Driving the Ring of Kerry : The ultimate Irish road trip

What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you think of Ireland? For me it was driving through lush green open fields, through the narrow winding roads kissing the coast and being surrounded by sheep farms. Ghosh! I even dreamt of being stuck in a car behind hundreds of sheep being herded off the roads. Ireland is ALL of this! It was a place directly out of a postcard. You will quickly realize that this is the place where your wildest dreams would come true. 

There are so many ways to explore Ireland – tour buses, driving or taking local transportation from one town to another. If there is one country where you should consider driving (if you are comfortable), it must be Ireland! That is not to say that you cannot get around without a car but having one is recommended. You can set your own pace and you can stop where you want. Ireland has so much beauty at every turn and corner that you will want to make multiple stops along the way. Afterall, the journey is as much fun as the destination… specially in Ireland. 

A bit about driving in Ireland

Ireland is a driver’s paradise. But driving on the left-hand side is not everyone’s cup of tea. Make sure you are comfortable with left-hand driving and get used to it before making your way to the Ring of Kerry loop or the Slea Head Drive in the Dingle Peninsula. The drives are some of the most scenic roads we have driven on in the world, but the roads are narrow. You need to be comfortable driving on narrow roads!

TIP: Because of the amount of driving involved in Ireland, you will likely be in a new hotel every night. Consider packing carry-ons only for this trip. We traveled with the kids in carry-ons only and we were able to assort our bags every few days to make sure we were only taking one carry-on bag to our hotel room every night rather than hauling all our luggage. To read more about how we packed everything in our carry-ons only, click here!

The Ring of Kerry Drive

Out of the numerous beautiful coastal drives that Ireland is so famous for, the Ring of Kerry route is on top of the list. It is world-famous for a reason, and it is also one of the biggest reasons tourists rent a car in Ireland. 

The Ring of Kerry starts in a town called Killarney and it is 179km loop that takes you through the rugged coast of Ireland, massive open fields, the Burren’s, small coastal towns and some breathtaking scenery and cliffs. There is also an extension to the Ring of Kerry loop. It is called the Skellig Ring. If time permits, this ring is worth a visit. One of the highlights of the Skellig Ring is the Kerry Cliffs! 

If you have some time to spare, plan to drive the Ring of Kerry loop. If not, keep reading this post to see which part of the drive was the prettiest and set some time aside for at least this part! 

Ring of Kerry map

Now that we have concluded that driving the Ring of Kerry is the best way to explore this area, are you trying to google all about the Ring of Kerry drive or wondering where IS the Ring of Kerry? This map of the Ring of Kerry shows you the 179km loop that starts and ends in the town of Killarney. The loop includes driving through the Killarney National Park and has some beautiful coastal towns along the loop that you can stop at. 

While we were driving the loop, we saw quite a few people cycle the Ring of Kerry loop. If this is something you are interested in doing, it is a great option to soak in all the beauty. You can also walk the Ring of Kerry or there are numerous options for Ring of Kerry tours that leave from multiple towns from around Ireland. These were not viable options for us because we were traveling with our 4- and 3-year-old girls, and I am quite positive they would have not enjoyed walking or cycling for 179kms!

What is the Ring of Kerry

So, what is Ring of Kerry and why is it so famous? The Ring of Kerry drive is filled with lakes, waterfalls, rivers, Castles, white sandy beaches and so much more! It is the N70 road that runs through the Iveagh Peninsula. Some towns included in the Ring of Kerry loop are Killarney, Beaufort, Killorglin, Glenbeigh, Cahersiveen, Waterville, Catherdaniel, Sneem and Kenmare. Although you do not need to stop at each of these towns, it’s fun driving through them, nonetheless. 

There are a few options if you plan to drive here. We drove from Killarney to Ring of Kerry loop, but you can drive from Dingle to Ring of Kerry as well. Adding in the Skellig Ring extension was one of the best decisions because of the spectacular views on this road. We ended the loop in Kenmare and made our way south to the town of Kinsale.

Our plan was to spend the evening in Kinsale and then drive up to Cork to settle for the night. Backtracking to Killarney did not make sense for us. I had hoped to stay the night in Kinsale but due to lack of accommodations in this tiny town, we chose to stay overnight in Cork which was only 45 minutes from Kinsale. 

How long is the Ring of Kerry?

The Ring of Kerry loop is a 179km loop and a most of the drive is along the Wild Atlantic Way. It is often a narrow and winding road and can be completed in 5-6 hours if you are planning to make some stops along the way. That is all the time we had before we knew the girls would start getting flustered sitting in the car and so, we made the most of the time we had there.

Although some will arguably say that this time is nowhere close to enough, I beg to differ! Although more time would have been nicer, we did not feel rushed and stopped at all the stops we had planned. When you are traveling for a certain number of days due to limited vacation days at work, you make the most of what you have.

We stopped at some of the towns and drove through some. We stopped at every viewpoint and took advantage of every photo op we got! We drove the Skellig Ring and spend an hour at the Kerry Cliffs hiking up to both the viewpoints. 

All in all, we were satisfied with all our stops and would not have added anymore even if we had the time. We had 8 days in Ireland and if I did have left over time, I would have driven to Northern Ireland instead of spending more time at the Ring of Kerry.

If you do choose to spend more time here, there are tons of hotels on the Ring of Kerry where you can spend an overnight. You can also tour Ring of Kerry through coach buses. In fact, the Ring of Kerry bus tours are quite popular. Click here if you are looking for bus tour options! You can also spend some time to hike on the beautiful trails on the Ring of Kerry. All in all, the Ring of Kerry distance makes it a manageable drive in a day. 

TIP: If you are planning to drive, try to drive clockwise. Tour buses drive anti-clockwise, and you can be stuck behind one on those narrow roads. They can obstruct the beautiful views of this drive and it is not ideal! We drove anti-clockwise because of where we were geographically located but started driving earlier in the morning and were able to beat the buses and the crowds.  

Ring of Kerry stops

Along the drive, you will find many famous attractions. Some of these include:

• Gap of Dunloe
• Killarney National Park
• Ross Castle
• Derrynane beach
• Staigue Fort
• Molls Gao
• Ladies View
• Torc Waterfall
• Muckross House
• Kenmare
• Cahersiveen
• Portmagee
• Skellig Islands
• Skellig Ring
• Kerry Cliffs

In addition to these tourist attractions, there are multiple viewpoints along the way that you can stop at. Some of our best views of the stunning scenery on the Ring of Kerry were from these viewpoints or by randomly stopping on the side of the road when we were able to. Although we had around 5 hours to drive this loop, we were able to stop at more stops than we had planned.

We added the Skellig Ring drive while on the road because we really wanted to visit the Kerry Cliffs. These cliffs will not disappoint. The crowds were much less than the Cliffs of Moher and we thoroughly enjoyed our visit here. Check out the map to see the Skellig Ring extension (coloured in purple).

Burning question: Dingle Peninsula vs Ring of Kerry loop

It is hard to pick one or the other because of the contrast in landscapes we saw during both our drives. In my honest opinion, if I had time to do ONE of these drives, I would pick the Slea Head Drive if I had less time. Read our post on driving through the Dingle Peninsula to understand what was so mesmerizing about the Peninsula. 

Don’t get me wrong, the Ring of Kerry drive is stunning, but the north portion of the loop is through open fields and the Burren’s. If you wish to see the Burren’s, then the northern part of the loop is great! If you want to see open fields, I saw prettier fields on the Slea Head Drive. 

The true beauty of the Ring of Kerry drive started from the Skellig Ring through the south. If time permits, try to at least drive through the southern part of the loop. Again, this is my opinion based on what I like to see. Afterall, beauty does lie in the beholder’s eyes! 

Final thoughts

The Ring of Kerry drive is worth it. Up until the last minute, I was hoping to either drive on the Slea Head Drive in the Dingle Peninsula or the Ring of Kerry. Both these drives were on back-to-back days for us, and I was worried about the girls due to the long drive times.

We ended up doing both and they were absolutely fine. We had tons of snacks for them, their IPad’s were fully charged, and they enjoyed the road trip just as much as we did. We did not bring them out of the car for quick stops but did for the longer ones. This gave them time to stretch and soak in the beauty of the Emerald Isle

I hope you enjoyed reading about Ireland’s most famous and known drive. If you are planning a trip to Ireland and time permits, keep at least half a day for this drive. If not, consider driving on the Slea Head Drive in the Dingle Peninsula. Whatever you choose, you will not be disappointed. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to us!