Killarney Guide

Killarney is a small town doing a big job: it's the base almost everyone uses for Kerry, thanks to a direct rail line from Dublin, a train station right in the centre, and a national park that starts more or less where the town's main street ends.

Getting there

By train: Irish Rail runs direct services from Dublin Heuston to Killarney, and the station sits in the middle of town, so there's no onward transfer needed on arrival. Journey times vary by service — check current timetables at irishrail.ie before booking.

By air: Kerry Airport, in Farranfore, is roughly 15km north of Killarney — about a 15-minute drive. It has a modest schedule of routes, mainly to Dublin with some seasonal UK and European connections, and a train station on the same line into Killarney.

By road: Killarney sits on the N22 and N71, with road distances of roughly 300km from Dublin and considerably less from Cork, making it a reasonable drive from either.

The town itself

Killarney's centre is compact and walkable — Main Street, New Street and Plunkett Street form the core of it, with pubs, restaurants and shops packed into a few blocks. St. Mary's Cathedral, a 19th-century Gothic Revival church designed by Augustus Pugin, is worth a look even from the outside. The town has long served visitors to the lakes and mountains around it, and it shows in the density of accommodation and the number of tour operators running trips out to the Ring of Kerry, the Gap of Dunloe and the Skellig Islands.

Jaunting cars — traditional horse-drawn traps with a driver — are a genuinely local way of getting around the national park's main sights rather than just a tourist photo opportunity, and can usually be arranged directly in town or at the park entrance.

Killarney National Park, right on the doorstep

This is Killarney's biggest asset: a national park you can walk into from the town centre. Ross Castle, a 15th-century tower house on the shore of Lough Leane, is about a 2km walk from town. Muckross House and Gardens, a 19th-century mansion with Muckross Abbey close by, sits a little further on. We've covered all of it in detail in our Killarney National Park guide.

Using Killarney as a Ring of Kerry base

Killarney is the traditional start and end point for the Ring of Kerry, and most tour coaches and self-drive itineraries are built around it. That means you can base yourself in town for several nights, use one day for the national park on foot, and a separate day for the full Ring of Kerry drive — see our Ring of Kerry guide for route and direction advice.

Planning tips

• Book Killarney accommodation well ahead for July and August — it's the single busiest base town in the southwest during peak summer.
• If you're not driving, ask your accommodation or a local tour desk about coach tours of the Ring of Kerry and boat transfers to Skellig Michael — both are commonly run as day trips out of Killarney.
• Comfortable walking shoes cover most of what the town and the nearer parts of the national park require; you don't need hiking boots unless you're heading up into the mountains.

Related reading

• Killarney National Park Guide
• Ring of Kerry Guide
• Things to Do in Kerry
• Best Day Trips from Dublin