Ilnacullin – Garinish Island
An island garden of rare beauty
Admission
Adult: €5.00
Group/Senior: €4.00
Child/Student: €3.00
Family: €13.00
Cash Only please – no credit card facility.
Follow us
Ilnacullin – Garinish Island
Ilnacullin is an island garden of diminutive size and rare beauty. Nestled in the sheltered coastal harbour at Glengarriff in Bantry Bay, the gardens display a wealth of unique horticultural and architectural gems. Bryce House is a fitting memorial to the visionary creators of this unique place.
The gardens of Ilnacullin owe their existence to the early twentieth-century creative partnership of Annan and Violet Bryce, the island’s owners, and Harold Peto, an architect and garden designer. The area enjoys a mild and humid micro-climate that makes for spectacular and flourishing plant life all year round.
Small ferry boats and 60-seater waterbuses take visitors to Ilnacullin regularly. The short crossing usually includes an extra treat – a visit to the nearby seal colony and an opportunity to glimpse majestic sea eagles.
Highlights

Gallery
Inside the Italian garden Garden gate at Ilnacullin The sunken garden is one of Ilnacullin’s outstanding features, with beautifully placed and elegantly proportioned colonnades, steps, raised terraces and garden structures arranged around a formal pool and enclosed by clipped Yew hedges. Bryce House interior The Grecian Temple, a roofless rotunda overlooking the sea and Caha Mountains. The Veranda The walled garden
Opening Times
1 April to 30 June 2023
Daily: 10.00 – 17.30
1 July to 31 August 2023
Daily: 09.30 – 17.30
1 September – 30 September 2023
Daily: 10.00 – 17.30
1 October – 5 November 2023
Daily: 10.00 – 16.30
Notice
Limited access for visitors with disabilities.
Please note that the boat operators impose a separate charge in respect of the boat journey to and from the island.
Limited opening of Bryce House for guided tours in shoulder season
Cash Only please – no credit card facility.
Getting Here
Located in Glengariff, Bantry. 1.5km boat trip from Glengariff.
Click the relevant icon below to open Maps directions
Facilities
- Baby Changing
- Brochure
- Café
- Guided tours
- Lift
- Museum
- Toilets
- Walking trails
- Wheelchair Accessible
- Wheelchair Accessible Toilet
Restrictions
- Stay back from edge
- Uneven walkways
Nearby sites to visit
Ilnacullin – Garinish Island
Ross Castle
A lakeside citadel steeped in legend
Approx. 33.9 km from Ilnacullin – Garinish Island
Derrynane House
The childhood home of Daniel O’Connell
Approx. 40.5 km from Ilnacullin – Garinish Island
Skellig Michael
An island monastery towering over the sea
Approx. 67.7 km from Ilnacullin – Garinish Island
Resources
Social Guide
Download, print and read our social guide (PDF) about visiting Garinish Island. This will help first-time visitors, families and people with developmental and learning disabilities to prepare for a visit to Garinish Island.
Download the Social Guide