We made a great choice picking the Gap of Dunloe Traditional Boat Tours. They are one of the oldest…read moreboat companies and to offer boat tours of the lakes of Killarney. It appeared to be another company that is family business that is handed down through the years to the next generation. The boat was comfortable and everyone was required to wear a life vest. Safety was acknowledged and routinely insisted on. We met our tour guide at Lord Brandon's Cottage. He was a very friendly gentleman with a great sense of humor. He had the entire boat laughing our way around the lakes. It was a beautiful day on the lake and we learned so much about the history along the way to our drop off point. I highly recommend taking this tour.

Amazing experience!!!! Beautiful views! Great way to take it all in. Highly recommend.read more

It was cold rainy and windy our week in Ireland..if that is summer id hate to see winter. I read…read moremuch 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.

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

On very short notice, Richard led the 3 of us on a lovely 6 mile walk through Killareny National…read moreForest, sharing information about history, flora and fauna, and generally being a warm and lovely human. What a delightful exploration -- thank you, Richard!

From the owner: Walking tours in Killarney National Park by a local guide who was born and bred just a stones throw…read moreaway. Rua my friendly Irish red setter is the chief guide though.

I've visited Ross Castle twice now - once in 2017 and once today - and it is just as beautiful now…read moreas it was then. The castle itself dates back to the 15th century but has been renovated a couple of times since then, most recently in the 1980s and 90s. There is a guided tour that runs frequently throughout the day, it's €5 per person (cash or card) and runs about 30 minutes. It's very much worth it! You can't take pictures inside the castle but you can outside. The castle is about a 30-40 minute walk from the Killarney town centre. You can pay €20 per person per way for a jaunting car ride to the castle, but I preferred to walk there and get a ride back since it started to rain. Our guide's name was Noreen and she was very knowledgeable about the castle's history. She was able to answer all of the questions that our group had. If you have some time and cash, I also highly recommend getting a boat ride to Innisfallen Island. The boats depart from the castle and it's about a 20 minute boat ride through the lake to the island. You'll then get 30 minutes to explore the island on your own. There is a monastery ruins there that dates back to the 11th century and the grounds are absolutely beautiful. They are so peaceful and you'll likely encounter some deer.

We did the tour here and enjoyed learning about the tower. No photos were allowed during the tour…read moreso photos are of the outside. Beautiful spot right on the water. Nice toilets, and plenty of parking nearby. This is a fun stop while exploring Killarney!

A good route to take a rental car and explore the Ireland country side. We ran into some points of…read moreinterest not listed in our travel books.

This was a delightful road trip with beautiful ocean views the whole way, adorable coastal towns,…read moreand plenty of fluffy Irish sheep. We did the whole Ring of Kerry drive in a day since we were in a hurry, but ideally, you would come out and stay a few days enjoying the towns and scenery. The majority of the towns are quite small, so be sure to plan your stops where they are expecting tourists. Otherwise, it's just sheep and quaint country homes! Roads are quite narrow and dangerous. Be sure you give plenty of time to drive carefully. They are usually two lane with oncoming traffic, but the road is only big enough for one car, and there's lots of blind corners.

Muckross House is a 19th-century Victorian mansion located in Killarney National Park, Ireland,…read morebuilt between 1839 and 1843 for the Herbert family. After spending loads of money to host Queen Victoria at the time, the owners went into financial decline, leading to changes in ownership, and eventual gifting to the Irish Nation in 1932. Our tour group recently visited this popular (and well-maintained) tourist destination that features period rooms, expansive gardens, and traditional farms. We spent most of our time at the mansion, of which the self-guided tour was well laid out and very interesting to learn about. It's all kind of Downtown Abbey-ish, with the basement servant's work areas were fascinating. There's also a craft center at the end of the tour that's worth a look. The grounds (with Lake views) add to the relative magic to this place.

Muckross House is an incredibly maintained 19th century Victorian mansion. We strolled through on…read morea self guided tour. They offer a pamphlet that you can read as you go through the house which describes the room, furniture and sometimes interesting history. There is even a Queen's room that was put together for the Queen's visit. The basement level was really interesting. It offers quite a glimpse of life below for the servants. If you loved Downton Abbey you will likely feel it coming to life in this home. The grounds are absolutely stunning. You could spend an hour or half a day here.

My wife, daughter, and I toured with Gerard and his associate Wynn for approximately ten days in…read moreMid August. We arrived in Dublin and were taken to Galway as soon as we arrived. We saw as much of the west coast as time and weather permitted. We prefer to visit and experience local attractions and avoid the large tourist crowds. Gerard and Wynn provided advice for things to do and great recommendations for dinner and evening entertainment. Gerard and Wynn delivered, allowing us to deviate from our planned route whenever something sounded interesting. We got to watch the semi final Gaelic football match in a small pub with locals. Saw country horse racing in Dingle, a local farmers market, the National Stud Farm, learned about Irish history and current conditions, and even got to see a live hurling match. From the west coast we worked back to the east, visiting Kinsale, Killarney, Kenmare, Kilkenny, and finally Dublin. Everything was on time. The van was spotless. Great company. I would highly recommend traveling with these guys and plan to do so in the future.

This was the highlight of our time in Killarney! Such a beautiful, peaceful space…read more The abbey is gorgeous and the yew tree is breathtakingly beautiful. We spent a lot more time than I thought we would just taking it all in. It's a short walk from the car park. No toilets.

Love ruins. I found this place fun and interesting. Love arches and celtic crosses. Huge cool tree…read moregrowing in the center. Unfortunately today had crappy weather and lighting all day. But this might very well just been our bad luck that both days in area were awful weather. Still had good time and glad came prepared with layers, waterproof shoes. Most importantly hooded raincoat and hat with brim and chin strap. It was rainy coat and windy all week. We enjoyed walking around and exploring.

This waterfall is beautiful and just a short walk from the car park entrance. Very easy to access…read morefor those who aren't as active! There are toilets at the car park, and plenty of parking. We opted to do the hike and we did the red trail (the hardest). It was a great workout but not too strenuous. A portion of the hike is about 45 minutes of stone stairs straight up. It was a dry day for us, but if it wasn't they would hand been slippery so wear proper footwear! We didn't realize the red trail doesn't take you to the very top with the view. So don't miss it like us! We believe it was a right turn down a path that wasn't as worn. We were bummed to miss the top but still enjoyed beautiful views along the way!

Torc Waterfall is a 20-meter (70-foot) high waterfall in Killarney National Park, where the…read moreOwengarriff River cascades down Torc Mountain. It was named after the Irish word for "boar," a local legend involves the warrior Finn McCool killing a mythical wild boar on the mountain. It was an easy maybe 4-10 minute walk from the parking (with restrooms) lot off the N71 Road. The path was well maintained and the lush green forest along the way projected and air of solitude. The map near the road shows other paths, with maybe one going to the top. The waterfall itself was pleasant and I did walk down to the water to get a closer look. It's impressive enough, but not quite what Gayle and I have experienced in the past back in the Sierra Nevada or even Iceland. And it's definitely worth a mental health stop.

I booked a private chartered mini bus tour with J.O'Callaghans for a group of 11. I came here with…read morea group of friends and figured a nice, relaxing day trip would be a nice way to check out the remote Dingle Peninsula. The price was a steal, if you have even a small group you can more than likely do the trip without being saddled with random strangers on a regular bus tour for about the same cost. The very punctual bus was a nice Mercedes 15 passenger bus with cushy leather captains chairs, a mini fridge and massive windows so you could take in all the scenery. Our driver was the BEST!!! He was so knowledgeable about the area, it's history and random trivia factiods. He let us dictate where we stopped, how long we stayed, gave us tips for places to check out in the various towns and stopped at many scenic overlooks for the shutterbugs in our group. Even on the ride back he didn't seem to be overly concerned with having us back to our house by the official end time of our tour. I would totally and completely suggest J.O'Callaghans for any type of tour of the area!!

We just spent a week touring the countryside of Ireland. Our driver, Maurice Kelly, from J…read moreO'Callaghan & Sons Luxury Passenger Transport, proved to be the best guide. A great storyteller for sure, Maurice provided excellent historical and local knowledge. We were treated like Rock Stars with privileged access, no lines and special introductions at all of our stops. We even had a few Irish language lessons along the way. Thank you for making our visit to Ireland the best! This is the way to travel!!!