When you dream of Ireland, Kerry comes to your mind.Here is a guide to the beautiful Ring of Kerry and Killarney.
The full journey around the Ring is over 180 km and will take you around 4 to 5 hours (unless you get behind the Kerry company car (a blue tractor !)
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Wherever you stay please ignore the advice in many guidebooks that you can get rooms in Ireland for $10 a room.
Many US,Italian and French guidebooks are out of date and were printed 10 or 20 years ago - They should be ashamed of themselves !
I've even seen these rates quoted in recently printed guidebooks. That was the rate 12 years ago !!!
A B& B in Ireland will currently cost you between 25 and 40 Euro PER PERSON PER NIGHT and will include a full Irish breakfast.
(We charge 30 Euro per person per night for more upmarket accomodation and food !) You should expect ensuite shower & WC at the higher end of these prices.
Most b&b's also offer TV and tea/coffee making facilities. Single rooms are hard to find. Hostels cost from 12 to 20 Euro per person per night.
Campsites charge about 15 Euro per person per night.
I used to use campsites till I worked out the advantage of hot showers cumfy beds and a cooked breakfast !
What should you eat - FISH !!! The Ring of Kerry is rightly famous for it's fish and shellfish and of course Guinness is the favourite drink.
Irish Steak is also justly famous and some b&b's offer an evening barbeque.
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I suggest that car drivers go round the Ring in a clockwise direction to avoid being stuck behind coaches. But you will meet them coming towards you !
Our Journey starts at KENMARE - the Jewel in the Ring of Kerry. It's a beautiful town full of colour-washed houses and shops and some of the best restaurants in Ireland.
Park in the large car park by the Church and and look inside the Church for a peek at it's Stunning Stained Glass windows and the lovely Celtic Cross outside..
In the woods behind the car park is a small tower - It commemorates the Battle of Bunker Hill in Boston USA .
On to the town centre and cross the Green to the large Stone Circle which is signposted from The Club Restaurant and is available to visit.
Back to the Green and follow the sign to Cromwell's bridge by following the path round the new houses and going through the gap in the stone wall and the bridge is really nice.
(actually it's hundreds of years older than Cromwell and it is really called Crombhail's Bridge) .

Opposite the new houses is St Mary's Holy Well - with healing properties and this is a lovely peaceful spot.

Above the tourist office is the Kenmare Lace centre and it's well worth a visit for the history of lacemaking and a chance to buy REAL Kenmare lace.
On the 15th August is the wonderful Kenmare Horse Fair - a chance to see a real horse fair with also cows,sheep.goats,chickens etc.
Lots of great characters come down from the surrounding mountains and you'll have a grand time in the pubs !
Book accomodation early or you won't get a room !
(There's an amazing selection of pubs from the traditional to the ultra modern - most do good food at reasonable prices.)
Kenmare is one of the best shopping centres on the Ring and Quill's store in the square offers many bargains and a wide choice - but you should look at the smaller shops for really imaginative and traditional hand-crafted items.
The gift shops have very high quality goods and you can shop till you drop !
Drive out of Kenmare on the Molls Gap Road and turn left at the service station (don't forget to fill up on fuel !) towards SNEEM and you'll pass some lovely countryside on the way to Templenoe
(Don't forget to wave to us on the right hand side at the big red B&B sign !
Be careful of HORSES on the road as you'll be passing Dromquinna Stables (who do great pony trekking and riding offers)
Turn left at the Templenoe sign for a stunning view of the Beara peninsula and the Kenmare river flowing to the sea - unmissable !.
On the right hand side of the road is the wonderfully situated Ring of Kerry Golf Course - stunning views and a good restaurant too (open to the public) - oh yes and a great game of golf too !
There's a good Golf Course here too.
On to Blackwater (be careful on Blackwater bridge - its really narrow) and then to Sneem where you can wander round the village with TWO village Greens and lots of nice traditional shops. The fish & Chip shop is excellent and there are a number of fine restaurants too.
Dan Foley's Pub is a great traditional pub with a long history. Sneem has a lovely riverside walk with a sculpture park and you can
sometimes see seals from the pier. On the right hand side as you leave Sneem are stunning views along the valley towards McGillycuddy's Reeks Mountains.
At Castlecove there are picturesque ruined cottages and past the pub on the right is a sign to the Staigue Fort which is a very impressive circular stone fort at the head of a picturesque valley (small admission charge)
There's a Llama farm on the way to Staigue Fort which it's sometimes possible to visit. and a medieval bridge in a lovely setting.
Back to the main road and just past the Bistro Blue is a small colony of seals that you can see from the road.
There are beautiful beaches at White Strand and beyond to Caherdaniel.
Vistit Derrynane House the home of Daniel O'Connor who won Catholic Emancipation in 1829. There are more wonderful beaches nearby.
The road from here to Waterville is in poor condition ***beware of potholes***
A fabulous view (one of the best in Ireland) is from the Pub on the side of the road with a small carpark on the right.
Another scenic view is from the large carpark at Beenarourke with panoramic views across Derrynane Bay.
Down the hill towards Waterville take a side trip left just past the church to the signposted Loher Fort - a little smaller than the Staigue Fort but in a superb location.
Back down towards Waterville there's a stone row silhouetted against the sky and looks quite spectacular.
In Waterville are the usual shops plus a superb long beach and a statue of Charlie Chaplin on the seafront.
Poke around the side lanes to see super murals and antique shops. Waterville is a Gaelic speaking area.
Most guidebooks suggest going straight to Cahersiveen but I suggest a side trip aroung the Skellig Ring (very narrow roads though !) where you'll see the Skelligs Information centre, standing stones,and wonderful views to Puffin Island and the Skelligs.
From Portmagee you can go on an amazing boat trip to the Skelligs which are a group of Island in the Atlantic of quite stunning beauty. The Skelligs are one of only two Irish International Heritage Sites.
The boat trip takes half a day and should be booked the previous day . MAKE SURE THE WEATHER WILL BE GOOD!
(This is because the boats are not very big and this IS the North Atlantic !) I went with J. Roddy and sons on 087 1209924 and they were excellent)
Take sensible flat shoes and something waterproof and a packed lunch.On arrival at Skellig Michael you climb onto the small pier and follow a wide footpath alongside the rock.
The path becomes a series of HUNDREDS of steps and you should only attempt this part of the trip if you have a good head for heights.
The steps often go alongside the cliffs with NO HANDRAIL. Please be careful.
On the way up you'll pass hundreds of seabirds (including puffins in season)
At the very top is an interesting Early Christian Monastery with wonderful views to Little Skellig
After this the boat takes you around Little Skellig - a HUGE Gannet Colony and you suddenly realise those white peaks are ALL Gannets.
A great trip and thoroughly recommended.
From Portmagee is a bridge to Valentia.
I suggest you also include Valentia Island on your trip - it takes about an hour to go round the island and is the best way to see
what Ireland was like 40 years ago. you may see sheep or goats in the road so drive safely. Knightstown is pretty
and the ruined church outside has very interesting monuments. There's a nice Grotto and interesting early Christian and pre-Christian buildings and remains.
Cahersiveen is an interesting town with good facilities and lots of nearby standing stones and an Oratory
Cross the bridge at the heritage centre and follow the cycle path for the most interesting things !
On through Kells (no not THE Kells .. another one !) and past Rossbeigh and Glenbeigh with super beaches to Killorglin.
Killorglin is a sleepy town except at PUCK FAIR - where it becomes a pretty fair re-run of the last days of the Roman Empire
This is a horse and Cattle Fair where the high point is the crowning of a HUGE Billy Goat as King Puck
(Actually it's all a bit Wicker Mannish and comes from a pre-Christian Pagan Festival and is immensely popular with tens of thousands of visitors
drinking huge quantities of Guinness and generally having a great time - OK I exaggerated the Roman last days bit but you
get the idea .... lots of drink and inter-sex fraternisation on a massive scale !!) Oh yes ... and it's FUN!

Side trips to the coast between Killorglin and Killarney are suggested for magnificent views of the Dingle Peninsula.
Turn off at Beaufort for the famous Gap of Dunloe and Jarvey trips in great countryside.
See Kate's Cottage and just go for a stroll and enjoy it.
On now to Killarney for a good bit of shopping at the huge discount centre next to the Railway and Bus Station.

Killarney is a good centre with loads of shops and restaurants and it gets VERY VERY BUSY in July and August.
There are branches of LIDL and TESCO supermarkets for stocking up for picnics etc.
On the N71 is a small signpost to Ross Castle which is spectacularly located on the lake and you can also go on boat trips on the lake.
Now you should head along the N71 road from Killarney to Muckross and visit Muckross House with lots to see and do at the House itself and the lovely gardens..
About 2K along the road is Torc Waterfall with a car park on the left hand side. Reasonably good access to this spectacular waterfall.
Please remember that while we have a really low crime rate you should NEVER leave valuables in your car.

You are now in the Killarney National Park with spectacular Mountains and Waterfalls. Most of the laybys are worth stopping at.
There's a small rock tunnel on a blind bend after about 5Km. Please approach it carefully .
Ladies View is the best known viewpoint with a panoramic view over the lakes back to Killarney.
Beware of coaches coming towards you as they often cut across the corners on these very winding roads.
Sheep are a major road hazard and may well fall asleep in the road.
You can even ADOPT A SHEEP - a scheme run by a local farmer to preserve rare mountain breeds.
Eventually you'll come to Molls Gap with a large souvenir centre and car park with good views where you take the left hand turn back to Kenmare.
Turn right at The Road to Sneem and Rockvilla is just a few minutes drive to a welcoming cup of tea !

All Photographs are COPYRIGHT (C) 2005 Keith Jones

This is my little commercial ! - When visiting the Ring of Kerry why not stay at our B&B - Rockvilla tel 064 41331 - just a few minutes drive out of Kenmare in Templenoe (on the road to Sneem)
Why stay in the noise of town when you can sleep peacefully in the countryside just a few minutes away ?
(And our food is EXCELLENT too !)