visiting fota... few questions/tips?

Stressica

so me and the family are planning on visiting fota wildlife park this week, coming from Kerry we're getting the bus down to cork bus station but we're not sure where to go from there.. or how even?

is there a bus/train going out to fota that anyone can tell me about?

I read somewhere that a taxi down would be altogether easier... around 30quid?

also Im confused on this part are fota gardens/house/wildlife park all on the same location or are they far apart or what?

Thanks!

bluecherry74

You can get the train from Kent Station in Cork directly to Fota. If I remember correctly, the station in Fota is closer to the Wildlife Park, but it's only a 15 minute walk at most down to Fota House and Gardens, which are lovely and definitely worth visiting if you have time to do both. This aerial photo might help - ignore the walking routes as they're mostly down the other end of the island:

http://www.fotaisland.ie/blog/wp-content/uploads/Fota-Walking-Map-hires.jpg

Milly33

Hello!! A trip to fota sure tis all good fun there.

Rite there is a train alright that goes from the train station but I only found this out recently. I am sure if you gave them a call in the station they could tell you or someone here must know. The last I heard there is a stop at Fota.

In saying that I don't know how much they charge if there is a family perhaps it would be cheaper to get a taxi. Taxi co-op are quite reliable 021 427 2222 you could ring in advance and arrange a price with them.

The Gardens and house are not far from the Centre, lets say when ye get to the car park you go left to the centre where you pay to go in, and go right to get to the house and gardens which are free to walk around. Nice spot for a picnic if you wanted to stay away for the shop inside for food. You can bring a picnic also if you like and have that inside the centre there are outside table and chairs by the shop/restaurant. Food isn't too bad there typical chips and nuggets.

There is a lot of walking in both parts the garden and the centre itself although they are not far apart from eachother. Id say a small kid would find it hard enough maybe a stroller would be helpful... Hope you enjoy your day out there

deRanged

Fota is an island. On the island you have Fota Wildlife park, Fota house and misc other things. You can reach Fota by car, or by train. Fota has a dedicated stop on the line, with an entrance into the park. It's literally 20 metres from the train station.
Fota house and gardens are on the other side of the wildlife park. There's a pedestrian path around the edge of the wildlife park to Fota house and gardens, it's an easy enough walk. 15 or 20 minutes.

You can look up train times on www.irishrail.ie (you want the Cobh line, Fota is the 3rd stop). You can walk from the bus station to the train station in about 10-12 minutes.

There is a cafe in Fota House, and there are toilets.
There are a few cafes in Fota Wildlife park, and it's well equipped with toilets/shops etc.

There will be a bit of walking involved, so depending how small the legs are you may want to plan carefully, you may choose to give the gardens a miss.

all the info you need for the park is on their website

Karl Stein

Walk over to the Kent Station and get the train - ask in the bus station and they'll point you in the right direction (no more than 10 mins walk). The kids will enjoy getting the train and it's quite scenic as it runs along Cork Harbour.

Also, bring a picnic to save yourself from being fleeced.

Padraig Mor

Make sure you visit the gardens as well as the wildlife park - the kids love them as they can run around like nuts, hide in trees, etc. And they're free! (unlike the wildlife park, which is expensive).

bazza1

Check the weather...not much cover on a wet day.

Cobh train is nice. Hard to do the wildlife park and fota house on the same day though, especially with youn kids. They can get bored easily. Adults will love the house and arboretum.

Kids will love the cheetah run and the mini train.

Enjoy!

pwurple

The train stops at the back gates of the animal part, and honestly getting the train there is great fun for kids. You can see stuff from the train that you can't from the road, the fota castle ruin etc.

My advice is to get there as early as you can, and if you want to eat lunch, do it in fota gardens, the cafe there is nice. The food in the animal park is fast food. Chips and burgers.

We love fota, membership is reasonable for us we are there a couple of times a month.

flo8s967qjh0nd

As above, walk from Cork bus station to train station (10 min tops and well signposted).
The train is quick and easy. Far more enjoyable than a taxi and the kids will love it. IMHO arriving by train is the only REAL way to visit Fota
The train stops right on Fota Island (30 seconds from Wildlife Park entrance).
You have a choice - enter the Wildlife Park here and enjoy the animals first OR have a gentle (20 min) walk across the Island and visit the House and Gardens first before then entering the Wildlife Park at the other entrance.
Obviously, the animals will be a big draw for the kids but the House and Gardens are fabulous too.

Enjoy.

FotaWildlife

Hi Stressica

Most of the questions have already been answered. As others have said you will love the train and it is usually every hour and sometimes more frequent if there is a cruise ship in cobh. Simply go on to www.irishrail.ie and get the timetable for Cork to Cobh.

We have a lot of events on at the moment as we are celebrating 30 years so make sure you check out our events page www.fotawildlife.ie/events the biggest of the events is Bosco Live which we have on at 12, 3 & 4 Monday - Friday.

We have two cafes in the park both very different the one at the station end serves fast food and on hot days also has a dellicious BBQ. The savannah cafe at the main entrance serves soup, sandwiches, rolls and pizza.

The best thing to do is have a look at our website www.fotawildlife.ie/facilities and check out what we have.

Hope this is of help to you.

Stephen Ryan
Head of Marketing
Fota Wildlife Park

wheresmybeaver

Great advice in this thread. The train is definitely the most fun way to go to fota. We go about once a month and most times bring a picnic, although the food in the restaurant is grand. Highly recommend bosco, our young fella really enjoyed it, and be sure to keep an eye on the cheetah feeding times. Have a good day out!

Red Nissan

Stressica wrote: »

also Im confused on this part are fota gardens/house/wildlife park all on the same location or are they far apart or what? Thanks!

It was all one estate so physically they occupy the same land plot, but they are now separate businesses.

It is heavy walking with many inclines to just walk around is about 3 miles but one has many paths and circles, ground would be classes as rough, consider it a country hike rather than a walk around Mucross House.

It's grand though.

Frere Jacques

Red Nissan wrote: »

It is heavy walking with many inclines to just walk around is about 3 miles but one has many paths and circles, ground would be classes as rough, consider it a country hike rather than a walk around Mucross House.

It's grand though.

Red, I have a feeling you are walking through areas you are not meant to be in. Stay off the rock buffer zone to the giraffe plains!!:)
Seriously, the paths are grand, the Palm walk and up near the Lemurs are the only rough patch because of heavy gravel which is fine for walking but tough for strollers.
Anyway, the OP has probably been and gone at this stage but as annual members we are there often and even when my wife or sister in law was pregnant, they never had any problems will the conditions under foot.
Well done to Fota for a class amenity.

MatthewMonster

Guys, how much is the train from Cork to Fota, return? I have a student card too. Can't find any info about it anywhere!

pwurple

Hi mattewmonster. It's maybe two years since I was on it, but cork-fota was 4 euro return then. Wouldn't be much more than that now I'd say.

Pity it isn't on the irishrail website though!

dj_

I think it's a few euro more. Return Cork-Cobh is about 7 (as a student) if I remember correctly. Fota is probably a little less.

deRanged

pwurple wrote: »

Pity it isn't on the irishrail website though!

it is on the website