One day on the Ring of Kerry Itinerary

Having only one day on the Ring of Kerry we had to stick to a schedule. Finding all our top sights, stops and must sees to come up with a good plan. It’s hard to see it all in one day, but we were determined to do it. With an early start its possible to see so many of the best sights along the Ring of Kerry in Killarney, Ireland.

There are so many stops and sights to take in so we had to narrow it down to our must see views. I love using Google My Maps to help keep track of what locations peak our interest and then plan out a course and time frame from there. When planning out your own trip I would make sure you leave time for some stops you might not expect. Ireland is full of places you want to pull off the side of the road and admire the country’s beauty.

Breakfast at Bed and Breakfast

When researching places to stay I immediately starting looking for the typical Airbnb apartments and houses. But in Ireland I think it’s best to go for the B&Bs. These also can be found on Airbnb’s website. Most serve you a large Irish breakfast and buffet for a small fee or even include it free with your stay. This large breakfast gives you a great start to a full travel day. We often found our self still full from breakfast so we didn’t need to stop for a big lunch most of the time. We stayed in Killarney at the The Ardee House B&B. Click here for $40 off your first Airbnb stay!

Ballycarbery Castle

After a couple of pull off stops from Killarney we arrived at Ballycarbery Castle. I thought this would just be a quick stop and go. But we learned you can actually go inside and if not afraid of heights take a sketchy climb to walk along the second floor of the castle.

Portmagee/Valentia Island

Our next stop was Valentia Island, if you enter from Portmagee you can drive to the island without taking a ferry. Once on the island we took a left and immediately pulled off to take in a few views, pictured below.

On Valentia Island looking at Portmagee

Not even 300 feet from our last stop we spotted this incredible view.

Geokaun Mountain and Fogher Cliffs

I won’t lie, this was a little tricky to find as it wasn’t a location found on our car GPS and we didn’t splurge for cellular data to be able to use Google Maps. But having a hand held hiking GPS helped us find our way. This park has several pull offs where you can leave you car and complete a few small hikes/walks. Each overlook stop is connected by a quite steep gravel road, but we didn’t have much trouble in our basic 2 wheel drive rental car. This park has a booth charging 5 euros per car, make sure you have change. Our first stop was the Fogher Cliffs, pictured here.

It was quiet foggy so I am sure on a clear day you could see farther. Our next stop was an overlook on Knightstown. This park would be a great spot to stop for a packed lunch, it had many picnic tables available.

Lunch

We by passed a real lunch for a few snacks, as we ate a large breakfast but Knightstown and or Portmagee would be great places to stop for a quick bite.

Kerry Cliffs

Not far from Portmagee was our stop at the Kerry Cliffs. This is County Kerry’s version of the Cliffs of Moher. If does cost 4 euros per person, collected at a small booth. Some people complain of this charge but I believe it was money well spent. After parking the car and paying at the booth it is only a quick 5-10 minute walk to the cliffs. From here you can go left or right for different views. I would suggest trying to hit all the viewing spots. They were quiet incredible, and windy!

Skelligs Chocolate

Our next major stop was Skelligs Chocolate. This chocolate shop sits with view a great view of the ocean. They will literally give you a sampling of every chocolate in the shop. I love the variety they they have. We bought a few small boxes for souvenirs and gifts.

Moll’s Gap

Due to some road closures that would make our drive difficult we skipped Kenmare and drove through Moll’s Gap. This is more of a drive by area, with not too many places to pull off the road. At one point we stopped at a small store/restaurant with a few spots to check out the views.

Ladies View

Next was a quick stop at the famous ‘Ladies View’ viewing spot. We didn’t say long as we wanted to make it back in time for a tour and tasting at Killarney Brewing Company before dinner (read about our visit here).