Well, driving in Ireland is turning out to be a little tighter than I imagined on some roads! We are headed to Kenmare this evening and then Dingle the next night. We had planned to drive ROK from Kenmare up to Dingle, but now I'm thinking maybe Beara would be less stressful driving (even though it would give us a longer drive up to Dingle).
So would anyone consider skipping ROK altogether in favor of Beara? Thanks in advance for your input.
The Beara peninsula is lovely and less traveled than the ROK. I don't remember either drive as stressful, but my husband really enjoys driving on the left and driving narrow twisting roads.
You could give yourself a day off from driving and instead do the Gap of Dunloe jaunting cars --return by boat tour. You can buy tickets in Killarney.
I have not done the Beara loop, so I can't really answer your question. However, I did want to say that we got a very early start on the Ring of Kerry, and it was not bad at all. We beat all the tour buses and saw very few other cars, and it was in the summer. So if you are willing to get out early, you may find the ROK is not bad at all. I'm sure the Beara loop would be less crowded (and it sounds really great), but you will still have to get from there to Dingle.
By the way, my husband hated driving on the narrow windy roads. It amazes me that anyone would enjoy it, but some people really do.
