I’m going to be taking my daughter to England and Ireland later this year. Unfortunately she only has two weeks available and wants to see both. We are starting in England after a week we will fly from London to Shannon. I would like to spend 3 nights in Dingle and was wondering how feasible it is to drive the Ring of Kerry one day, and have the other day for Dingle and driving around the Dingle Peninsula. We will have two other two nights stops and I would prefer not to do a one nighter somewhere. We will be departing from Dublin. Thanks for any advice you can give.
Posted by
Virginia
46 posts
My opinion, you wouldn't enjoy it.
We did Ring of Kerry in two days and still didn't see it all and felt rushed. We started in Kenmare and spent the night at Waterville (which we loved). We continued on but got off of the Ring of Kerry at Killoglin and took the ferry toward Dingle with was another 2+ hours pending ferry departure. So we didn't even get to see the entire Ring of Kerry.
Posted by
Lincolnshire, UK
2280 posts
Jeanine, I’m a bit confused about your mention of a ferry at Killoglin. I wasn’t aware there was a ferry there... It is just over 30 miles to drive from Killoglin to Dingle, so would take just under an hour.
It is perfectly feasible to do the Ring of Kerry in one day - after all the tour buses do as well as many tourists with their own transport. A lot may depend on how many stops you want to make.
Likewise Dingle and Slea Head drive can also be done in a day.
For the remaining two night stop, it would make sense to head back towards Dublin. Possibly either Rock of Cashel/Cahir area or Kilkenny?
Posted by
OP
Sacramento, California U.S.A.
10599 posts
Thank you for your comments, wasleys.
I’ve been to Dingle twice and drove the Slea Head drive both times. It’s definitely doable in a day. I thought if we spend three nights in Dingle (family heritage there and my daughter wants to see it) we could see at least part of the Ring of Kerry. I’ve not been there yet and would like to see some new things. My daughter has also expressed an interest in Inishmore and Newgrange. We are flying out of Dublin. We could spend two nights in Rossaveal to have a day on Inishmore, then stop at Newgrange on the way to Dublin. We would have 2 nights there, so one full day before our very early flights. If she doesn’t care about Dublin I thought about reversing the order and going from Shannon to Rossaveal, then Dingle and a night in Kilkenny with a stop at the ROC on the way. We could easily go to Newgrange after leaving Kilkenny before spending the night at an airport hotel. I’m going to be seeing her this coming weekend and I’m trying to gather all the information she needs to make a decision. I’ve been to all these places except the Ring of Kerry and she may never have another opportunity to go to Europe so I want her to see what is important to her.
Posted by
Lincolnshire, UK
2280 posts
You can see a lot of the Ring of Kerry in a day, especially of you have a plan of what you want to see.
Newgrange - You don't need to prebook the Visitor Centre, but do need to prebook if you want to include a tour of Newgrange itself. You can't just turn up. The tickets can sell out quickly.
Apart from that it sounds as if you have a plan!
Posted by
OP
Sacramento, California U.S.A.
10599 posts
Wasleys, thanks for reminding me about the need for reservations. I’ll have to see how early I can do that. We would be there in the beginning of September.
Posted by
Virginia
46 posts
@Wasleys my mistake. I was mixing up the Ring of Kerry with the Slae Head loop. We got off of the Ring of Kerry at Killorglin, so didn't complete the loop, and headed to Dingle. The ferry was between Dingle and Doolin, not between Killorglin and Dingle. My apologies. It was a couple of years ago and somethings have run together. I just remembered that we didn't get to see it all, even though we spent most of two days. Also you could drive it in one day, but we enjoy stopping and seeing things. Our favorite stop was the cliffs of Kerry. We actually like them more than the cliffs of Mohr.
Posted by
Auburn, CA
19 posts
Hello...this travel forum is such a great resource to calm everyone's travel nerves...so my question is this...we've been debating renting a car or take a Viator bus tour to drive the Ring of Kerry from our hotel in Kilarney, including a stop at Muckross and Dingle(where we have family also). We're spending 3 nights in Kilarney. My son went to Dingle and Kerry about ten years ago, and he said the roads are very narrow on the Ring of Kerry, and when a bus drives by, you almost have to drive into the hedges to squeeze by....I find that hard to believe tho....we're adventurous, and have no problem renting a car and going on our own...and also everyone online says to drive counter clockwise on the Ring of Kerry and go early to avoid the buses...true? Thanks in advance folks!
Posted by
1585 posts
Ken, it would be best if you started a new thread to ask your questions. That way you receive the answers, not Andrea. Having said that I will quickly say that the primary roads on the RoK have been widened to allow oncoming vehicles to pass each other. I personally prefer driving the RoK and Dingle clockwise since then you can pull in and out of the viewpoints without crossing oncoming traffic.
Posted by
Colorado Springs
2980 posts
Trotter is quite right. Ireland used a lot of EU infrastructure improvement money years ago to address most of the issues along the ROK. Today it's really no big deal.
Driving yourselves around is the preferred way to go I think - you'll have much more freedom of movement than relying on a canned tour. Plus, with a car you could base yourselves outside of Killarney rather than in the city itself with all of the associated congestion that goes with it.