Garinish Island
Garinish Island
4.5
10:00 - 15:30
Monday
10:00 - 15:30
Tuesday
10:00 - 15:30
Wednesday
10:00 - 15:30
Thursday
10:00 - 15:30
Friday
10:00 - 15:30
Saturday
10:00 - 15:30
Sunday
10:00 - 15:30
About
Garnish Island (Ilnacullin Garinish or Garnish) is located in the sheltered harbour of Glengarriff in Bantry Bay, in Southwest Ireland. Garnish is world renowned for its gardens which are laid out in beautiful walks and it has some stunning specimen plants which are rare in this climate.
Duration: More than 3 hours
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- MiloBohack54 contributionsDo not miss this!A short ferry ride and you're there. Lots of places to walk to, all of which are a treat for the eyes. Great views, castle towers to climb, Italian pools to walk around, gardens to admire. A true highlight of our trip!Visited October 2023Travelled with familyWritten 6 November 2023
- GlorianaRed293 contributionsLovelyThe gardens here are lovely! We had gorgeous weather, and so it was perfect for a leisurely stroll in the sunshine. Everything well maintained and clean, with nice wide open paths, and a big variety of plants. Stunning views! We managed to see some seals on the boat trip over, to whom we got pretty close. We were also privileged to see a pair of white tailed sea eagles. The small down points that took 1 star off this rating are 1. The price (a little expensive, and no option to pay with card) 2. A rather angry active wasps nest in the itallian gardens Otherwise absolutely lovely. A charming place to visit, especially if you get the weatherVisited June 2024Travelled as a coupleWritten 4 June 2024
- VeroBrisbaneBrisbane, Australia128 contributionsGem in the bayWe visited this island on a beautiful sunny day which provided a perfect relaxed outing. Each pathway led to an ideal photo opportunity, whether it was of the bay, gardens, or architecture. The collection of international plants provided visual beauty accompanied by delightful scents. The cafe is adequately stocked with drinks, snacks and cakes.Visited June 2024Travelled as a coupleWritten 9 June 2024
- Debbie CBangor, United Kingdom171 contributionsBeautiful gardens and amazing views.We spent a few hours here today and thoroughly enjoyed wandering around the island and taking in the amazing views and beautiful gardens. The cafe serves delicious food at reasonable prices and the staff are very friendly. Although the weather was damp it didn’t take away from the experience. We saw seals on the boat trip to the island. The boat trip is quite expensive at €30 for two adults but it’s the only way to the island.Visited June 2024Travelled as a coupleWritten 27 June 2024
- Philip S19 contributionsEnjoyable VisitDelightful gardens that take up the whole of this small island. We spent about 75 minutes wandering around the walled gardens, Italianette gardens and other areas. The Martello tower gives you lovely views across the bay and the facilities include a cafe and toilets. The ferry runs from Glengariff every 30 minutes with a return fare of €10pp and the journey takes about 15 minutes going past rocks with seals laying in the sun! We also saw black cormorants. The entry to the gardens is €5. A very pleasant way to escape the world and spend a couple of hours.Visited July 2024Travelled with familyWritten 11 July 2024
- cookie482017Glastonbury, United Kingdom25 contributionsBeautiful garden in an idyllic setting.Really lovely garden , well worth a visit. It does get a bit crowded in the summer though as the island is quite small.very reasonable entrance fee on arrival which is just as well as the boat fer across is now €12.50 for an adult. It’s in a very picturesque setting and the boat takes you to see the seals on the way over. There is a cafe on the island and we had lovely soup and soda bread for lunch. The views of the mountains are just stunning. Well worth the trip.Visited July 2024Travelled with friendsWritten 11 July 2024
- DIS_<Dublin, Ireland83 contributionsLovely island gardenGreat visit. Self guided tour us about an hour. Boat trip over is also lovely. Nice coffee shop. Very cheap only €5 in. Ferry over is about 15 euros. Great views. Interesting architectureVisited July 2024Travelled as a coupleWritten 14 July 2024
- Eelynch5 contributionsGarnish experienceAbsolutely beautiful spot with lots of opportunities for photos. Most of the plants were labelled. Idealic location for a break. Boat ride 15 euro pp and entry to island 5 euro. Boats every 30 minutes. Boat ride gives you opportunity to see the vast number of seals. excellent. A bit confused some signs said Garnish Island, some said Garinish Island !!Visited July 2024Travelled with familyWritten 16 July 2024
- Orla C36 contributionsBeautifully maintainedAbsolutely beautiful island. Worth a visit with the little boat trip in between. Suitable for all the family. Nice little cafe at the end. Could use one or two more benches along the trail for older and younger people or people with mobility issues. Even though the weather on the mainland was wet, the island had its own sunny micro climate ☀️Visited July 2024Travelled with familyWritten 27 July 2024
- NadineEsch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg12 contributionsDefinitely a trip worth takingEven the boattrip there alongside the seals is already vefy nice, arriving then is like travelling back in time: well maintained beautiful gardens for nice walks. A stunning view over the bay. The flowers and trees amazing, you can spend some hours there relaxing and enjoy.Visited August 2024Travelled with friendsWritten 26 August 2024
These reviews are the subjective opinion of Tripadvisor members and not of TripAdvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
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4.5
878 reviews
Excellent
622
Very good
187
Average
42
Poor
19
Terrible
8
millies23
County Clare, Ireland173 contributions
Jul 2020 • Family
2nd visit to Garnish. Last time 12 yrs ago. The boat trip was nice, saw seals basking on rocks on way out. The boat driver was funny & informative & answered all our questions. The Island is lovely with lots of unusual plants & shrubs many from Australia & New Zealand which for us was nice having lived there. It’s a nice walk through, all one way now likely due to Covid-19 & I believe some areas are inaccessible now. The house was not open (never knew there was a house & don’t recall it on previous visit). We spent approx 1.5h & we’re finished. Advise to take a picnic & try to make more of the day.
Overall I found it a bit boring. There was no leaflet/handout/notice boards informing of recent changes or upgrades or restrictions from normal due to covid. There was little info on history. When we completed our walk around the island, there were long queues (well socially distanced) to reboard the boat. We were in the wrong queue for approx 15 mins as there were no signposts or staff manning the queues. Price reflected restrictions at €3 to get on island. Boat was €10 & took 15mins with seeing seal rock also. Boat broke down on way back & had to be towed which was a bit of craic 🤣
Nice few hours on a sunny day but take a picnic if you’re bringing kids.
Overall I found it a bit boring. There was no leaflet/handout/notice boards informing of recent changes or upgrades or restrictions from normal due to covid. There was little info on history. When we completed our walk around the island, there were long queues (well socially distanced) to reboard the boat. We were in the wrong queue for approx 15 mins as there were no signposts or staff manning the queues. Price reflected restrictions at €3 to get on island. Boat was €10 & took 15mins with seeing seal rock also. Boat broke down on way back & had to be towed which was a bit of craic 🤣
Nice few hours on a sunny day but take a picnic if you’re bringing kids.
Written 7 August 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
rubylass
cork204 contributions
Jul 2020 • Family
Well worth the trip. We visited as a family with 2 small children, aged 2 and 4. The kids were free for the island and the ferry. Just be aware that the island is a separate charge to the ferry. It’s usually €5 per person but currently half price due to the COVID restrictions. It’s totally worth the money. Also due to COVID, the island is a one way system which we found excellent as it felt like you had the island to yourself as you weren’t meeting people coming against you. My children were able to run around safely and they loved the freedom of the island. There are toilets and a small little coffee shop but a lot of people had picnics with them which we hadn’t even thought of. We had 90mins on the island and found it was a perfect time. I would highly recommend Garnish Island, a gem in The beautiful West Cork.
Written 13 July 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Farrellfamily
Ireland100 contributions
Jul 2020 • Family
A stunning spot to visit when in Glengarrif. Take the short boat ride across (€40 for family of 4 plus €2.50 per adult charge when you arrive on the island). Well worth it. Our children were delighted to see seals on the way over. Stunning gardens and views from the island. Really well managed with covid restrictions - one way system and plenty of staff to guide you. Coffee shop on the grounds of island. Beautiful to stroll around the Island, take in the stunning gardens, buildings and amazing views.
Written 11 July 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Cormac K
Newport, Ireland17 contributions
Aug 2020 • Family
Beautiful island, great selection of trees and plants. Stunning views. On the boat trip out saw some seals. Worth the trip if the weather is good.
Only down side is the price, for a family of 8 I paid €116 euro for 2 hrs, way too much.
Only down side is the price, for a family of 8 I paid €116 euro for 2 hrs, way too much.
Written 29 August 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Liz Farrell
4 contributions
Jul 2019
We visited this place last year. Sub tropical climate means the plants here are unusual for the rest of Ireland and with the Italian themed architect and the winding paths that lead into different garden sections, leads our senses to believe we have escaped to the Mediterranean. Bring a packed lunch and flask of tea as the coffee shop is small and very busy, although they serve an excellent menu at typical Irish prices. I will definitely visit again.
Written 16 May 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Karen
7 contributions
Aug 2020 • Family
Never again. Firstly for a family of 7 we were charged €54 to get the boat to Garnish island. Then when we got to the island we had to pay an additional €2.50 per adult to gain access. Otherwise you get the next boat back. RIP off republic. We expressed our dissatisfaction with the cost and the receptionist said it's too different councils running the boat and island and gave us an email address to make a complaint. We paid the money, walked the grounds in 20 minutes and got the next boat out.
Written 16 August 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Paula G
13 contributions
Jul 2022 • Family
After getting the Blue Pool ferry across we purchased our tickets at the OPW office on arrival, under 12s go free. A guide gave a brief summary of the islands main attractions and your free to explore yourself. The gardens and plants are fabulous, walking paths easy to navigate, some areas with stone steps, Martello tower which can be climbed, and the iconic pool and viewing areas. It also has a wild Atlantic way sign. You could do an optional guided tour of one of the houses but we just explored ourselves. We did not avail of the tea rooms, although they looked nice. Toilet facilities available. A really lovely relaxed family day out well worth doing if your in the area.
Written 31 July 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
pipstrello
Dublin, Ireland55 contributions
Aug 2022
What a beautiful trip to Garinish (Garnish) island! We got the ferry from Glengariff, which took us on a nice sail past sea lions and an eagle well camouflaged on a tree branch, before arriving at the idyllic Garnish Island which is a little biosphere of its own, with several plants from New Zealand and India. It has several different styled gardens (an Italianate garden, a jungle, a beautiful walled garden with many flowers, including some of the biggest dahlias I've ever seen, a Greek style temple with fabulous views across the bay, and a Martello tower (there are many of these in Ireland, built by the English in 1804 as defence towers in case of a Napoleonic invasion). There's a coffee shop on the island, which also serves vegan options. There are tours of Bryce house (the Bryce family owned the island) but only the first 10 people in the line could do the tour so we missed out on that. Nevertheless, se spent several enjoyable hours enthralled by the natural beauty of this island. Well worth a visit.
Written 17 August 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Genna B
Peterborough, UK67 contributions
Jun 2023 • Friends
Great day out with the dog! Took the Bluepool Ferry through a gorgeous rhododendron lined canal and over past a colony of seals! The island itself is so beautiful. The flower beds are surrounded by stunning views. Cash is needed for entry fee, but the cafe now accepts cards.The village on the mainland is a very expensive tourist trap. Avoid at all cost.
Written 12 June 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Anonymous
2 contributions
Aug 2021 • Family
Fab trip out to Garinish Island…. The boat ride over with Harbour Queen was lovely. Immediately upon arrival to the island we were greeted by the friendly staff, the gardens were amazing not to mention the house on the island. The tour guide Seán was superb, he really brought the history of the house and those who lived there alive, I would greatly recommend this tour… and definitely the house tour 😀
Written 27 August 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
im sorry sorry but i have no idea. Have you looked online to see if there is information on their website? office of public works? I promise when it is open it is well worth the visit.
Written 27 June 2020
Vorrei sapere se il traghetto va prenotato in anticipo , i prezzi e che orari ci sono nel periodo estivo
Written 13 October 2019
Se non ricordo male è dalle 9.00 alle 17.00 e ogni 20 minuti ne parte uno, noi non abbiamo prenotato.. il viaggio di andata eravamo in 4, poi al ritorno 20 persone, perché puoi visitare per parecchie ore l'isola con molta calma !
Written 14 October 2019
If we kayak to the island, can we tie up somewhere and pay to see the gardens?
Written 8 August 2019
Yes you should be able. When we were there a family came in a rib. You pay for the ferry and the island separately. Maybe check directly with them
Written 9 August 2019
Can you get a drink and food on the island
Written 31 July 2019
The ticket office will take cards but when I was there the cafe didn't. It may have just been on that day but I'd bring some cash to be safe.
Written 2 May 2019
Is the ferry accesable for disablrd people?
Written 24 July 2018
Really depends on the severity of the disability, there are about 3 narrow steps into the boat and a bit of a walk from the main road. This was the blue pool ferry, not sure what the harbour queen facilities would be.
Written 27 July 2018
Hi, we're planning a visit to the gardens tomorrow. How accessible are the paths? My mum in law has limited mobility. Also how much will it be for 2 seniors, 2 adults and 2 children for ferry and gardens? No prices on the website. Thanks
Written 11 July 2018
Hi. There really are quite a lot of steps on the island. Some have a handrail. I have made a map of these and also taken some photos but am working to get Tripadvisor to post them.
The house should be accessible and part of the garden. The cafe and WC are accessible. There are a few steps in and out of the boats of course.
Prices as stated by John D.
Written 15 July 2018
How long is the crossing and how often do they travel please?
Written 7 April 2018
The boats were every half hour but picked back up on the hour which ties in well with the tour of the house. Enjoy it we did
Written 10 April 2018
I will be in glengariff only 1 day, I like to vsit garnish island ( have been there before years ago). I will be there April 30th.
1.Is the boattrip than availabe
2.What times in the morning it will leave for the island
3. Do I need to pre- book ( we are with 6 adults and 4 kids between 4-8
4. what is more or less the price for the boat plus isalnd visit ( not the house tour)
Thanks in advance
Written 24 February 2018
garnishisland
Glengarriff, Ireland
Hi Bert H,
The island will be open on April 30th, boat trips start from 9:30am. No need to prebook, if you contact the ferry companies they will advise you of costs..
Enjoy your trip
Written 25 February 2018
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