The Atlantic Companion · Wild Atlantic Way · Kerry
The Ring of Kerry is the tourist road around the Iveragh Peninsula — Kenmare to Sneem to Waterville to Cahersiveen to Killorglin and back. 179 kilometres, half a day if you don't stop, three days if you do it properly. The MacGillycuddy's Reeks, including Carrauntoohil (Ireland's highest peak at 1,038m), sit in the centre. Off the main loop: the Skellig Ring, Valentia Island, and Ballinskelligs. Drive the Ring anti-clockwise — the tour buses go clockwise and you'll spend the day stuck behind them otherwise.
179 kilometres around the Iveragh. Drive it anti-clockwise.
First things first
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The essentials
Locally chosen, not algorithmic. In rough order of "if you only do one thing".
Island
A UNESCO World Heritage site 12km out in the Atlantic. A 6th-century monastic settlement of beehive cells perched 218m above the sea, reached by 600 stone steps. Star Wars filmed here. The boat trip is weather-dependent and only runs mid-May to early October; book months ahead.
Good to know · Boats leave from Portmagee, Ballinskelligs and Caherdaniel. Permit-only landing — limited daily. Eco-tours circle the rock without landing if you can't get a permit.
Island
Connected to the mainland by a bridge at Portmagee and a short summer ferry from Reenard Point. The 1858 transatlantic telegraph cable landed here — there's a small museum. Fogher Cliffs, the Tetrapod Trackway (385-million-year-old footprints in stone), and the slate quarry with the Marian grotto.
Good to know · Bridge open year-round; ferry seasonal. Allow half a day for the loop.
View
300-metre cliffs on the mainland near Portmagee, with the best land-based view of the Skelligs. Privately owned, small entry fee, less crowded and arguably more dramatic than the Cliffs of Moher up the road.
Good to know · Signposted from Portmagee. Small car park, café in season.
Beach
A 7km Blue Flag spit of sand running out into Dingle Bay near Glenbeigh. Walkers, swimmers, horse-riders. The view across to the Dingle Peninsula is half the point.
Good to know · Free parking at Glenbeigh end. Lifeguards in summer. Driving on the beach is no longer permitted at the end.
History
A massive dry-stone ringfort, 5m thick walls and 27m across, built around 300–400 AD. Internal stairs you can climb. One of the best-preserved cashels in Ireland. Tucked up a side road off the Ring near Castlecove.
Good to know · Signposted from the N70. Free, always open. Honesty box for parking through the farm.
Town
The northern start of the Ring, on the River Laune. Famous for Puck Fair, held every August 10–12 since at least 1603 — a wild goat is crowned king of the town for three days. The pubs stay open all night for the duration.
Good to know · Pay-and-display in the centre. Puck Fair packs the town — book accommodation months ahead if you want to be here.
Local businesses
Hand-picked, not paid for. The ferries, the beds, the pubs and the bike hire that make a visit work.
Before you go. These listings are compiled from public sources and aren't yet verified by the businesses themselves. Hours, menus and prices change with the seasons — always check directly with the venue before travelling, and book ahead in July and August. Owners can get in touch to update their listing.
Eat
Three small rooms in an old stone cottage on the south square in Sneem. Lamb stew, seafood chowder, the kind of menu that hasn't needed to change in twenty years. Book in season — it's tiny.
Eat
The hotel where Charlie Chaplin took his family every summer for a decade. The restaurant looks straight out over Ballinskelligs Bay — local seafood, a proper wine list, white tablecloths. The grown-up dinner on the Ring.
Eat
The Cooke family's place on Main Street, Cahersiveen — the boats land at Portmagee and Renard, the fish is on the plate hours later. Crab claws, monkfish, whole lobster. Rooms upstairs if you want to walk home.
Eat
On Lower Bridge Street in Killorglin since 1978 — Nick's is the institution at the northern end of the Ring. Seafood platters, steaks off the grill, a piano player most nights. Where Killorglin goes for the big dinner.
Drink
The yellow-and-red pub on the square in Sneem — one of the most photographed in Ireland for a reason. Family-run, low-beamed, proper pints, and a fire going most of the year. Trad sessions through the summer.
Drink
A New Market Street locals' pub in Cahersiveen — no food, no frills, just a properly poured Guinness and chat with whoever's at the bar. Walk in on a wet Wednesday and you'll be welcome.
Drink
Right on Portmagee pier where the Skellig boats tie up. Seafood from the harbour, pints by the fire, and traditional music with set dancing on Friday and Sunday nights — the real thing, not put on for tourists.
Do
A working gin and whiskey distillery on the edge of Cahersiveen, named for the 618 steps on Skellig Michael. Guided tour, tasting in the snug, view back over Valentia Harbour. Book ahead in summer.
Run a place in Ring of Kerry?
Our directory is curated, not pay-to-play. If we'd recommend you, you can be on here.
See how to get listedGot a window or a counter?
Download a free A5 QR card for Ring of Kerry — print it, stick it up, and visitors land straight on the Ring of Kerry guide.
Ask a local
Drive the Ring anti-clockwise
The coaches go clockwise from Killarney. Go the other way (start in Kenmare, end in Killorglin) and you'll be in front of them all day, with empty viewpoints and easier overtaking on the bends.
Take the Skellig Ring detour
From Waterville, signposted, off the main loop. Coach buses are too big for the road so they stay away. Coomanaspig pass, St Finian's Bay, Ballinskelligs beach. Two extra hours, worth all of them.
Know a Ring of Kerry spot worth sharing?
Hidden gems on this page are written by locals, not us. The pull-in for the Skellig sunset, the right pub in Sneem after the drive, the swim cove no bus knows about — tell us and we'll add it.
Off the spine
Not on the Wild Atlantic Way — but a short drive inland (or further along the coast) and locals would always send you here.
Gap of Dunloe
Inland · 20 min from Killorglin
An 11km glacial pass between MacGillycuddy's Reeks and the Purple Mountain, threading five small lakes joined by the River Loe. The road is narrow, single-track, and shared with jaunting cars and walkers, so most people leave the car at Kate Kearney's Cottage at the north end and walk or take a pony trap up. The traditional way is to walk through, then come back across the Upper Lake by boat to Ross Castle — a half-day's commitment but the kind people remember decades later.
Park at Kate Kearney's Cottage off the R562. Walk-and-boat combos run from May–September, book in Killarney. Driving the Gap is technically possible but discouraged in summer — locals will tell you the same.
Killarney National Park & Muckross
Inland · 30 min from Killorglin
The Ring of Kerry runs the coast; Killarney National Park is what's *behind* it — Ireland's first national park, 100 sq km of native oak and yew woods, three lakes, and the Victorian Muckross House on the middle one. Walk the lakeshore from Muckross to Dinis Cottage, see Torc Waterfall, or just sit by Muckross Abbey under its 600-year-old yew tree. Locals will tell you the Ring without a day in Killarney is half the trip.
Muckross House car park signposted off the N71 south of Killarney town. Park grounds and abbey free, house ticketed. Bike hire at the gate for the lakeside loop.
Common questions
The full loop is about 180 km and takes roughly 3.5 hours of pure driving. Plan a full day (8–10 hours) with stops at Killarney National Park, Sneem, Waterville, the Skellig viewpoints near Portmagee, and Kenmare. Tour buses traditionally drive the Ring anti-clockwise from Killarney; locals often recommend driving clockwise to avoid being stuck behind them.
The Ring of Kerry is one section of the Wild Atlantic Way — not an alternative. The full Wild Atlantic Way runs 2,500 km from Kinsale in West Cork to Malin Head in Donegal; the Ring of Kerry is a one-day loop within it. If you only have a day in the south-west, do the Ring; if you have a week, the wider Wild Atlantic Way gives you Dingle, Connemara and Donegal too.
The classic stops are Killarney National Park (Muckross House and Torc Waterfall), the village of Sneem, Staigue Stone Fort, Waterville beach, the Skellig viewpoint at Portmagee, Cahergal and Leacanabuaile stone forts near Cahersiveen, and Kenmare for dinner on the way back. Detour out the Skellig Ring road if you can — it's narrower and quieter than the main loop.
Yes, but only if you start early. A day trip from Killarney or Kenmare works if you're on the road by 9am and accept you won't linger. Staying overnight on the ring itself — in Cahersiveen, Portmagee or Caherdaniel — lets you see it at the end and start of the day, when the tour buses aren't there.
Killarney National Park is the lake-and-mountain area immediately south of Killarney town (Muckross, Ladies View, Torc Waterfall, Gap of Dunloe). The Ring of Kerry is the much larger 180 km coastal loop around the whole Iveragh Peninsula, of which the national park is one short section.
Practical
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