Cashel Forum: Rock Of Cashel

I took a look at the trip report I submitted about our visit to the Rock of Cashel to refresh my memory about how much time we spent there last April. I wrote that the guided tour lasted 1 hour and that I couldn't see how one could fully appreciate the Rock of Cashel without a guided tour. I still agree with that statement. There's not a great deal of signage there, so without a guided tour (included in the price of admission) you'll miss out on the fascinating history and architecture of the place. You'll want to include some time on your own to wander about and look at the gravesites and at the small, but excellent, museum. So, I would say that you need a minimum of 2 hours there. However, I would strongly recommend allowing yourself more time so that you can take the pleasant walk over to Hore Abbey and walk amongst the ruins there. (It's also a great spot to take photos of the Rock of Cashel).

I'd agree with Sally and longhorn74. In our experience, this is not a site that 's very 'obvious' to visitors and the very good guided tour (as they always are at OPW sites) included in the price is pretty much essential to unlock the history and meaningof this important site. On the two occasions we visited, our tour guide encouraged everyone to explore on their own once the tour had finished.

I agree with the others. We initially were not going to do the guided tour but then decided to. I'm glad we did because we would have learned very little without it. I'm saying this as someone who normally doesn't like guided tours. The guided tour doesn't last but about forty minutes from start to finish but by the time you walk around the castle and make photos you need an hour. We walked to the abbey across the field so we spent another 45 minutes or so on that (which included the walk over to it and back). Plus, there's a short walk up from the town or car park so you will need to budget a few minutes for that. We parked in the town and walked up which took about ten minutes.

If you are visiting The Rock, you should go to see Holy Cross Abbey nearby , beautifully restored and takes its name from the relic of the Cross stored there.

www.holycrossabbey.ie/holycrosshome.htm

I agree with the others too..take a guided tour. I spent about 2 hours there walking around on my own, but there was so much to learn about. Also take time for the surrounding areas too. I would like to go back there and spend all day in that area.

You all have convinced me to do a guided tour. I have allocated a total of (3) hours. Thanks to all of you for your help.

As with most tourist attractions in Ireland, they tend to close "early" by American standards.... 5:00pm-5:30pm. Just be sure to check on hours of operation before heading out. I drove from Cork to Cashel only to find the place locked up. I arrived a few minutes past closing time! At least I was able to take a few photos of the surroundings. Silly me... lesson learned.

My wife and I visited here today (Feb 21). I would allocate 1 hour for this attraction. We did not do a guided tour.

-:- Message from TripAdvisor staff -:-

This topic has been closed to new posts due to inactivity. We hope you'll join the conversation by posting to an open topic or starting a new one.

To review the TripAdvisor Forums Posting Guidelines, please follow this link: http://www.tripadvisor.com/pages/forums_posting_guidelines.html

We remove posts that do not follow our posting guidelines, and we reserve the right to remove any post for any reason.