How To Hire A Jaunting Car In Killarney National Park

Ahhhh, Ireland!  The feel of the sea breeze on your face, the sound of the horse's hooves on the gravel, the rhythmic sway of the cart, and the smell of a turf fire lingering in the air.  What could be a more romantic and elemental experience than a jaunting car ride?

What is a jaunting car?

An "outside" jaunting car

One sees jaunting cars all over Killarney National Park.  A jaunting car is a horse-drawn two-wheeled cart that was the traditional transportation at one time in Ireland.  There were three main types of jaunting cars: the "outside car" where the passengers faced outside sitting on top of the wheel well and the "inside car" where the passengers sat inside the car facing each other and their backs to the sides of the cart.  The third type of jaunting car is the "covered car" which is an inside car with a canvas cloth roof overhead to protect the riders from the elements. 

The driver of a jaunting car is called a "jarvey," and they are world renowned as being great storytellers of Irish myths and legends and excellent local historians.  Many people are turned off jaunting cars because they feel it is too touristy.  But I beg to differ... 

Why take a jaunting car?

Gerry The Horse and His Jarvey

I know many people claim the jaunting cars are rip-offs and hate the jarveys "hassling" the tourists, just like some folks hate the Gondola drivers in Venice.  While locals don't take jaunting cars anymore like Venetians don't take gondolas, it still is an authentic Irish cultural experience.  Here's why:

1) Jaunting cars are the traditional vehicle locals used to get around in Ireland (just like a Gondola in Venice).  2) Jaunting cars offer a unique perspective of your surroundings by being off the roads (just like a gondola in Venice).  3) Travel on a jaunting cart is quicker than walking (just like Venice).  4) jaunting cars (and the horses) are expensive to maintain therefore a jaunting ride is not cheap (just like on the Gondolas in Venice).  

Lastly, the jarvey is your built-in tour guide that has so much knowledge of the historical sites in Killarney park (just like the gondolier in Venice).  

Where do you hire a jaunting car?

The Jaunting Cars and available tours are located at the below locations in Killarney Park:

Entering The Muckross Estate

• The Killarney Town Centre – From here you can tour The National Park, Ross Castle, and Kenmare Estate.

• The First Entrance Gates to Muckross (car park on the left-hand side) on the main road to Muckross. From here you can tour the beautiful Muckross House & Gardens – other routes are also available to lengthen your journey if you wish.

• Muckross House & Gardens – From here you can tour Muckross Abbey, Muckross House, and the glorious Torc Waterfall.

• Torc Waterfall – From here the jaunting car will take you around Muckross Gardens and Lakes to Muckross Abbey if you wish.

• The Gap of Dunloe – If you are doing the gap of Dunloe tour, the Jaunting Car will bring you from the base of the Gap to the top and down the other side, residing at Kate Kearney’s Cottage (or vice versa).

Muckross House

There are also several jaunting car tour operators that have websites where you can book tours ahead.  This is good if you are travelling with a family or a larger group and you want to organize your time in the park.  For instance, a Gap of Dunloe tour can take 5 hours, so you want to make sure you have a whole afternoon scheduled in Killarney National Park.
killarneyhorseandcarriagetours.com and killarneyjauntingcars.ie are two examples of longtime tour operators in Killarney.

Approaching Muckross Abbey

We hired our horse Gerry and his jarvey with his traditional "inside car" at Torc Waterfall.  I saw a lot of wagons full of people around Killarney town center, and I wanted to make sure I was taking an actual "real-deal/two-wheeled" jaunting car tour.  Unfortunately, we did not have much time to take a longer tour, so we negotiated with Gerry's jarvey to take us on a 45-60 minute tour around the grounds of Muckross House and Muckross Farm to the abandoned Medieval Muckross Abbey.  We spent 15 minutes exploring Muckross Abbey while Gerry had a snack, and then we headed back to Torc waterfall car park.  A one-hour jaunting car tour around Muckross costs about €40-45 and a 2-hour tour €60 in peak season (you can bargain a little in the offseason when it's slower).  Depending on the size of the car, you can usually have up to 4 or 5 people in the vehicle plus the driver.  

The Gap Of Dunloe

An Experience To Remember!

The Gap of Dunloe is a bit different.  Here the jarveys are lined up at Kate Kearney's Cottage on the North end of The Gap and Lord Brandon's Cottage on Upper Lake at the South end of The Gap.  The jarveys want €80 to take you through the Gap of Dunloe, for up to four people in their jaunting car.  If you only have two or three people in your group, it will still cost you €80 IN HIGH SEASON.  In shoulder season you can negotiate to €20 per person, but remember this is only ONE WAY you still have to get back.  There are standard prices set for The Gap of Dunloe tours, and jarveys are very firm that they are paid fairly. Another thing to be aware of is that there are two steep inclines on the route that the jarvey will ask it's passengers get out and walk because it is too much for the horse to pull up the hill.  If you are planning to take a jaunting car one way through the Gap of Dunloe and walk back, it takes about two and a half hours to walk the 11 km (7 miles) through the Gap.



In the end, to hire a jaunting car you just find a jarvey that you connect with and whose accent you can understand (good luck with that, my friends), agree to a route and negotiate a fair price.  Then just hop aboard your car and enjoy the magic of this unique Irish experience!

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