It was cold rainy and windy our week in Ireland..if that is summer id hate to see winter. I read much debate over tours or renting a car. We rented a car and the driving especially a ring of kerry was scary. Highly recommend you do much research of what stops are worth doing. I liked 3 ladies stop and torc falls. Definitely wear non slippery comfortable shoes. Liked the abbey ruins and quick look outside formal house near the ruins. It was cold windy and miserable so boat trips were not of interest. Kerry cliffs are gorgeous but be prepared for the wind ..chin straps on hats are a must. Biggest disappointment was the rock circle .. that was waste of time. We took drinks and snacks but there are a few towns to stop and eat. Getting ice in Europe is Tricky... but we took a small collapsible cooler. Their cheese is nice so might pack cheese slicer and crackers. Hope you can do skellig ring and Dingle ... personally I don't care about castles ... Europe is covered with them but the scenery and colorful buildings . Landscape looks like green quilt.. all shades and a billion sheep. read more

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This is a great drive and way to see the beauty of Kerry County. There are tons of great places to stop and see along the way. read more

Ring of Kerry - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me

Went on a guided tour with wild dairy tours And had an amazing time. Our hotel called them ahead of time and they picked us up at our hotel. We got to meet great people on the trip and see the sights of Ireland. We got amazing photos and love not having to drive. This is a definite must if you really wanna feel immersed in Ireland. read more

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We traveled the Ring of Kerry and enjoyed it immensely. This circle can be done in one or more days depending on how many visits you want to make along the way. We mapped out a one day adventure of all our favorites and started early. I recommend that you do some research on this tour because otherwise you will pass by many wonderful areas and experiences without ever realizing what it is. I most enjoyed the views of the Atlanta Ocean. It was breathtaking watching the waves crashing onto the rocks and smelling the sea air. The road gets really narrow in lots of places and many times we had to back up or pull to the side to allow another car passage. Since we vacation during low season we did not have to worry about crowds and endless buses. We had the freedom of walking into every area of interest with no concerns. read more

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The Ring of Kerry is one of the most popular attractions in Ireland. The drive is long, twisty, and often narrow. There are a ton of tour buses that will do the driving for you but we opted to drive ourselves and split it across 2 days by stopping in Portmagee (started in Dingle, spent the night in Portmagee, ended the 2nd day in Limerick). I highly recommend doing your own research for the places you want to visit based on what interests you most. The guided tours that you can take don't cover a lot of my favorite places we visited. Here is the itinerary we followed. We drove clockwise and tried to time our start and end times when there would be the least number of tour buses. Day 1: - Torc Waterfall - Ladies View - Sneem - Staigue Stone Fort - Derrynane House - Skellig's Chocolate - Portmagee - Went to Geokaun Mountain but self serve parking meter wasn't working so we left - Tetrapod tracks on Valentia Island - Stopped by Valentia Lighthouse but they were closed Day 2: - Cliffs of Kerry - Ballycarbery Castle - Rossbeigh Strand - Gap of Dunloe - Killarney - Murphy's Ice Cream - Ross Castle - Muckross House There is a large variety of things to do and see on the drive. My favorites from each day were the Staigue Stone Fort and the Ballycarbery Castle. Neither seemed to be a big tour bus attraction so for those alone, I'd recommend renting a car to drive. If you have time, I highly recommend also checking out the Slea Head Drive on the neighboring Dingle Peninsula. I actually slightly preferred the Slea Head Drive to the Ring of Kerry and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys seeing old ruins. 5 stars. read more

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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. read more

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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! read more

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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. read more

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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 cliche. Just trust me and do the drive read more

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. read more

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 :-)) read more

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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. read more

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. read more

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. read more

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 ( http://www.heritageireland.ie/en/South-West/DerrynaneHouse/ ). 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. read more

It's easy to become blase 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. read more

Ring of Kerry - Image courtesy www.ringofkerrytourism.com - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me

Stunning views on the coast of Ireland. I went with a Coach tour so yes we definitely stopped at the most touristy places, but honestly it was so pretty and lovely that it doesn't matter. They are tourist spots for a reason, obviously. There were a lot of lookout points that had amazing views!!! And even in August the rain luckily held up for most of the day, didn't start raining until the end of our drive and that was only for a short time. There were a couple of places I personally would have liked to see, such as the Kerry cliffs or the Torc waterfall, unfortunately that was not part of my tour's itinerary. But it is definitely a trip I will remember and have the stunning pictures to prove! read more

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! read more

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! read more

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. read more

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.

From Killarney take N71 or N72 to the west and circle the peninsula on N70. It took us about 6 hours for the tour, including a stop at the Kenmare Stone Circle (€2 per person) and Quills Woolen Market, and a stop for lunch in Waterville. The N70 is the typical narrow rural 2 lane, bumpy, highway with 100km/hr speeds outside of towns. But as a tourist in an econo rental car I couldn't sustain that rate. We had a sunny spring day so the sightseeing along the seaside was spectacular. read more

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! read more