Ring of Kerry or Dingle?
 

I'm heading for Ireland Wendesday, arriving Thursday (March 16) in Cork. I've booked accomodations for our first 2 nights in Killarney, figuring it would be a good base for seeing the Ring of Kerry and/or Dingle peninsula.

My question - I've read about how crowded and touristed the Ring of Kerry is and I've read in some places, like Rick Steeves, that Dingle might be better due to less crowding and a more authentic feel, including the places you stop along the way.

What am I missing, or seeing, if I do The Ring of Kerry vs. the Dingle peninsula? Since it's March I don't know if maybe the tourist thing is not so much of an issue.

As an aside, I'm staying at the Lake Hotel located inside the national park near Killarney. But I've seen Killarney bashed here and there. Will I regret staying there as a base? The hotel itself sounded really nice for it's location (inside the park).

Thanks!

In March you are safe staying in Killarney. It is the summer and bank holidays that it goes crazy. If I had to choose between Dingle and the Ring of Kerry, I would choose Dingle. The scenery there reaches out and grabs you by the throat. The ROK is more subtle.

I too preferred Dingle area, but there are some lovely areas near ROK.

I have driven both roads and both the Ring of Kerry and the Dingle peninsula are breathtakingly beautiful. That being said, as the driver, it was more enjoyable to drive the Dingle peninsula because there are fewer tour busses. The roads are narrow and winding in places, and it can be very disconcerting to encounter tour bus after tour bus. I also enjoyed the Dingle peninsula more because it had a wilder more historic feel. I stayed two nights in Killarney because it was a good base for the area, but it is very touristy. Killarney National Park is beautiful with many interesting areas. We really enjoyed staying in Kenmare. Cute town, great restaurants.

Great question. Wondering too which is a better choice for a short trip...Dingle or Ring of Kerry?
Anyone else want to weigh in?

Very good question! I found the driving on the ROK to be breathtaking (both good and bad!), and we made a lot of fun little stops along the way. The island of Valentia was great (nice history), and Staigue fort is an interesting stop. Also, the National Park of Killarney is (IMO) one of the best national parks I've seen, and that was in January! Along the ROK drive, you get some excellent views of it and great stop points. I haven't actually been to Dingle, but coming from an Irish family, have heard RAVES about it. That's my 2 cents. I think the bottom line is that you will LOVE whichever you do!

I drove the ROK in April, of '99 in a LARGE VW 9 passenger van, CLOCKWISE from Kenmare and ending in Killarney. Only met up with two buses the whole way. Buses usually run counter-clockwise, starting from Killarney. It was a great drive, but long, perhaps a good, six and a half hours.
Been to Dingle three times, twice in June ( '04 and '05) and once, in April, of '03. The town was dead in April, jammed in June, but not as bad as Killarney gets in summer.
I enjoyed the ROK, but I love the Dingle / Slea Head drive. It packs much more punch into a much more compact drive, containing the largest concentration of antiquities than any other area in Kerry, and perhaps more than any other area in Ireland.
My vote is to stay in Killarney at least one night, but if the choice is ROK OR Slea Head, do the Slea Head.

Bob

Thanks all for the great responses. I think it will be a game time decision for us depending on how the weather is and how we do on our arrival day.

A LOTr of great advice.

Herschey:
No matter which decision you make, you are gonna have a great time. I prefer the Dingle/Slea Head. Can't wait to read the trip report. Travel safely.

I'm going to Ireland in May so I would love to hear how your trip goes. I've been doing some internet surfing and I've heard that the Ring of Beara (just south of the ROK) is supposed to be just as nice and much less traveled.
Samantha Brown (travel channel lady) toured that and it looked great. She went to "Glenichaquin Park" which was a HUGE park with waterfalls, hiking, homebaked goods, etc for only a few euros, 8 I think. http://www.tuosist.com/glen.asp
Just my suggestion.
If you have time, email me or post and let me know if you found some great places to stay, visit in Ireland.
Cheers,
Donna
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We did ROK in April 2002, and drove clockwise. I think we passed ten cars, no buses. It was a bit misty, but absolutely beautiful. Magical, even :)

This June I'm planning on doing both, ROK and Dingle (have 4 days in the area). I'm traveling with two friends who have never been to Ireland, so I'm sure they'll like both :P

I'm curious about the differences in the types of sites and towns one comes across depending on if one ventures to ROK or Dingle...
Love the great info I've seen so far, could someone please elaborate more on this as well?

pFunny Herschey--Irish you a wonderfully precious trip filled with chocolatey good fun!

ROK had a series of villages/towns between incredible scenery. Here's a pic from one of the spots on my 2002 trip:

http://www.greendragonartist.com/Sal...ingofKerry.htm

I'm Irish so I'm biased but I think The Ring of Kerry is really beautiful, also I've stayed at the Lake Hotel, its lovely, you will have a blast .:)

Without a doubt, go to Dingle! The drive through the hills into Dingle is absolutely breathtaking. The Ring of Kerry is a tourist trap and doesn't measure up to the beauty of Dingle.

Having done both drives and also having stayed at the Lake Hotel last summer, I thought I would chime in. They are both beautiful and you won't regret whichever you choose. I would look at the side stops and towns and see which interests you more. If you want to see the Skelligs more that the Blaskets, etc. Is your heart set on Dingle town? Questions like that may determine your choice. Weather forces some sidetrips closed also(Being from Southern Ca I did not feel either drive was too logjammed- traffic is relative to what you are used to.) Whichever you choose do get a map and take a few off the loop drives. Another idea is to buy one of the audiotapes to play while you drive. I am sure someone at the tourist centers can recommend a good one. btw you will love the location of the Lake Hotel!

Hi all. I'm back from my trip and since so many people were nice enough to share their thoughts I thought I'd be courteous and let you know how it went.

Much to my surprise, we managed to squeeze in Ring of Kerry our first full day and then both the gap of Dunloe and Dingle peninsula the second. We had to eliminate the little northern loop at the end of Dingle to save time, but did make it all the way out to Slea Head so I was very pleased.

ROK has some awesome vistas - views of Dingle Bay on the north side, Ocean views on the west. I highly recommend the small detour from Glenbeigh to Glenbeigh Beach as you get a really gorgeous view there. We also followed a path noted in our Insight Guide (forgive me Fodors) that starts near Portmagee and cuts south and lands somewhere around Balinskelligs (sp?). This was on much less travelled, marginally scary roads, but the scenery was terrific and provides optimal views of the Skelligs. We took a stop in cahirdaniel at the Blind Piper for a pretty good meal. Since we started from Killarney, the last things we saw were the lakes of Killarney National Park including Ladies View and Torc Waterfall. That was actually some of the prettiest scenery.

Dingle on the other hand had a great mix of both countryside and sea/ocean views. I was pining for the green hills of Ireland that I hadn't seen yet and Dingle provided. After driving through a mix of gorgeous countryside and views across the bay, we wound up along the southwest edge with it's beatiful coastal views back east and out west towards Blasket. I'll also note that just before the Blasket viewing stops at slea head you pass the beehive huts, which is worth the 2 euro just to hike uip the small hill for an even better view of the coast.

To answer my own question, I think I give Dingle peninsula the edge. It had that great balance of green hills and coastal majesty and it's even a shorter drive. Plus Dingle town was really nice. But keep in mind I was staying at a hotel inside the national park so perhaps seeing the lakes on the drive wasn't as stunning since I could see the lakes from my hotel room.

As an aside, we drove the Gap of Dunloe, which was quite a rough drive but I think we saw alot more than the jaunting cars do. I think if you do gap of Dunloe and Dingle peninsula you're in really good shape on a trip, and the gap only takes 90 minutes or so (I think). But driving the gap is only possible off season and we did have some awkward moments near the end when we ran into cars coming the other way on roads barely meant for even out little Nissan Micra. Also, despite all teh horror stories I read in guide books about tour buses, I hardly saw any (again, it's off season) and I probably saw more doing Dingle than ROK.

Thanks again all.

They are both far for daytrips. Possible, but far. I'd go to Dingle and just stay there overnight.

I would also not even consider driving. The roads are just terrible and terrifying at times. The driver doesn't get to see a thing because he has to keep his eyes fixed on hte road. It will be much more enjoyable to take a bus tour from Killarney. Sit back and relax.

Believe me, this is the best travel advice you will ever get.

Hi Herschey, thanks for the report. We are heading there in May and it was great to hear your comments as we have pretty much decided to do Slea Head and Beara and not ROK. Sounds like you had a good time and in spite of the advise given by Imhornet AFTER your trip (I wish people would read the responses before jumping in!)driving was not a huge issue. Thanks again. I can hardly wait!

The Ring of Beara is a hauntingly beautiful drive. Walk up Hungry Hill if you have time. The weather is very cold here at the moment, bring warm wooly sweaters and windcheating outerwear. The Dingle drive would be my choice too but you have to keep your eyes on the road. There are very few tourists around at this time of year. Have a lovely holiday.