8 best things to do in Kerry Ireland

8 best things to do in Kerry Ireland

Kerry has a number of really cool attractions, it’s a beautiful part of Ireland full of coastal areas, cool old buildings, and lots of great scenic parts. Kerry is known as the kingdom, It’s a great place to visit and spend a few days or week exporting everything in the kingdom!

Check out my list of a few things to do, you will enjoy Kerry, it’s one of Ireland’s best places to visit! It’s hard to list everything so I have just picked 8 of the best ones to check out.

Check out my Ireland Travel Guide post here!

Visit Skellig Michael Island!

The Skellig islands are 12 kilometres off the coast of Kerry, you can get there by boat from the area of Portmagee in the South West region of Kerry. Skellig Michael island is 218 metres above sea level. The island has some really old 6th-century monastic settlements.

The island gets it cool name from the Saint Michael Archangel. The islands are home to many different types of bird colonies. The small Skellig islands have over twenty thousand Gannet bird species.

Skellig Michael Island was used in the filming of the Star Wars movie, Episode VII The Force Awakens. There a few companies running boat tours out to the islands, its a really cool trip to take. Skellig Michael islands are a UNESCO World Heritage site. Monks used to live on the island, and its steeped in history, tis a beautiful place to check out!

Drive the Ring of Kerry!

The Ring of Kerry is one of the best road trips you will take! It’s an unreal road-trip full of old churches, nice hotels, green fields, sheep and Irish cows wandering the land.

The Ring of Kerry has it all, stunning mountain ranges loads of attractions and visitor centres full of interesting facts and history. The Ring of Kerry is a circle-shaped route around some of the most beautiful coastal areas of southern Ireland.

Some of the best parts of the Ring of Kerry are the Gap of Dunloe which is a beautiful scenic area that you hire out a Jaunting car ( horse and carriage) and travel into the gap and check out the amazing landscape.

The Killarney National Park is full of wild deer, beautiful lands, lakes and forestry. It’s home to Muckross house which is an old mansion style house that is now a major tourist attraction and visitor centre.

Torc Waterfall is another cool thing to see, this beautiful waterfall is located in a special part of Kerry, it’s a lovely area to visit. Molls Gap is a viewpoint, its located 22.8 kilometres outside Killarney town. Molls Gap is a great area to get some unreal photos.

Check out Muckross House!

Muckross House and Gardens is a beautiful place to visit. The old house and gardens are turned in to a super cool visitor centre, you can take a tour of the house.

The house is a beautiful example of an old mansion style building that is in superb condition, the interior of Muckross house is something to see, the old pictures, the wallpaper and furniture in the house is in amazing shape.

There are a few different attractions in the grounds of Muckross House, there’s a traditional farm experience where you learn about farming in Ireland back in nineteen-thirties and forties.

Muckross House is located one on a beautiful lake called Muckross lake, its a really picturesque location. The gardens are perfect for a picnic or just somewhere to chill out while you surf social media or relax with a good book!

See the Gap of Dunloe!

The Gap of Dunloe covers miles and it is an iconic image of Ireland. The Gap features the Mc Gillycuddy Reeks mountain range and Killarney’s Purple mountains and tomies mountain. You can pop into Kate Kearney’s cottage and check out some of the cool Irish gifts on offer or maybe have a small one in the bar!!!

Kate Kearney used to make some strong alcoholic spirits back in the 1800s, the stuff was so strong it has to be watered down with 7 parts of a mix to make it drinkable!

Travelling into the Gap of Dunloe on a horse and carriage ride called a jaunting car is the best way to experience the wild beauty of the Gap Of Dunloe! It’s just one of Ireland most scenic areas, that you will enjoy.

Torc Water Fall!

Torc waterfall is in Killarney’s national park, it’s one of Ireland nicest national parks. The waterfall is FREE to visit, its another great thing to do in Kerry! Torc water is around 7 kilometres from the town of Killarney. Torc waterfall is 20 meters high.

There is FREE parking available next to the waterfall. You can park up your car and walk into one of Ireland’s nicest waterfalls. The path into Torc waterfall is part of the Kerry way long-distance walk, this beautiful walking route is great for getting out and experiencing some of Kerry’s raw natural beauty that makes the Kingdom one of Ireland’s best locations.

Visit the town Dingle!

The town of Dingle is one of Kerry’s most visited towns. Dingle has loads of attractions and loads of things to see and do, You can easily be kept busy for a few days.

You can take a boat trip out to see Fungi the Dolphin. Fungi the dolphin has lived in the harbour in Dingle since 1980s, he jumps up and performs for all the tour boats that travel out to see him.

Dingle has a buzzing traditional music scene, the pubs have good music sessions and plenty of nice craft beers to choose from. Dingle has its own Distillery, it’s a good place to explore and taste the Whiskey, Vodka and Gin that they produce on-site. The Distillery runs tours, you can do a tasting as part of the tour, it’s a cool thing to do in Dingle.

Travel up to Conor Pass!

Travelling up to Conor Pass is a great trip, the roads can be narrow and difficult in some parts, so take your time. Conor Pass is a viewpoint area that has some amazing and dramatic views of Dingle and surrounding areas. It’s FREE to visit and there’s plenty of parking at the Conor Pass.

The viewpoint is one of Ireland’s highest mountain passes, its hows the beautiful Dingle Peninsula in all its glory! It’s a must-see if you are visiting Kerry or planning a trip to Dingle.

Be warned tho the road up the viewpoint is quite narrow and can be difficult to drive if it’s your first time driving in Ireland. It’s one of the best viewpoints on the Wild Atlantic Way route with south and north views of the Dingle Peninsula.

Drive the Slea Head Drive route!

This route showed Kerry at its best, it’s an amazing route to check out. The Slea Head Drive is one of the most scenic routes in the Emerald Isle. The route has some much to see and do, you can easily spend a day or two travelling the route.

The Slea Head drive is clearly signposted, the route is part of the Wild Atlantic Way that cover 2500 kilometres all over Ireland.

There’s old beehive stone hunts, sheep farms, loads of coastline, old churches, views of nearby islands, cool Irish pubs, fantastic views that you will remember and there are some beautiful beaches to check out!

Its is advised that you have to travel the route clockwise. You can experience Ireland’s Irish speaking areas on the Slea Head drive and famous sites where Hollywood movies were filmed like Star Wars!

You can hold a lamb, taste some Irish made Gin, and check out some really old buildings along this special road trip.

The Slea Head drive is 30 miles in length, depending on how many times you wanna stop at different sites and attractions, you can spend a few hours or a full day enjoying this little gem of a road-trip. It’s somewhere you will take lots of photographs or selfies, tis just one of those places in Ireland that you will remember.

I hope you found this post useful, I welcome any questions or suggestions by email to info@allthings-ireland.com

Thanks

John

All Things Ireland