our original plan was to tour part of beara peninsual, drive the healy pass, take a trip to garnish island and see bantry house...from kenmare, june

bantry house is not open for tours because of a music festival...could still tour gardens

would appreciate advise from those that have been there...

should we skip bantry gardens and enjoy more of beara or is bantry house worth seeing even if only outside/gardens?

thanks

13 days and counting until we leave for Ireland!

I have been to all of them. This is what I would do. Go to Glengarriff and see Ilnacullin Gardens on Garinish Island. Then do part of Beara, driving Healy Pass. There is another lovely wild garden (woodlands, bay, etc.) with lots of hiking paths called Derreen Gardens near Lauragh on the north shore. Stop and see that. The gardens at Bantry are formal and not all that large. The views over Bantry Bay are lovely but you will get equally nice views on Beara.

thank you , that is just the information that I needed.

How much time did you spend on garnish island?

Any other stops we should make on beara pen.?

I think I spent a couple of hours on Garinish Island. Depending on how much you like gardens and hiking around you could spend longer. The boat ride takes time too. I can't remember exactly. Maybe 10-15 minutes each way.

Stop and see Gleninchiquin Park & Waterfall. It will be after Derreen Garden on your way back to Kenmare.

Hi Chip,
We did just a little bit of Beara, starting with Gleninchaquin park with a spectacular waterfall and several trails.
http://www.neidin.net/gleninchaquin

I cannot recommend this stop highly enough. It was incredible! You could spend a short time to see the falls from the base, a little more time for a little hike, or all day to do several trails. It's such an easy drive from Kenmare. It was one of the highlights of our 11 day trip.

After our visit to Gleninchaquin, we drove the Healy Pass, then up to Glengariff and back to Kenmare. We actually opted not to stop at Garanish (it goes on the list of reasons to return) because we were too tired.

oopsy

oopsy, how long did that loop take you to drive? I'm looking to do something similar, and would really like to have an idea how long it will take. I'd like to fit in Garinish Island too if time permits.