Ring of Kerry

Give it a whirl! I know it’s a lot of driving but you don’t notice it at all! of course easier said coming from the passenger, but my driver concurred as well. :)
Definitely take a stop on the skellig ring and go up the Geokaun Mountain and see the Fogher cliffs, I promise you won’t regret it! Such amazing views from up there! If’ you’re into panorama, this is the place to be. Beware though, tons of sheep poop everywhere for some reason, yet no sheep! WTF~
We started in Killarney since we were staying there, but take the small roads if you can, it’ll bring you through Killarney National Forest which is also very breathtaking and just inspires you to try to be that professional photographer.

It was wonderful! We had the worst weather of our trip on this day, but it was still beautiful, and a must-​see for people visiting Ireland.

I don’t know what else to say except that everyone should do this drive! The scenery is beautiful! The road is winding so be careful making those turns! There are a lot of areas where you can park and view. Definitely do this!

Stunning and if you have not been here then you must and walk bits of it. I could spend weeks here exploring walks, history, pubs and quaint places. Skellig Michael was the highlight for me :-))

GORGEOUS! this is a must see for anyone travelling to Ireland. Go counter-​clockwise to avoid being stuck behind the buses if you’re driving. Definitely stop in Kenmar and Kilorglin (the beginning and end). They are adorable towns with a lot to see and do!

We took the advice of our Lonely Planet guide book, and drove this route backwards (counterclockwise). I strongly recommend doing so. We never got stuck behind tour buses and we were on the outside lane to enjoy the views. We did have to build up our nerves passing oncoming buses on tiny roads, though.
Our best stop was Derrynane House (
). It had everything: bathrooms, food, house museum, hiking, beach, cool foggy weather.
We drove ourselves, and stopped as much as much as possible. It was great.

We could not believe our luck the day we drove the Ring of Kerry. It was 75 degrees and there was not a cloud in the sky. The locals that we met along the way mentioned that this was the warmest day of the year so far. We began the Ring in a counter –clockwise direction as most people do, and our final destination was Kenmare where we were to spend the night. This is a beautiful small town at the other end of the Ring. We began at 12:30pm and finished by 4:30pm. This included a few stops along the way to take in the scenery and photograph the terrain. Absolutely gorgeous. The highway is very narrow by US standards. Our left side view mirror took a beating– oops!

first of all G. and i are CRAZY people… due to some miscommunication, i had thought this was a scenic viewpoint and didn’t know it was a scenic drive… we arrive at the peninsula @ 8:30pm and our hotel was a 3 hour drive away
i looked @ G. and said, how much do you want to do this? and she says top #3 reasons for visiting ireland… and i said well, that settles it: LET’S DO IT!
luckily, living in france taught me that the sun sets LATE…
it took us just under 3 hours to drive the entire peninsula… by june the sun sets right after 11pm so we had the perfect lighting to enjoy the drive
a combination of sea to sky highway in vancouver and rolling greens of ireland, except you have random sheep crossing and loads more of greenery (we’re the sillie people that take pictures of sheep Xing to laugh about later)
:note: beware that ireland does not have pedestrian walks so people wear those shiny reflective vests out on the road
~*~
there are a few rest stops along the way, but it’s mostly to see the atlantic ocean and just *breathe* in some nice salty winds!

Some gorgeous views but often masked by a misty fog. Loved seeing all the sheep on the hillside! The Kerry Bog Village was interesting with its thatched-​roof buildings but a little cheesy for my liking. There was a gentleman planted along the tour, sitting in a cul de sac, playing the accordion; he played his tunes while a few lambs walked around. Really cute but totally put on.
Worth it for the views (when you can see ‘em!).
Visited in June of 2007.

A fantastic drive. Although it’s a long day, you can do this as a day trip from Cork if you’re not afraid of the extra drive to and from Killarney. The scenery is gorgeous, and it’s worth stopping every few kilometers just to admire the changing landscape, rolling green hills and deep, piercing blue waters.
I’d also highly recommend the Skellig Ring — an 18 km loop you can take shortly after passing through Caherciveen. It had some of the most beautiful scenery of the entire drive, and there’s a place you can stop called «Kerry Cliffs» where 4 € gets you an almost Cliffs-​of-​Moher-​calibre view of the Kerry Cliffs and Skellig Islands.

Yes… there are tourist traps on this ring drive. Yes… tourism is their main source of income. However, I think they do it well and quite frankly, if you are driving on your own, there are plenty of tourist traps you can cut out and plenty of places of the beaten path that you can stop at. In my experience, people like to complain about how touristy things are, but don’t bother to wander off the path.
If you take a coach tour, unfortunately there is not much option to divert from the main road as many of the roads aren’t made for coaches. I take university students on our own, home-​grown tour of the Ring of Kerry. So we do stop where the other tours stop, however, I have to say, I’ve never had a student come back from the trip and say bad things about the Ring of Kerry. It is stunning! I’ve seen it in rain, fog, overcast days, busy, deserted, and most recently (in February of all months) in beautiful sun and warm temperatures… no matter what the weather, there are a lot of amazing views. And if you are a fan of challenging, long drives where it is just you and the road… this is a good one.
Since weather is hit and miss any time of year, if you are going to drive and don’t want to get caught in the large tour groups going round, you should go in transition months… October is still a little on the busy side, but February is really nice because it is the last month of off peak before tourism picks up again. We just did a tour and not only did we get the ring to ourselves, but the weather was the best I’ve ever experienced (the two other tours I did were September and October). If the weather is not particularly good… there are some stops and views that won’t be nearly as nice, but at least there is an entire peninsula of things to see and so it won’t be an entirely lost cause. In fact, if it is raining, Torc Waterfall will be really impressive!
My favourite stop is the Madonna Statue in Coomakista Pass. The view from there (on a clear day) is absolutely stunning. Don’t let the touristy stuff stop you from doing this ring. It is fabulous and even though I’ve done it three times on a coach, I’d love to drive it myself and get to the spots that the coach can’t get to.

Took a coach tour. Note that if you’re a foreigner like me and they give you a meeting spot, look out for a tourist office or something in the area and ask about the tour. The trip I booked just gave me a street intersection where to meet.
It was raining during our trip, but the coach driver took us to some interesting places nonetheless and cut time from certain spots which were ruined by the weather and took us to the local national forest. He also told plenty of stories and knew everything I asked about. A good guide makes all the difference on a tour.
Pros:
–Nice views if it’s not raining.
Cons:
–A lot of crap tourist traps on the route.
–Not much to see if the weather is bad.

Because Ireland is so fond of traffic circles, don’t let your tour guide pull a fast one on you and tell you that one of the traffic circles is the Ring of Kerry as he screeches the bus around the circle crying «weeeeee».
Beautiful sweeping landscapes. It is a 100 mile scenic route that reveals the breathtaking Macgillycuddy’s Reeks and beautiful beaches and cliffs. I only had 1 day to experience the Ring of Kerry so I did not get to do Skellig Michael (as it requires taking a boat). Went to the Kerry Bog Village which was a little cheesy, but I loved Fiona and Kerry (the Irish Wolf Hounds) who gave me muddy puppy kisses and made my day.
Unfortunately, the weather was very raining, cloudy, and we had a low hanging haze pretty much the entire time. It was beautiful in the rain, but I’m sure its even more lovely with a spot of sunshine.

Since my wife didn’t want me driving… cause Irish people drive on the wrong side of the road, we took the O’Connor Autotours. What was nice about it was they picked us up at the Muckross Park Hotel and Spa, where we just checked out and after the tour, they dropped us off at our other hotel in the center of Killarney.
We went on this tour in mid-​August. The weather didn’t cooperate so we missed most of the sights because of fog. The trip was cut short and the tour driver was difficult to understand. He kept spelling out the names of the towns and areas, as if we were going to be tested after the tour.
There were several stops along the way and even a place for lunch and bathroom break.
I think the next time we go, we’ll venture out and rent a car and follow the suggestion from James A.

Okay — just okay. If you want scenery though this route is second rate — even though it is nice — when compared to the Beara Ring just south, or the Slea Head Drive near Dingle, or the Loop Head Scenic Drive in western County Clare. Seriously, this is four hours you can spend in a number of other places seeing much more amazing coastal scenery.

On my travels, I’m starting to gravitate towards beautiful scenery over cities and the Ring of Kerry is one of the highlights of my travels so far.
I caught it on a beautiful sunny day, which accentuated the natural beauty of the western Irish coastal region. I also visited in April, which meant much fewer tour buses trying to negotiate the narrow country roads
The route was easily navigable with a travel atlas where the signposting becomes vague.
The drive along the northern side of the Iveragh peninsula offers stunning views across the bay to the opposite peninsula. The water was a deep aquamarine on the day I did the drive.
At the end of the peninsula, the coastline turns more rugged and the road drops down to sea level with some opportunities to get onto a beach if you wanted.
The final part of the drive is back through Killarney National Park
There are multiple stops along the route for grand houses like Muckross Abbey, many craft shops, photo opportunities and even for gourmet chocolates at Skelligs chocolates.
It’s not a tourist cliché. Just trust me and do the drive

It’s easy to become blasé about beautiful scenery as you drive the ‘ring.’ Every corner reveals a magnificent new vista where sea meets sky and cliff meets shore. The ‘ring’ is not an actual thing, just a description for the loosely circular route that runs from Killarney, round the Iveragh Peninsula and back through the national park to Killarney. Large European tour buses are the bane of any Irish traveler’s existence, and no more so here. A couple of tips — tour buses travel in an anti-​clockwise direction — go with them, not against them, and if you’re planning a quick circumnavigation go in the late afternoon — they’ll likely be off the roads by then. Strangely, the tour bus proliferation is also a blessing in disguise. It means that the roads are much wider and easier to drive than in other parts of coastal western Ireland. Take your time and enjoy all the little towns along the way. If you’re after true unspoilt isolation try the Skellig Ring or west Cork’s Ring of Beara, but if you want easy access to stunning scenery, the Ring of Kerry is still the one.