Ireland Day 6 Ring of Kerry

The Ring of Kerry

Torc Falls Forest

We knew this was going to be a long day as the Ring of Kerry is a longer drive than Dingle.
I am not sure if we preferred The Dingle Peninsula  more because we had driven it first or it just didn't have the same amount of places we could pull off the road to view the landscape. Michelle, our local host in Killarney, was also recommending the Dingle Peninsula tour over the Ring of Kerry. Both are amazing though so what ever you decide will be good:) 

 

 

 

For what it is worth we drove the ring in a clockwise direction. The buses drive counter clockwise so the theory is if you follow the buses you won't come face to face with them and it is easier to follow the buses. We didn't do that. We wanted to see the Kerry Cliffs which the buses don't go to so we figured if we started off very early and go to the cliffs, we would miss them. It actually played out that way! So we didn't meet many buses at all.
 

The blue route is the regular route and I added the green arrows where we deviated and went to the Kerry Cliffs and Valentia Island. The deviation was worth the drive and actually was the highlight of the day of the Ring of Kerry.
There was an admission fee of 4 Euros each. You need to walk about 10 mins from the parking lot and it is pretty steep with about 4 lookout points. These cliffs are actually 300 feet higher than cliffs of Moher and far less touristy - maybe not as dramatic but definitely worth a look.

The Kerry Cliffs

 

The Behive Huts

We ate at Portmagee at Smugglers - great fish and chips and then drove over the bridge to Valentia Island and took the ferry back to the mainland at Knight's Town  and continued our Ring of Kerry drive from there. 

Before returning to our hotel we decided to visit Torc Waterfalls in Killarney National Park. It was late in the day with a mist in the air. The waterfalls were so pretty and the trees were so tall and majestic and covered in moss. Everything was just so neon green - a piper’s music added to the atmosphere- it was mystical.

 

Next Stop Dublin!

Sláinte
Penny and Dan