Hello, My adult son and I are traveling together this summer and we are spending our first night outside of Dublin in Kenmare. We planned to spend the second night in Portmagee because we booked a boat tour to Skellig Michael the next day and the Rick Steves book indicated it was best not to try to drive the 2 hours to Portmagee from Kenmare the day of the boat tour. That being said, we only have a day in the Kenmare / Killarney area and there are so many things we want to see especially since we would like to horseback ride in Kenmare and/ or take a hike/boat/jaunty tour in the Killarney national park. Should we stick with the plan to head to Portmagee at the end of our day in Kenmare or should we try to spend a second night there and drive the Ring of Kerry to Portmagee early the next day.
Posted by
Seattle, WA, USA ☔️
6790 posts
Rick's advice is sound. If you want to have a chance to do the Skellig Michael landing trip, I think it's best to spend the night before in (or close to) Portmagee (closer than Kenmare).
Of course, there's no guarantee your boat will go the next day to make the landing, but you will get the go/no-go decision from them the morning of your scheduled trip, so you don't want to be far away if they do say "go".
Posted by
Colorado USA
75 posts
A follow up question: If one were doing an Eco tour in the afternoon, not landing on the island, would you get the "go/no go" that morning, or just prior to departure time? And if your trip is later in the day, would it really be necessary to spend the night nearby? Thanks!
Posted by
Colorado Springs
2980 posts
The tours that circle the islands depart from the Skellig Visitor Center across the bridge from Portmagee. They're small craft (12 passengers max) and so are very much sea-state dependent. They will still go out if it's rough (Capt's decision whether it's safe or not) but you may not want to be aboard when they do - 2 hours of seasickness is a crummy way to spend an afternoon.
There didn't seem to be any problem just walking up and buying a ticket when we visited, but that may have changed post Covid. Best to call ahead that morning for an updated weather forecast and to make a booking if you decide to give it a go.
Unless you want to be on the first boat out in the morning (not a bad idea since the sea state is typically at its most benign) there's no need to stay overnight nearby.