Things to Do in Kerry: A Complete Guide

County Kerry gets called Ireland's most scenic county often enough that it sounds like a cliché, but it's hard to argue with the geography: a national park built around a chain of lakes and old oak woodland, a driving route that circles an entire mountainous peninsula, and — further out in the Atlantic — an early monastic settlement clinging to a rock so steep and remote it ended up standing in for a galaxy far, far away. This is where to start.

Killarney: the base for almost everyone

Killarney town is the natural base for a Kerry trip. It has a direct rail line from Dublin, a full range of accommodation, and it sits right at the entrance to Killarney National Park — so you can walk out of town and be among lakes and woodland within minutes. It's also the conventional start and end point for the Ring of Kerry. See our Killarney guide for the practical details.

Killarney National Park

Ireland's first national park, created in 1932 from the donated Muckross Estate, packs an enormous amount into a small area: Ross Castle on the shore of Lough Leane, the Victorian mansion and grounds of Muckross House, the ruined Muckross Abbey, and Torc Waterfall tumbling down from Mangerton Mountain. Most of it can be covered on foot, by bike, or by horse-drawn jaunting car in half a day. Full detail in our Killarney National Park guide.

The Ring of Kerry

The best-known touring route in the county, and one of the best-known in Ireland: a roughly 179km signposted road circling the Iveragh Peninsula, taking in Killorglin, Glenbeigh, Cahersiveen, Waterville, Sneem and Kenmare, with the mountains of the interior on one side and the Atlantic on the other for long stretches. It's a full day out even without stopping much, and the direction you drive it in genuinely matters — see our Ring of Kerry guide for why.

The Skellig Islands

Eight miles off the Iveragh coast, Skellig Michael carries the remains of an early Christian monastery built by monks between roughly the 6th and 8th centuries, occupied on and off until around the 12th century, and now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It's also recognisable from Star Wars: The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi. Getting there is genuinely difficult — a strictly limited number of licensed boats, a short landing season, and total dependence on the weather. We've covered exactly what that involves in our Skellig Michael guide, and it's worth reading in full before you plan around it.

Other things worth knowing

• The Gap of Dunloe, a narrow mountain pass on the edge of the national park, is too tight for coaches — it's walked, cycled, or crossed by jaunting car instead, usually starting from Kate Kearney's Cottage.
• The Skellig Ring, a quieter loop around Portmagee and Valentia Island, can be added onto a Ring of Kerry drive for closer mainland views of the Skelligs from the Kerry Cliffs, without needing to book a boat.
• The Dingle Peninsula, Kerry's other great touring peninsula north of Killarney, is a separate day out in its own right rather than something to squeeze onto a Ring of Kerry day.

Planning tips

• Base yourself in Killarney unless you have a strong reason not to — nearly everything else in this guide is a day trip from there.
• Weather on this coast changes fast and matters more than usual for a couple of things specifically: the Skellig Michael boats (which simply don't run in poor conditions) and any of the more exposed clifftop walking.
• If you're driving the Ring of Kerry, decide your direction deliberately rather than by default — it changes which side of the road you're on for the sea views and how you interact with tour coach traffic.

Related reading

• Killarney Guide
• Ring of Kerry Guide
• Killarney National Park Guide
• Skellig Michael Guide
• Cliffs of Moher Guide