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Ring of Kerry - spread across two days?

Posted by (Seattle, WA, USA ☔️) on

The Ring of Kerry drive sounds great, and we're definitely planning to include that on our all-too-short visit to west Ireland in July 2019. I see some logistical challenges (below) that make me think we would enjoy it most if we spread the ROK drive across two different days - I'd welcome insights and opinions from those who have been there and know the area.

One of the logistical challenges I see is myself: I like to shoot a lot of photos. Give me a pile of old stones, an evocative, lonely, remote, wind- and wave-swept vista, and I'll be happy as a clam for hours. I'm pretty sure there will be enough of that to keep me busy for a lot more than one day. In Rick's book, and in posts on the forum, everyone says the ROK is awesome but it makes for a pretty long day. Knowing myself, I can easily imagine that I might find it hard to do it all in a single day.

Logistical challenge #2 is it's location, in relation to other things. Specifically, in relation to the jumping-off ports for Skellig Michael. I am thinking of making an attempt to do the Skellig Michael landing trip. I understand all about the fact that it's not guaranteed (boats don't always go, and those that go don't always land, I get it). All common sense says that to maximize your chances, book far in advance, and spend the night prior to your attempt in/near Portmagee. Portmagee looks like as good a place as any to break up the ROK experience if one wanted to split it into two days.

So what I'm pondering is this...allocate two days for all of the following: Day 1, starting in Dingle, get a very early start, head for Kenmare, and do the first part of the ROK drive, going Clockwise - getting an early start (better photos, fewer people in them, more time to wander off and explore), but only go as far as Portmagee. Spend the night in Portmagee. Day 2, get up early and try for the Skellig Michael landing trip. If the trip goes, we get back to Portmagee around 2:30 pm - which should allow enough time to finish the remainder of the ROK and drive on to somewhere around Killarney. If the landing trip doesn't happen, then the whole day can be dedicated to rocks and cliffs and an earlier arrival in Killarney. The following day we would jump on the train and head back to Dublin.

My questions...

  1. Does breaking up the ROK into two days seem like a reasonable plan (possibly 1 and a half days, if the Skellig Michael trip works out)?

  2. Is this a reasonable way to try to do both, if one is trying to incorporate a shot at Skellig Michael?

  3. Assuming we get to do the Skellig Michael trip, and we are returned to the mainland around 2:30, does that leave adequate time to complete the second portion of the ROK, and leave enough time to get to Killarney at a reasonable hour? We will be there in early July, so I expect the benefit of long midsummer days.

  4. Is Portmagee the best place for our overnight given the proposed plan? For the overnight, I'm also looking at St. Finian's Bay (looks like a lovely, deserted beach) a bit further south/east, and possibly Ballinskelligs still further south/east (mostly because the name sounds great). Portmagee seems like it's the most practical choice - no?

  5. Any Big Important Thing that I'm completely neglecting here?

Thanks for your insights on this interesting corner of Ireland.

Posted by
8141 posts

The Ring of Kerry is just a half day trip. We stayed outside of Waterville in April and drove the Ring counterclockwise--the preferable direction. It is a very beautiful drive.
There are a bunch of really great bed and breakfasts in the area, and they're easily found on Booking.com and other internet sights. Another way to find accommodations is to go into Google Maps and find a town or region. Then Hit Control "+" three or four times to magnify the map and look for the "bed" icons. Click on it and you can get on their direct websites.
If you spend a couple of nights in the area, you'll have time to do whatever you wish. Distances aren't all that great down there. The area is also pretty quiet.

Posted by
2822 posts

Per your other posts it appears that you're driving down from Galway and want to see both Dingle and the ROK.
One way to economize your movements, ie to unpack once and be done with it for several days, is to find a location that's central enough to permit easy access by car for short day trips. One suggestion is the look at the stretch between Castlemain and Glenbeigh. From there it's less than an hour by car to Portmagee, the Skellig Ring, The Gap of Dunloe, Dingle and the NP over in Killarney.
There are some very nice cottages available here: http://www.kerry-coastal-cottages.com/Properties/Menu.html. Some with thatched roofs in beautiful settings.
St Finian's bay would be a great choice too, with the added advantage of being close to the Skellig Ring. As with most places in Ireland I'd suggest arriving early (before 9:00 AM when the buses start to arrive at the Gap for example) to have the places to yourself for your photos. For someplace like the Kerry Cliffs later in the afternoon would be the best time.

Posted by
6788 posts

The Ring of Kerry is just a half day trip. We stayed outside of Waterville in April and drove the Ring counterclockwise--the preferable direction. It is a very beautiful drive...
...If you spend a couple of nights in the area, you'll have time to do whatever you wish. Distances aren't all that great down there. The area is also pretty quiet.

Thanks, David. Re "clockwise or counterclockwise", Rick's book advises to go CLOCKWISE (although some editions of one book had a misprinted reference which contradicted the other recommendations - as luck would have it, I have one of those books) - this was addressed by a staff member to clarify that they recommend doing the drive clockwise...per the Ireland Guidebook Update page:

For those driving the Ring of Kerry, we recommend driving clockwise (not counterclockwise) around the Ring to avoid the gridlock often caused by tour buses.

If you disagree, and suggest going counter-clockwise (I believe the locals would say, "anti-clockwise") can you explain why?

Although we have limited time in the area, we do like to get out and take a LOT of photos. I can easily eat up hours this way, so I'm thinking that there's enough here to keep me busy for more than a day. Plus I'm trying to make an attempt at Skellig Michael, so need to stay somewhere near the boat ports. All that suggests I split the ROK/ROS across two days (or at least a day-and-a-half if we are successful in doing the Skellig Michael landing).

Thanks.

Posted by
6788 posts

One suggestion is the look at the stretch between Castlemain and Glenbeigh. From there it's less than an hour by car to Portmagee, the Skellig Ring, The Gap of Dunloe, Dingle and the NP over in Killarney.

Great idea, thanks for the suggestion.

There are some very nice cottages available here:
http://www.kerry-coastal-cottages.com/Properties/Menu.html. Some with
thatched roofs in beautiful settings.

Those do look great. Only rub I see is that it looks like these rent by the week. At most, we would need 5 nights, if we could find a good location that would be "close enough" to all the places we're contemplating. That might be possible. It's also possible that a week-long cottage rental might end up less expensive than renting 4 or 5 different places by the night. I'll need to run some numbers to see.

As with most places in Ireland I'd suggest arriving early (before 9:00
AM when the buses start to arrive at the Gap for example) to have the
places to yourself for your photos. For someplace like the Kerry
Cliffs later in the afternoon would be the best time.

Oh yea, I get up early on those days when there are great photos to be had, but lots of others may be there too (worst experience ever: the Charles River Bridge in Prague at about 6 am, swarming with photographers already!). We will be early risers on those days when we have to beat the crowds to popular places.

Thanks for the insights and advice.

Posted by
71 posts

I just returned from Ireland, and we did the ROK in 2 nights. We drove from Kinsale to the ROK, and we drove the first half of the ROK the first day. We stopped in Sneem and Waterville before arriving at our Airbnb in Ballinskelligs. This was the perfect halfway point to stay for us. We spent 2 nights in Ballinskelligs. We drove to the Cliffs of Kerry (less touristy than the Cliffs of Moher), Portmagee and on to Valentia Island, where we spent the day at the Skellig Center, Valentia Lighthouse and Geokaun Mountain and Fogher Cliffs (recommended by our host). Stunning views. On the day we departed, we drove the remainder of the ROK (Caherdaniel, Kilorgin, etc.) on our way to the Dingle Peninula where we stayed for 4 nights.

Posted by
33 posts

We visited Ireland in September/October and did something very similar to what you are suggesting. We booked our landing tour of Skellig Michael the February before, knowing, as you outline, we had one shot at it and either were going to get to land or not. We drove to Portmagee, spent the night, went on the landing tour, then drove the rest of the way around the ring. I think we got back from the Skelligs around 2 pm or so.

Fortunately for me, we got lucky - not only did we get to land, but we had a beautiful sunny day and mild temperatures for hiking up to the huts. We were one of three days that were able to land in the 2 weeks leading up to the end of the season on 9/30. If you get the chance, go! This was the best place for photos on the whole trip - I took so many photos up there. Bonus, for my friends that didn't go, I had cell service and texted them live photos to show what they were missing ; ).

This was one of the trip highlights for me and I'd go again in a minute.

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