I think Skellig Michael looks like the coolest place in the world. Is it worth the full day+ of time to visit as I cruise around ireland in 10 days? I don't think that I would do the Ring of Kerry otherwise and would instead do either the Dingle peninsula or the Beara peninsula. I find the place magical looking, but can I find that ancient magic elsewhere and not have to travel a full day plus a boat ride to get there? I will be traveling from Dublin to Derry to Galway to Dingle in our time in Ireland to give you an idea of where I'll be. Thanks.

I tried to get out to Skellig Michael but the seas were rough and the boats were not running. I was very disappointed.

Do the slea head drive in Dingle! Best of the bunch!

-john

Oh, it's difficult to leave a path untrod in Ireland. We had 10 days, too, and made the choice to do the Dingle Peninsula. We found our Celtic magic in the ancient oratories, holy wells, beehive huts and shrines.

Skellig Michael is definitely a wonderful place to visit and I would recommend it highly, but if your plans aren't actually taking you to the area I don't know that I would go so far out of the way solely to go to the Skelligs since there is the chance that the weather wouldn't allow you to go out there. I'd save it for another time when maybe you'd be spending time in Kerry.

I also would greatly recommend it. We went in 2007 & it was the highlight of our trip. We used Joe Roddy & Sons.

The weather worked out great, we drove that day from the Abbey Court B&B in Kenmare. It did take up most of our day, but was definitely worth it.

Will

We thought the Ring of Skellig was wonderful to drive around. We did not actually go to Skellig Michael as I was worried about my one knee on all those steps. The visitor's center was good, and the area we thought spectacular. I have lots of pictures with the Skelligs in the distance.

And don't miss the Skellig Chocolate Company if you go. YUM!

http://www.skelligschocolate.com/

Dingle Peninsula is awesome. Don't miss it. We thought the best part of The Beara Peninsula was Healy Pass, the rest of it we didn't enjoy as much.

@Will: Thanks for the recommendation. I really am struggling with this one. Nice to know that it can be done from Kenmare. Did you sleep in Kenmare both before and after SM or did you stay somewhere else? I guess my question is about the time from Kenmare to Caherseveen or wherever you can catch a boat to SM. How long was that drive? WHat time of day? Where is Joe Roddy and did you make advance reservations?
@SiofraB: Maybe I'll make it a point to spend more time in Kerry!
@Wren: Dingle is already on 'the list'! Thanks.
@BMW: Sorry it didn't work out.
Maybe we'll try and if it's not happening, just enjoy the ROK. ~DrToonz

DrT,

We stayed in Kenmare before & after the trip. We got very lucky with the weather those 2 days (it was towards the end of May). I cannot remember how long the trip was from Kenmare to Portmagee, but knowing myself, I'm sure we planned on at least 2 hours.

Our tour left around 10:30AM, from Portmagee & we did make advance reservations, about a month in advance (obviously dependant upon the weather that day).

Here is the link.

http://www.skelligstrips.com

Will

Maybe a silly question- but with the total trip being 4.5 hours or so...are there toilets on the boats? Or is this a day to avoid coffee or tea with breakfast???