When my wife and I arrived in Ireland in May 2017, I was a bit nervous. I had been to Europe before, several times, in fact - but never to Ireland and, even more importantly, never to a place where I would have to drive on the wrong (aka left) side of the road.
We flew out of Hartford, CT in the evening, and arrived in Dublin early the next morning. I knew that there was no way I was going to get into the right-side driver’s seat after an overnight flight, in morning Dublin traffic. So my wife and I took a cab to the Dublin train station, then hopped on a train to our destination….Killarney. Taking a train in Ireland is easy and efficient, I would highly recommend it.
Killarney is quite a touristy place, located in the southwestern part of Ireland, in Count Kerry. It is known for being an ideal place to start and end the circular drive around the Ring of Kerry, which is a road that goes all the way around the perimeter of the Iveragh peninsula. The train ride lasted about 3 1/2 hours, and we arrived in Killarney on an absolutely beautiful late-spring day. We dropped our luggage off at the cute hotel, McSweeney Arms, that we had reserved, and then walked the 1/2-mile to the car rental agency.
I’ll tell you - the first time I got into that car, it was an extremely odd sensation. Climbing into the right side of the vehicle to get behind the wheel is so unorthodox to my American sense of right and wrong that it actually helped me. Every time I would get into the car throughout our time there, it was a constant reminder that I needed to put thought into how I drove, turned corners, and maneuvered through the ubiquitous roundabouts that litter Ireland’s road system. GPS, being the modern-day miracle that it is, gave us everything we needed to find our way to our destinations. The only real challenge I had on the roads for the first 3 or 4 days was how I handled going around curves in the road….not corners, mind you - just bends in the road. It is a slightly terrifying feeling to go around a bend in the road, hugging the left side, only to see a car streaking towards you on the right side of the road. It sounds silly, but it is counter to every instinct I have from 20+ years of driving.
My wife and I decided to do the Ring of Kerry in 2 days, so we could see the sites that we wanted along the way, without feeling like we had to hurry to get through the entire trip. The full trip takes just about a full day, and as you drive along the road, you will encounter many tour buses going in their eternal loop around the peninsula. The roads on the Ring of Kerry are typically very narrow, 2 cars at most, and often down to 1-lane. On the 1-lane sections, there are numerous little cutouts that allow a car to edge in so another vehicle can squeeze by going the opposite direction. But the scenery is spectacular!
Sun rays along the Ring of Kerry!
During our 3 days in Killarney, we saw all of the typical sites. We spent an evening at Ross Castle, waiting for the sun to set - the castle is right on the edge of a large inlet off of Lough (pronounced Lock) Leane and it was peaceful watching the sun creep towards the horizon. The sunset was a bit lackluster but the castle is lit up in a really neat orange light after dark and very cool to see.
Sunset near Ross Castle, looking across Lough Leane.
Ross Castle, in the daytime, sunset, and evening glow.
We did a little hiking in the Killarney National Park, amongst the lush green forest and spent some time near the Torc Waterfall. We got up early one morning and drove for sunrise to the Gap of Dunloe, on a very narrow and winding single-lane road, along which we had to watch out for sheep wandering across the road. In order to turn around to go back home, I had to make a 10-point turn, which is a slight variation on the more typical 3-point turn.
The magic of the forests within Killarney National Park.
A beautiful scene within Killarney National Park.
We spent several hours at Muckross House, which had large sweeping grounds with beautiful flowers and scenery, and we walked there and took in the sights, as well as a tour. We went to the Cliffs of Kerry - not as spectacular as the Cliffs of Mohr (I’ve heard, we did not make it to those) but really beautiful and worth seeing. We did see Skellig Michael, where the new Star Wars movies were filmed, but only from shore - very faint and difficult to see - due to the popularity from the movies, boat tours have to be booked very far in advance in you want to see the island up close.
The Cliffs of Kerrys are spectacular and filled with the majesty of creation.
The narrow, single lane road at the Gap of Dunloe.
One of my favorites times during this part of our trip was an evening spent at Inch Beach, which is a strand beach that is a fairly close drive from Killarney. We went there for sunset (I love sunsets, if you can’t tell yet) and the sand dunes, beach grass that looked like soft fur in the evening light, and the mountains across the water gave us a very memorable night - as well as the bugs that kept biting me as I tried to take photos.
Inch Beach is an amazing experience with a good sunset to keep you company!
The food in Ireland gets such a bad reputation, at least what I had heard prior to going. We had nothing but really wonderful meals - fresh fish from the sea and good homespun meals in pubs. We tended to eat more simply. I’ve found that as I travel more, I enjoy good, simple meals rather than fancy, expensive meals in good restaurants - those are nice as well but just don’t always hit the spot quite in the same way.
Bottom line - if you’re traveling to a place you’ve never been…do some research, but not too much. I always get a guidebook a couple months before, and do research online. I typically will figure out where we’re going to stay and then start building an agenda on a day-by-day basis - locations near each other that we can hit at one time. But I ALWAYS leave room in the schedule. I don’t like to have my trips planned out to any great extent, I leave room for naps (if needed), sunset & sunrise, and just relaxing in a place that you have found that you didn’t even know existed!
Travel is about enjoying the destination, taking in the culture, and learning what you like and dislike. Don’t pack the trip so full that you barely remember what you saw! MAKE MEMORIES!