I am trying to get my ducks in a row for a May trip to Ireland. After a night in Kinsale, we plan to drive along the coast and up through Bantry to Glengarriff. At that point I would like to go to Kenmare via the Beara Peninsula. I saw that the ring aroung the peninsula is 85 miles but given the iffy roads can anyone give me an idea of how long it would take to drive those 85 miles so I can decide if that can all be done in one day. Also, any suggestions for that leg of the trip would be most welcome. By the way, we are experienced in driving on the left side of the road so that does not have to be a consideration in the drive time. Thanks in advance for any help out there!

Topping. I'm curious also since that will be an area we are going to explore.

Where are you booked in Kinsale?

I am making that same trip in Sept/Oct and it is too long for one day. Do mizen head staying overnight somewhere(crookhaven,bantry) and do the Beara the next day. [email protected] whose husband comes from ireland agrees/convinced me that it is too long for one day. Looking for milages/route planning suggest www.aaroadwatch.ie -- if you do it in one day let me know how it was
[email protected] have fun

It is doable. We did the same thing last August and I'm trying to remember exactly how long it took and of course I can't remember. We left Kinsale in the late afternoon and drove along the coast to Balleydehob and I think that only took a couple of hours. We spent the night in Balleydehob. Then in the morning we did the Beara loop and got to Kenmare by mid afternoon. So if you were staring in Kinsale I would say you would not get to Kenmare till early evening. We made lots of short stops but no really long ones (e.g. no major hikes or anything, just a stop for a while in Castletownbere - the main town, and lots of small stops to take pictures and walk around a little.)

A little west of Kinsale, actually west of Clonakilty, is the Dromberg Stone circle. There are signs for it if you look for them (assume you are taking the coast raod). Beautiful setting and one of the most impressive of the stone cirlces we saw in Ireland. Its over 3000 years old. It's after Clonakily but before Glandore and Union Hall (two tiny towns connected by a long narrow bridge).

The Beara Peninsula was one of the highlights of our trip. Definitly do it if you can. Very "untouristy".

I understand that the Healy Pass is a "must do" if you explore the Beara Peninsula. I'm thinking that could take up a good amount of time in exploring the peninsula. I'm giving it a full day with a possible overnight in Eyeries. Any suggestions?

Budman. Do not miss the Healy Pass if at all possible. It was spectacular.
We were in Kenmare three nights and did the Beara which is not far from Kenmare and included the Healy.

The Kinsale to Glengarriff trip, if you stay along the coast at least to Skibbereen, will be about 75 miles. Barring any long stops, that would be about 2.25 to 2.5 hrs. The most direct route is something like 60miles, according to maps.

I always liked the Beara area. The Cork side of the ridge of mountains looks completely different than the Kerry side. The Healey Pass just points out how dramatic the change is. I actually like this drive, from south to north over the pass, better than the Connor Pass on Dingle. It's a good way to come back to the Kenmare area from an anti-clockwise turn around the penninsula.

A couple of amateur shots of the Healey Pass in May(first trip using a digital, so..)

Looking back at the road just covered on the Cork side:
http://travel.nexxtworld.com/ireland...rk_beara10.jpg

Looking ahead to the Kerry side (what a difference):
http://travel.nexxtworld.com/ireland...ry_beara07.jpg
http://travel.nexxtworld.com/ireland...ry_beara04.jpg

I forgot about pictures. If you'd like to see some more photos of the Beara go to pbase.com/annforcier. There are several of the Beara. And those shots labeled "this is what driving in Ireland is like" were taken there. But it's not meant to scare you. It really was quite pleasant driving on the Beara - generally much less traffic than other areas - and I was there in August.

We are going in August from Killarney to Kinsale and I had hoped to do Beara on the way,is this too ambitious? My Rick Steves guide does not details on this leg, anyone recommend a book or website where I can get more info?

We were based in Kenmare and spent a day on Beara. For us, it was a 5-6 hour trip, but we stopped whenever we liked and we seem to stop often.

BUD---I would LOVE to stay overnight in Eyeries and I will next time I'm in that area. Very tiny, very colorful houses, very quiet. I'd love to spend an evening in the pubs there.

to Budman, Lizard, Isabel, Sher, and Clifton: Thank you all for your comments which were quite helpful.

Budman: Haven't locked in a place at Kinsale yet, but I'm looking at Kilcaw House and plan to email them today. Thanks for the Healy Pass suggestion on Beara.

Lizard: I'll try to hang on to your email address and let you know about this segment of the trip as you'll still have plenty of time for planning.

Isabel: I'm tucking your info inside my Fodor's guide--very helpful! I had not tuned in to exactly where the Dromberg circle is, so thanks for that info as well as the drive time feedback.
Loved the photos--reminded me of driving in parts of Scotland.

Sher: Any recollection of the driving time for the Healy Pass?

Clifton: The contrast was interesting to see in the pictures. I can also see from your pictures that weather means EVERYTHING when driving there. In the event of rain, would you recommend scrapping the drive and just hanging out in Kenmare?

Thanks again, everyone.

DOCK: I have looked in a number of travel books that tend to overlook the Beara: yet, everyone who has been there says it is a "must see". So far, my best info has been right here in these responses.

MaryZ: What else did you do from the Kenmare area?

Maybe the biggest reason to see and enjoy the Beara now, is that Rick and his readers <i>haven't</i> found it yet.

kheape12, as far as weather - sometimes you luck out and have beautiful days. In May, when we go, you usually have a period or two of light to steady rain everyday. We got used to that pretty quickly and just figured that we'd drive out. The more drizzly weather even added to the &quot;ambience&quot; at times. For a drive of a pass though, I would try to time it with a sunny to semi-sunny day. Not so much for safety, but for the panoramic views you miss out on with low cloud cover, fog or that grey rain.

Oh, and definitely check out isabel's pictures. They're great!

From our Kenmare base, we spent a day on Beara, a day in Killarney Natl. Park, and a day in and around Gougane Barra. And, we just enjoyed time in Kenmare. It's a pretty little town.

Clifton: I think you're right that it's just as well that Beara isn't too well publicized. It will be nice to be a little off the beaten track. May is supposed to be one of the driest monts in Ireland, but I can tell from your remarks that there is probably no such thing as a DRY month there. We'll just do the best we can with what we're given at the time, but I'm sure it's good advise to stay off the passes in rainy weather because that would defeat the purpose of it.

MaryZ: Any restaurant recommendations for Kenmare?

Kheape, I'll dig out my notes because we really liked one Kenmare restaurant in particular, but I can't remember the name for the life of me. One I CAN remember is Giuliano's. We got back into town kind of late one day and wanted something quick and easy. They made the most wonderful gourmet pizza!

Beara is definitely worth seeing, as is Kenmare. I got caught up in the Aer Lingus strike two years ago and was stuck in Ireland for an extra three days (oh, darn, right!?) I ended up staying at Birchwood, a wonderful B&amp;B in Kilgarvan, just outside of Kenmare. The place was lovely as were the owners. They planned out the rest of our itinerary and insisted on Baera.. I am so glad they did! It took a little over half a day, but would depend on the amount of time you poke around. The drive isn't bad at all.

I did drive through Bantry and wasn't all that impressed. The town was ok, though I liked Kenmare, Kinsale and Killarney much better.

Have fun!

In Kenmare I strongly recommend &quot;Sallyport House&quot; B&amp;B