Ring of Kerry vs dingle peninsula

Both beautiful. By September crowds and buses will have lessened. Personally, I prefer the Dingle Peninsula and Slea Head. Think Ryan's Daughter. If you're unfamiliar with that, it's a 1970 David Lean film with Robert Mitchum and Sara Miles,. If you've not heard of them, there's Netflix :-). Coast looks virtually the same. There's a good jaunt up to a celtic cross at Coumeenoole Beach with a nice view of the Basket Islands and the coast. If it's a day with sun and clouds, lovely to sit up there to watch the shadows play off the green coast hills. Try to visit the Gap of Dunloe, Killarney National Park and the Muckross House as well. These are between the Ring of Kerry and the Dingle Peninusla. Gap of Dunloe is unique. Hike it, walk it, drive it (wee tiny road) or hire a trap. If you have further questions about the area feel free to PM. Enjoy your visit.

To me it is definitely Dingle. Have been to ROK twice and three times Dingle and going back to Dingle again in October. Dingle is our favorite place in Ireland. By September a lot of crowds are gone.

I've done both and for me it's easy, Dingle without a doubt. Much less crowded and far more enjoyable.

I have not seen the Ring of Kerry-someday. We splurged a bit and got Denis Ryan of Dingle Tours to take us on a half day tour around the Dingle Peninsula. Best thing we did in Ireland! Having someone to do the driving frees you up to see the sights, not to mention learning the history of the area with a native son. Ventry, Dunbeg Fort, Coumeenole Beach, beehive huts (2 euro to the nice lady there so she can visit her grandchildren once a year in New York), Slea Head, Dunquin (buy your tour guide a tea and snack), Ballyferriter (see the charming West Kerry Museum there) and the Gallarus Oratory-it truly was the highlight of Ireland for us.

If you drive it on your own, just take your time and make lots of stops.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g211861-d1393516-Reviews-Dingle_Tours-Dingle_Dingle_Peninsula_County_Kerry.html

And here's Denis, explaining the long-short-long stacking pattern of the stones at Gallarus, a great tour.

Rick has always much preferred Dingle over the Ring of Kerry, mostly due to the crowds. If you choose Dingle, I'm sure you're not missing out in any way - it's idyllic.

Just got back and did both along with Skellig and Berea. First, we had very little traffic on any of them. But we also have beautiful weather, so our trip was unusual. I like the Kerry Ring mainly because I like the Skellig part (we stayed a night in Portmagee). I also loved Dingle (we stayed 2 nights there. We did not care that much for Berea, but we might have been tired of driving rings by then - but the east side of the gap drive on the Berea was frickin awesome. And, when you get to the top and see where you just drove it is unbelievable.

If I were going on season, I would lean Dingle if the crowds are thinner. I would definitely do the Gap drive on Dingle - really tight and really nice views.

I've been able to drive both the Ring of Kerry and the Dingle Peninsula . Both are beautiful! However, if I had to choose one, I would agree with the consensus, and would go with the Dingle Peninsula. There are many historical sights and I did not experience any crowds or congestion. In addition, the views are gorgeous! As time passes, my memories of the beauty of Ireland always include the various points along this peninsula, particularly around Slea Head. Enjoy Ireland!

Hi, just returned from our trip to Ireland. We did the Slea Head drive around Dingle Penninsula. It was spectacular. The views are just incredible. It is a much shorter ride than Kerry allowing us to go at our pace and explore. Easy driving, I would highly recommend it. We spent a few days in Killarney after Dingle and chose not to drive Ring of Kerry. As we thought about it, the water section of the Ring Drive is the same water views we saw in dingle, just from the other side. We chose instead to drive to Kenmare along that section of Ring of Kerry.

We did Dingle a few days a couple of weeks ago, Half the Kerry yo Port Magee, The Skellig Ring, the other half of the Kerry, and the Berra Ring.

We were early so there was little to no traffic anywhere. I really enjoyed Dingle but also enjoyed the Skellig a lot, but I think I enjoyed Doolin and the cliffs (more for the music and the pubs) were more fun. I would not do the Berra, though some people really like it. It is definitely like being in the sticks, but I live in the country, so the country is just the country - but I did love driving the Gap. That was a hoot, getting to the top and looking back at what you just drove. It looks like spaghetti.

If it's high season, I would do Dingle, if not, do both if you have the time, stay on the skellig and pray for clear skies. It;s in the only gold rated dark sky area in the Northern Hemisphere.

I'd do the Dingle Peninsula over Ring of Kerry. Are you driving or taking a tour bus?

We drove the Ring of Kerry and bicycled the Dingle. They were both awesome.

Both are great. We didn't encounter too much traffic on either; we were there late April. I would personally research the sites on each drive and see which ring has more sites that interest you. I can tell you that the ring forts and castles on the ROK are some of my favorite memories, but to each their own. :)

We drove the Ring of Kerry one day (Friday of the June Bank Holiday weekend) and the Dingle Peninsula the day after (Saturday). We actually had more issues finding a place to park on the Dingle drive, particularly at Coumeenoole where we had to back out of the access road to the lot and around a corner when there were no spaces and no place to turn around. We were also turned away from lunch at a pub in Ballyferriter because a tour bus had reserved the entire restaurant. Don't assume that Dingle will magically be more wild or idyllic than Kerry. I had assumed that buses wouldn't be able to negotiate the roads at the end of the Dingle Peninsula but they were there.

If you do Dingle, there is a great little lunch spot upstairs inside a pottery place on the Slea Head drive. I can't think of the name right off, but it's easy to find as it is rather isolated.

Definitely Dingle. Same view from other side. Go to the Blaskett Island Heritage Center and learn about a fascinating group of people who lived there.

Views are idyllic.