Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Titanic Trail Walking Tours
Michael Martin and his staff lead one-hour walking tours of Cobh that give you unex-
pected insights into the tragic
Titanic
voyage, Spike Island, and Cobh's maritime history
(€9.50, €1 discount for Rick Steves readers—show this topic when you pay, daily at
11:00, also 14:00 in summer, meet in lobby of Commodore Hotel, call ahead to con-
firmtourtimesinwinter,privatetoursavailable, tel.021/481-5211,mobile087-276-7218,
Spike Island Boat Tours
Ireland'sversionofAlcatrazdripswithhistory.Ithasbeenthesiteofamonastery,asmug-
glers' hideaway, the staging point for convicts being transported to Australia, a prison,
and a military post. But the ruins might seem scant without Michael Martin's insights. His
boat-and-walking tour spends 1.5 hours on the island (€14.50, June-Aug daily, Sept Sat-
Sun only, 14:00 sailing from Kennedy Pier subject to tides and 14-passenger minimum,
allow 2.5 hours round-trip, must prebook—look for booth on waterfront opposite Taste
café, same contact info as Titanic Trail tours, above).
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The Titanic Experience
It's stirring to think that this modest little port town was the ship's final anchorage—and
the last chance to get off. Occupying the former White Star Line building where the
Tit-
anic
's final passengers boarded, this compact museum packs a decent punch as it recounts
the story of the ship and its final moments.
Cost and Hours:
€9.50, daily 9:00-18:00, Casement Square, tel. 021/481-4412,
Visiting the Museum:
As you look off the back balcony into the harbor, note the de-
cayed pilings in front of you. These once supported the old pier and represent the passen-
gers' last chance to turn back. One lucky surviving crewman with a premonition did.
Inside the museum, you travel room to room with your host, the ship's fourth mate, in
audiovisual form. He meets you at the boarding dock, full of pride in the new vessel. He
joins you in replicas of a posh first-class cabin and a no-frills third-class cabin before his
commentary is interrupted by the sound of ice tearing at the hull. You then enter a small
theatertoviewananimationthatsilentlydepictstheshipsinkinginitssteel-twisting,slow-
