Dunquin or Valentia Island?

A lot depends on the relative merits of the B&B themselves. Dunquin is the more spectacular setting but being at the end of the peninsula is not a great base for exploring outside of Dingle. It would involve a lot of long drives. Valentia while not as spectacular itself is really beautiful, is close to the Ring of Kerry and the Skellig Ring, It's also right next to Portmagee and the boats to Skellig Michael. The spectacular Cliffs of Kerry (better than Moher) are a stone's throw. Wonderful small villages abound.....Knightstown, Portmagee, the Glen, Ballinskellig, Waterville, Cahairdaniel, Derrynane, Sneem etc. Insane scenery on the Skellig Ring and on the south side of the Ring of Kerry. There are Abbey ruins, ring forts, standing stones, castles, famine homes, beaches and Best of all a quiet wonderful area. Plus from Valentia there are ferries that can link you easily to other areas.

You wouldn't go wrong with Dunquin .... it's beautiful, there are villages and historic sites. I personally prefer the Skellig Ring area better.

Many B&B 's and cottage rentals charge for those things. It's usually a modest set amount. We've never been ripped off but I'd confirm the amounts beforehand.

Driving is so individualized but I really enjoy driving there. If you take your time, know that estimated driving times are wildly optimistic (double to be safe) it is safe and enjoyable. Make sure you get ALL insurance coverage, especially tire and windshield.....it's super easy to scrape a tire etc. I'd also recommend an automatic....it's worth the price.....shifting with the "wrong" hand is not fun on narrow roads at speed. That and have a good calm navigator who can calmly remind you to stay to the left ! Actively encourage backseat driving. Driving yourself, setting YOUR pace and picking your interests is vastly preferable......but tours are a fine option. I'd hire a private driver over latching on to a tour bus if you do go that rout.

You can't really go wrong. Ireland IS magical if you give yourself quiet time, don't rat race to try and see everything.....and take time to Really interact with the amazing people. Finding a great cafe, having a scone and talking with the owner/baker is every bit as wonderful as seeing a big tourist site, better even. We are reserved folks but the Irish people have teased us, laughed with us, invited us into their homes and made everyday encounters treasured memories.

You are doing everything right...picking a couple spots to really immerse yourself in and NOT flying around the country trying to see everything and in the process missing most of it. Have a great trip ! Either spot works but my vote is for Valentia !!!!!

Ewewoolknit,

Thank you, thank you, thank you! This is EXACTLY the kind of advice I was looking for....you are a treasure trove of information on this forum!

So, this is what I'm thinking...

• Arrive at Shannon and stay overnight in a nearby B&B to recover from jet lag, get my bearings, and practice driving, lol.
• Drive to Liscannor and stay in an Airbnb within walking distance to the Cliffs of Moher. Spend 4 days exploring that area, including the Cliffs, the Burren, Doolin, etc.
• Drive from Liscannor to Adare and stay overnight there.
• Drive from Adare to Valentia Island. Stay in an Airbnb and spend 4 days there exploring the Southwest coast, including some of the areas you mentioned.
• Drive back to Shannon airport and drop off the rental car. Stay overnight at the airport Radisson and walk to the terminal the next morning for my flight.

How does that sound? I don't want to spend long stretches at a time driving since I am a solo traveler (friends and family are not interested in travel, lol). I won't have a navigator or anyone else to help with driving. That's also why I was thinking of an organized tour of the Ring of Kerry. I read that the roads are narrow and kind of scary, and I want to be able to enjoy the scenery. I have resigned myself to the expense of an automatic car with ALL insurance included.

Do you have any tweaks or suggestions to the above itinerary? All recommendations and ideas are appreciated.

Thanks again!

Looks good....with lots of interesting things in the areas your going.

The Cliffs of Moher are beautiful but very tourist overrun and will only be a couple hours visiting. You might want to take one of the Cliff Boat tours from Doolin to. They are short tours, not expensive and are pretty impressive with great views of sea birds. There is a very inexpensive shuttle bus service that runs you all over Doolin and the Cliffs of Moher area. You just hop on and off with a pass. There is great trad music in Doolin. We enjoyed McGanns pub......awesome Irish stew to !
While in that area you might enjoy a day trip from Doolin out to the Aran islands. A cart or van ride round the island is wonderful.....the ancient fort of Dun Anghosa is spectacular with cliff views I liked better than Moher. It's a fun day.
As far as driving, the roads at first are scary being so narrow. The Irish know how to drive it though and as long as you take your time and let them lead as far as passing etc you will be fine. Great idea though to acclimate to it gradually. I dreaded it going in....now love it. Even the super narrow roads really aren't bad at all.
Dropping off the car and then walking is great. If your rental car drop off is outside the airport - ours is....we use and love Easirent.....almost all companies will drive you back to the airport or hotel.
An organized drive for The Ring of Kerry can work well. Hopefully Susan from Waterville will post, she knows private drivers who are far more flexible and interesting than the big tour buses. On our first trip we did the tour bus and found it super frustrating being herded along when we wanted to linger or being stuck at a spot we wanted to move on from. The private driver is great, always flexible and will give you fantastic history, background and tips for other things to see or do in the area........ if you decide driving yourself is too much.
Things to do we loved in Valentia area......too many to list but extreme highlights.....eco boat tour of skellig Michael......wonderous views and countless sea birds. Ring forts near Cahairseveen and Sneem....Not even slightly touristy and since we love history being able to sit there and soak in the quiet haunting feel of those places will always live with me......Cliffs of Kerry, the dark sky preserve....if you get a clear night...stay up !!!!! Fresh scones and teabrack with fresh ground hot chocolate, and most if all the people !!!!
Have a great trip. It's cool seeing someone plan it so well !

Your suggestions sound great! I will print this page to take with me. Any names of private drivers would be helpful....I will probably decide how to do the ROK tour once I get there. I may have other questions as time gets closer. I'm planning the last week of May/first week of June.

If you’ve decided to stay in the area of Valentia Island, you may consider looking at AirBnb’s near Portmagee as well. It’s a bit more convenient for exploring the mainland, including the Ring of Kerry. It only takes a few minutes to drive from there to the island itself and about 45 minutes to drive to Knightstown on the upper end of the island. Valentia Island is a wonderful place to explore, and there are some nice hikes to scenic coastal views. The Skellig Museum just across from Portmagee is worth a visit.

I found a very pleasant place about 10 minutes from Portmagee located in a scenic setting with a beautiful view.

https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/6608206

Consider the hawk walk at Ashford castle or in Adare. I also suggest Susan from Waterville for excellent advice. You could ask her questions by private pm.

Fantastic!

And here comes Susan from Waterville with her comments.... ;-)

There is so much to do around Valentia/Portmagee/Skellig Ring as you now know! You may want to look at Ballinskelligs and Cahersiveen for AirBnB as well. There are some pretty ones outside of the villages in that area!

I love Dingle, but I think the Ring of Kerry/Skellig Coast region has so much more to offer. I'd also add Top of the Rock near Cahersiveen to great viewing. Geokaun Cliffs on Valentia Island; the fab Kerry Cliffs! Enjoy it all! The good thing about being nearby is that the weather is rarely miserable all day! ;-) Today is was foggy and misty but is clearing out..... so the Ring of Kerry bus tour people saw nothing; but those staying nearby will enjoy a great sunset! A great reason to slow down and enjoy the area....

I'm getting ready to set up an air BnB soon (oh it takes forever to close on a house in Ireland!!!) so have been doing research. Yes it is common to charge a fee for heat/electric. Electricity is VERY expensive here, (a friend's bill was 700 euros for 2 months in a small 2 bedroom apartment last month) and many places have the meter read in front of you so you can see they're not ripping you off. That said, some don't so just add up fees/etc. I stayed in two AirB&B's recently and the fees at one made the good price not so good at the end of the day.... (this was Virginia!) So pull out the calculator!

I know my friend Sarah who has an AirBnb in Waterville doesn't charge extra fees, but AirBnB constantly send her messages saying she's charging above the average... blah blah blah..... She may be above average but everyone loves it and they like not having the unknown for fuel!! The Irish government charges a hefty tax on those of us that have AirBnb so keep in mind it's not all going in the pocket of the host! Even when I book an AirBnB in Virginia the Irish government gets a tax.... crazy....

I went to visit new friends in an AirBnB here in Waterville - they were from :Pennsylvania. The place was roasting hot!!! they had the heater on full blast... so wow! I can see why some owners want to not subsidize that type of fuel usage!

Susan
Expat living in Waterville/Skellig Coast

Wow! Great information everyone...I really appreciate it!

I have already made some decisions and booked Airbnbs in Liscannor and Valentia Island based on the advice I've received here :)
However, I'm thinking about tweaking the itinerary above a little. Rather than driving from Liscannor through Limerick to Adare, I was thinking about driving along the coastal highway and taking the Killimer-Tarbert ferry to Co. Kerry, perhaps staying somewhere like Listowel or Tralee before departing for Valentia Island the next day. I thought that might be a more interesting and scenic route, especially since I would be traveling through Adare and Limerick on my return to Shannon.

Does that sound like a good plan? Also, I've read different opinions about the best road maps to get. I will have a free GPS system with the rental car I am booking, but I've read it's also helpful to have a map. Any suggestions for something that would be easy to use for a solo driver, or would the GPS unit be sufficient?

Regarding the Ring of Kerry tour, I am still thinking about what to do there. I guess my initial thought was that it might be nice to take a group tour since I will be traveling alone the rest of the time. Are there any smaller bus tours that are a little more intimate than the large motor coaches? I don't know if it would be a little awkward to have a private driver since it's just me ;) Would it be better to drive on my own and go the opposite route of the tour buses?

Keep the advice and opinions coming! I am soaking them all in and will be sure to take advantage of many of your suggestions!

Several of the private driver operators will gladly group a few folks together for the ride as long as you're a bit flexible on times. Can totally understand it might be a bit awkward to go alone....but these drivers are well used to it and are great at putting you at your ease......it's what they do.

Also dont worry too much about navigating the ROK and the tour buses. They know how to handle traffic. Just take your time and pull over. More fun that way anyway....you can take your time and make your own timetable. Early - before 9:30 is good......the buses aren't out yet......and later in the day they are gone. But really it's not a big worry.

The Skellig Ring has NO big tour buses on it at all - at any time - which makes it an extra wonderous place !

Your other coastal route sounds fine though would clearly take longer. It's a pretty route .....my wife drove part of that with me battling a flu bug in the passenger seat. So what I remember of it.....other than how great Lemsip is for a cold - was that it was very pretty.

You're going to have a great time !!!! Even casual conversations with the great Irish people make ordinary moments into magical ones. No matter how reserved you may feel at times......they will make you feel more than welcome.

Btw.....we found the Skellig Ring area really cleared out of the moderate to small amount of tourists that were there by dinner time......and being at the beach at The Glen or Ballinskellig or the Cliffs of Kerry and watching a sunset was fantastic in all ways !!!!

If you do that coast road, it's fantastic! Beauty at every turn! Check out some pdf maps on most of the counties websites. For example: http://www.clareireland.net/atlanticway.htm - see what you want than print screen if the pdf isn't available!

Also if you go to Listowell --- The Listowell Arms Hotel is wonderful, charming, and very old feel ireland (but renovated so great showers/beds/etc). I go there for Toastmasters and I've stayed there 3 times. It's a gem. Very literary bar - John B. Keane lived in Listowell. A wonderful little town....

Susan
Expat living in Waterville/Skellig Coast

Ewewoolknit, good idea about joining others for a private driver.

Susan, I think it was mentioned earlier that you might have suggestions for private drivers. Do you know anyone who might group passengers together? Also, thanks for the great map! I will look for maps of each of the counties I will be visiting.

I looked into the Listowell Arms Hotel earlier, but it's booked on the date I would need (June 1st). Will have to look for other options.

Thanks to both of you!

Liannm,

When you say "booked for the dates you wanted" be sure you're checking with the hotel directly. Many people use Booking.com or Expedia, when they really only pre-buy a handful of rooms. Even when it shows SOLD OUT on TripAdvisor, Booking, etc -- there are often rooms from the hotel, directly!

I actually met - face to face - a tour bus operator/man who's been following me on Twitter for ages. Ted Kennedy (haha!) from Kennedy's Taxi and Tours. He and his daughter (girls rock!) have 4 (i think) vans (with trailers for luggage if needed) and they do tours ALL OVER Ireland. I had previously thought they just did Iveragh peninsula - I am wrong! I was asking him lots of questions based on this Rick Steves forum sight... He seems knowledgeable and has a VERY NICE selling point which is: he used to be a lighthouse keeper! So he knows many nooks and crannies along the coasts, where other tours may not go.... he will be creative with tours, and certainly work with you! I really enjoyed talking to him - he's the kind of many you would enjoy being with for hours a day (which you are, on a tour!).

Ted Kennedy & Mairead Kennedy
www. KennedyBus.ie
Maireadkennedy@hotmail.com
087-205-1527 from Ireland; +353-87-205-1527 from the USA.

Hope this helps!

Susan
Expat living in Waterville/ skellig Coast

Susan,

I checked directly with the Listowell Arms Hotel and several other B&B's in Listowell, and everything is booked on June 1st. There must be something going on at that time - Writer's Week, perhaps? Any other suggestions for places to stay between Liscannor and Valentia Island if I take the coastal route? Tralee?

Thanks for providing the information on Mr Kennedy! I will make note of his contact information and let him know that he was recommended by the famous Susan from Waterville! Thanks again for all your help - you are a wealth of information!

Liann