitors have been shown Killarney since the nineteenth century — takes you out of the town and into the park. Your jarvey drives and guides at the same time, and the stories run to the Gaelic chieftains, O’Donoghue Mór and what Cromwell’s men did here.
Four hundred years of that history is still standing when you arrive at the water. The rating sits at 4.8 across 319 travellers, and the thing that comes up most in their feedback is the driver.
Twenty minutes at Ross Castle
The stop is at the fifteenth-century tower house on the shore of Lough Leane, with Innisfallen Island out in the water beyond it. Twenty minutes is enough to walk the outside, get the photograph from the jetty and look back up the lake toward the Reeks.
Going inside is a separate Office of Public Works ticket and needs its own timing: €5 an adult, guided only, fifteen people at a time, first come first served, and the last tour of the day leaves at 16:55.
What you pass on the way out
- The Great Southern, minute 0. East Avenue road, beside the station; parking in the area.
- St Mary’s Cathedral, minutes 5–10. Passed on the drive out of town.
- Killarney House Gardens, minutes 10–15. The formal gardens at the park entrance.
- Into the park, minutes 15–35. Deer country, on the drives closed to cars.
- Ross Castle, minutes 35–55. Twenty minutes at the keep on the lakeshore.
This hour suits you if
You have arrived without a car, you want the town and the park in one go, or you are watching the budget — this is the cheapest guided way into the park by some margin. Travellers repeatedly say it covers ground they could not have managed on foot or by bike, which is exactly what it is for.
Book something else if
You want the carriage to yourselves or a start inside the park rather than in town — the private horse and carriage tour begins at Deenagh Lodge and is private to your group. Riders should take the two-hour horseback ride.
What the fare covers
Included
- ✓ Professional driver and guide
- ✓ Live commentary on board
- ✓ All taxes, fees and handling charges
- ✓ Skip the queue for the jaunting cars
Not included
- ✗ Hotel pickup and drop-off
- ✗ Gratuities
- ✗ Ross Castle interior admission (€5 adult)
Meeting beside the railway station
Your jaunting car starts from the Great Southern hotel on the East Avenue road. It sits beside Killarney railway station and the outlet shopping centre, which makes it the easiest meeting point in town to find, and there is car parking in the same area if you are driving.
There is no hotel pickup on this tour. If you are staying centrally, walking to the start takes a few minutes.
Know before you go
- Children must be accompanied by an adult. There is no lower age limit beyond that.
- Gratuities are not in the fare. Bring a little cash if the jarvey earns it — most do.
- Time the castle. The shop and museum inside close at 17:15, before the castle itself does.
- Not wheelchair accessible, though strollers travel fine and infants sit on laps.
- It runs in rain. Dress for Kerry and the hour is still worth it.
- Free cancellation to 24 hours. Nothing is lost if the day changes.
What travellers said afterwards
We covered ground in Killarney National Park we could never have managed on foot, and our daughter loved it. The stop at Ross Castle was about fifteen minutes, which was plenty.
Christina N. · Family · July 2024
A lovely way to see Killarney National Park. If you want to go inside Ross Castle, book before five — the museum and shop there close at quarter past.
Ellen V. · Planner · May 2026
Read all Killarney National Park tours reviews
Questions before you book
Can we go inside the castle?
Not on this fare. The interior is guided-only, €5 for an adult, capped at fifteen people and sold first come first served on the day. The twenty-minute stop gives you time to join the queue if one is running — check the timings on the visiting page first.
What is a jaunting car, exactly?
A horse-drawn trap, and the traditional way around Killarney since the nineteenth century. The driver is called a jarvey and doubles as your guide. It goes on park roads that cars are barred from.
Is there hotel pickup?
No. The tour starts at the Great Southern on East Avenue, beside the railway station, and returns there. It is a short walk from anywhere central and there is parking in the same area.
Is this the same as the private carriage tour?
No — different operator, different start and a different shape of hour. This one begins in the town centre and gives twenty minutes at Ross Castle; the private horse and carriage tour begins inside the park and keeps the trap to your group.
Walk to the start, ride into the park
The Great Southern is minutes from the station, so this one works the moment you arrive with a bag and no car. From $52 per person, and you can cancel free up to 24 hours before you go.
Compare it against every option on Killarney National Park Tours, or read up first on what is inside the park and how to get there.