Spike Island
Military MuseumsHistoric SitesIslandsNature & Wildlife AreasHistory Museums
11:00 AM - 2:30 PM
Monday
11:00 AM - 2:30 PM
Tuesday
11:00 AM - 2:30 PM
Wednesday
11:00 AM - 2:30 PM
Thursday
11:00 AM - 2:30 PM
Friday
11:00 AM - 2:30 PM
Saturday
11:00 AM - 2:30 PM
Sunday
11:00 AM - 2:30 PM
About
Discover Ireland's Captains & Convicts and Sinners and Saints at Spike Island Cork, Ireland's historic island. Voted Europe's Leading Tourist Attraction of 2017! The Island is located off the coast of Cobh in Cork harbour & has over 1300 years of Irish history. From an island monastery & fortress to the world's largest prison in the 1850's and centuries of island homes. Your journey starts with a ferry ride before Ireland's best storytellers take you on a guided tour of the outer island and fortress. You can then self explore our prison cells, fortress, beautiful island walks and also use our on-site cafe. Attractions include the 1850's punishment block, the 1980's prison cells and riot exhibition, Ireland's largest artillery gun park and several penal, military and social history museums. With activities for children and families and guided and self-guided tours, Spike Island has something for everyone. Audio guides available, cafe and gift shop on site.
Duration: More than 3 hours
Meets animal welfare guidelines
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  • Onrysht
    Bella Vista, Arkansas114 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Fun half guided, half self guided tour
    Finnian was a great tour guide, he had a sweet personality and was very helpful when we had questions. He was very knowledgeable about the island and its history and was very patient with my young granddaughter, 16 months, who was pretty fussy towards the beginning as she wanted to get down and just explore! The beginning of the tour was guided and then we were set free to explore the island in its entirety. Very cool experience and well worth the visit!
    Visited October 2023
    Traveled with family
    Written October 5, 2023
  • annemaria96
    Tralee, Ireland20 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    100% worth the visit!
    Heard so many good things about Spike island! It definitely lived up to expectations, very historical and interesting island! The tour was half guided which was very good, Paul our tour guide was brilliant, he was witty and constantly kept he group paying attention! Highly recommend it to anyone visiting Cohn!
    Visited October 2023
    Traveled as a couple
    Written October 7, 2023
  • Judy S
    5 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Fantastic tour, day and night!
    Did the day tour with a school group, our guide was Kevin. Did the After Dark tour with friends, our guide was Adam, and I enjoyed both tours immensely. The two tours were so different and I'd love to return to do them again! The café and gift shop have lovely souveniers and all members of staff was welcoming and helpful. Thank you for two wonderful tours!
    Visited October 2023
    Traveled with friends
    Written October 15, 2023
  • Mark D
    5 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    A real review of the after dark tour
    AFTER DARK TOUR Absolutely blown away!! I'll start off the review by saying if like the American in the most recent comment complained about not learning alot of "history" on the tour. Great!! Its not a history tour we wanted, its a scary after dark tour through the scarier parts of the prison the general public don't go. Calling the mentalist who was performing there a waste of time because it didn't suit what you expected is horrendous!! Myself and my friends had seen him advertised and accidentally booked the wrong dates to go it was only after the booking did we see he wasn't there those dates, so to get there and have a surprise performance from him was great it broke up the walking around we had comfy seats and an spectacular mind reading show!! The rest of the tour was spooky but definitely not anything like a horror jump scare thing, regardless we had never seen that guy perform before we were happily surprise we did he was great. Rob our tour guide was very informative. The only downside was the rain waiting for the boat for so long. Although it was clearly not the staffs fault as they were waiting to catch the same boat with the rest of us! All in all a great way to spend afew hours, the mentalist show was top notch. 110% recommend!!
    Visited October 2023
    Traveled with friends
    Written October 23, 2023
  • Vicky S
    5 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    A great day out with friends
    A really fascinating place to visit. Felicity gave us a great introduction tour when we arrived and then we spent the rest of the afternoon exploring. We could have spent much longer looking around. Lots of different stories and history. A great day out.
    Visited October 2023
    Traveled with friends
    Written October 23, 2023
  • Mobile00022178479
    1 contribution
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Wonderful place to visit
    We had a wonderful day on Spike Island and thoroughly enjoyed it. I would highly recommend taking the tour when you first land, which takes about 45 minutes and then go off and explore the fort/prison etc. The various displays and buildings are very informative and interesting. I would like to thank our guide, Hannah, who was excellent and very attentive to the group. We had a great time!
    Visited October 2023
    Traveled with family
    Written October 28, 2023
  • Rachael
    Killarney, Ireland2 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    Spike Island, after dark.
    Went as a family trip. Really interesting tour. The tour guide,his name was either Peter or Paul, was very informative. Watched a half hour show with a mentalist which was really fun. Overall would highly recommend.
    Visited October 2023
    Traveled with family
    Written October 31, 2023
  • SineadIndublin
    Dublin, Ireland18 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Brilliant day out
    Spent the afternoon here in October with my husband and 3 kids ages 9, 12 and 14. Boat ran on the clock and was a lovely crossing. Anna our tour guide was fantastic, very informative, friendly and easy to listen to. We had awful weather but still enjoyed the island. Would highly recommend especially on a sunny day
    Visited October 2023
    Traveled with family
    Written November 1, 2023
  • Izzy X
    1 contribution
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Amazing experience
    We went on the after dark tour. The weather was cold and damp but it made it that bit more eerier so don’t think the weather will ruin your experience it might make it that bit better. Rob was our tour guide and was amazing to listen to. He was enthusiastic and very knowledgeable. If I was to go I’d certainly be hoping to have him as our guide. Amazing
    Visited February 2024
    Traveled as a couple
    Written February 13, 2024
  • Conor B
    2 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Super cool place
    Really cool place. Great history from ancient times right up to present. Tour Guide was knowledgeable and entertaining. Has such brilliant potential. Great for families and was great as an attraction where you can be active.
    Visited January 2024
    Traveled with family
    Written February 13, 2024
These reviews are the subjective opinion of Tripadvisor members and not of TripAdvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.

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Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.

Popular mentions

5.0
5.0 of 5 bubbles3,416 reviews
Excellent
2,810
Very good
494
Average
59
Poor
15
Terrible
38

Paul18765
County Waterford, Ireland47 contributions
1.0 of 5 bubbles
Mar 2022 • Friends
Im sure the spike island at night experience is wonderful IF you get to the island to enjoy it. I booked 10 people on this for Saturday 19th March, ferry leaving at 5pm no delays for late comers. It was a beautiful sunny day, coming from waterford city all of us set off after 12 to enjoy the day. Standing at the ferry port at 4.45 with many other tourists who had booked after 12 pm, some even at 3pm and after. I check my ticket in my enail to fibd another email sent at 12pm stating the ferry was cancelled due to high winds. No phone call, just an email. The others waiting didnt even get that. Its NOT good enough in this day and age and with the technology at our disposal that none of us were contacted by phone, when you ring them on the weekend it is an automated system that refers you to an email. Sadly won't be using them again and anyone going on a saturday pray for a good tide and no wind as you won't get a call if its cancelled. UNFORGIVABLE
Written March 22, 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.

Dave
1 contribution
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jul 2022
We tried to book the tour on a day with good weather but it was fully booked, so we only had an option to go on a day where rain was due. As we really wanted to do the tour, we decided to proceed and were so glad that we did so in the end. Our trip started at noon. At this stage the rain had started as we got on the boat, and we could barely see the island out there. Almost a full boat with some having to sit on the outside seats. A quick 10 minutes and we were on Spike Island. The group split into 2 and each group had a tour guide. We got Rob, and I have to say he was absolutely fantastic. You have the option of listening to the guide or just charging off on your own, but the 45 minutes or so with Rob were worth the tour fee alone. His knowledge, enthusiasm and storytelling were so interesting. The history of the island and some of the people who lived there or were incarcerated there is fascinating. I could not speak highly enough of him. We had the remainder of the tour to look around the island. The cell blocks are very impressive and have some good audio and visuals to compliment the tour. There are very good gift shops and a brilliant coffee shop with a full range of fresh food, sandwiches and drinks. All done in the proper way to cater to tourists. We also got to look at the Abandoned Village and some other parts of the island, but there was so much to do that we did not get to see everything. We were going to try to see if we could get a later boat back, as the tours run every hour. But instead, we have decided to visit a 2nd time. Whilst we were unlucky with the weather, and couldn't get as many good photos as we would have liked due to the grey skies, it didn't spoil our tour at all. Wonderful content, great views, lovely food and drink and, above all, a top notch tour guide in Rob. We just had to have another chat with him and give him a tip. I would encourage anyone to go on this. One of the best I have been on in Ireland, and it matches the standards in other countries easily. So go, and give Rob your ears and a few quid for some well deserved pints.
Written July 31, 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.

Karen
Western Ireland, Ireland1 contribution
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2021 • Family
Amazing experience, the history and stories of the island was really interesting, our tour guide Jessie was absolutely amazing, told history in great detail and made it really fun for adults and children.
The only thing I would recommend is to bring your own lunch with you, as took us 1hour to que for food, very expensive and not alot of selection and also took an hour off our time that we could have been exploring the island, we missed a few areas because of this which was disappointing as it takes the 3.5 hours to see it all.
You don't have to stay with tour guide but we did as we wanted to hear all the information, tour guide only takes 1hour.
Written August 16, 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.

Sarah D
67 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2021 • Couples
I was proud to be the first group to partake in the first ever 'Behind the Scenes'tour of Spike Island prison in Cork.
We donned our hi-vis & hard hats and got to tour the underground tunnels of the prison and afterwards had a shot of rum/whiskey/soft drink in the Captains Bar,all new additions to the routine prison tour. I sampled the 'Spike Island Rum',it blew my socks off! Karl our guide was brilliant,there was no question he didnt know the answer to.
They have released a few more Saturday September dates for this particular tour,Id grab these exclusive tickets while they're hot.
This was our second time visiting Spike Island and it amazes me every time.
Written August 8, 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.

mossiec
County Wicklow, Ireland41 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jul 2020
Great day out, despite the rain. 3 kids(15,14&10) kept entertained, Plenty to see and steeped in history, didn’t do the guided tour but would recommend downloading the app. Cafe was lovely and reasonably priced- recommend the soup if it’s raining. Well worth the visit
Written July 29, 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.

lisac
Coolaney, Ireland405 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Jul 2022 • Family
We booked our tickets the day before and found free parking up at the cathedral, which gives you about a 15 min walk down hill to the dock area. The parking near the Dock is only 3 hour long but the tour to spike Island is 3 & half hours long. The boat ride across was nice, we had to go the longer way around as the tide was low but this just added to the fun and it was great to see the navy base. Once on the island its worth while taking the small tour with the guide, they give you some great info on your way upto the forth. There are toilets just by the dock that where very clean and tidy and the next ones aren't until you get up the hill and in the Fort at the restaurant. You are given a map and once in the Fort there is loads to see and info about the Fort and its times over the years as a prison. There is a restaurant on site, this was the down side for me, the cheese cake had a skin on it and the coffee was not good(milk over heated and burnt the coffee, no barrista training here), but they have a captive audience, they had soup and sandwiches, soft drinks and a good selection of cakes and buns. There is a larger walk around the outside off the Fort, we stayed within the Fort and still found the time went fast. Its well worth a visit and we are glad we went.
Written July 27, 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.

Caroline Murray
Waterford, Ireland2 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jun 2021 • Family
The best part of our trip was Karl our tour guide, our two kids 9 and 10 really enjoyed it, Karl made it so interesting and easy for kids to understand would highly recommend even if not bringing kids. We had a most enjoyable day. 5 stars all da way from us. Staff were so friendly great day
Written June 7, 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.

Daniel
Galway, Ireland2 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Mar 2020
I did the After Dark Tour with two friends on a stormy Saturday night in March 2020. It was the main purpose of our trip to Cork and it did not disappoint! It rained for most of the night and was really windy which surprisingly added to the atmosphere of Spike Island. There was such an amount of history to learn, definitely more than you could fit into one 3 hour trip, but that just leaves an excuse to go back and visit the fantastic destination in daylight hours. There is a great cafe facility on the island too. Although it was closed during the After Dark Tour, we were still were able to go in and use the coffee machine, get snacks from the vending machine and warm up in the seating area. There were also bathrooms if you needed them. Our tour guide was Rob. He was so engaging and interesting. He had such vast knowledge of the history, great sense of humour and managed to catch the group out with a scare or two along the tour. The whole team was very friendly and professional and the boat trip was very comfortable despite how choppy the sea was that night. I would definitely recommend a trip to Spike Island and highly recommend the After Dark Tour (all the better if you get Rob as your tour guide!).
Written April 21, 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.

Caroline G
Midleton, Ireland8 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Jul 2020
We had a really lovely family day out. The staff in particular couldn't have been nicer from the ferry staff to our tour guide John G when we arrived on the island - it is absolutely worthwhile taking this short little guided half hour tour. John G was extremely knowledgeable about the island and really made it very interesting and used a lot of humour which kept the kids very much engaged. My 10 year old son said afterwards that was really good and he remembered in particular the story of the riots where the prisoners broke out and then back in and the mother who came to talk her son down from the roof. The prison/fort itself was very interesting and my youngest loved the fairy trail along the way too. All in all a great family day out. The only reason for 4 instead of 5 star was that we didn't have enough time on the island.
Written July 7, 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.

Linda O
6 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jul 2021 • Family
First time visiting Spike Island with husband and 15 year old son. The 3 of us had a great time. We took the 45 minute tour with Rob and he was very informative. I would recommend taking this tour with a tour guide as you learn alot more than reading the signs.. You then had 3 hours left to explore the island and we found it very interesting. Everyone wore thier masks on the boat over and you had to wear your masks when entering each building which made is feel safe going around. We would highly recommend Spike Island to anyone
Written July 21, 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.

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SPIKE ISLAND (2024) All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (with Photos)

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