If you had to choose...Dingle!
we spent most of a day touring each loop/ring...looking at the distance of each it is clear to see that Slea Head simply offered more in a shorter distance, especially ancient sites easily viewed close to the road.

spent most of the ROK wandering what the fuss was about. Waterville to Kenmare was a little better.

If you do both...do ROK first to avoid let down!

that said...simply loved the ROK between Kenmare and Kilarney...but it is very different because of the lakes and forest areas (spent a whole day in National Park area,Muckross House/Abbey, Ross Castle, etc.)

both can be magical!

First, I don't think anyone can tell you which is the more "must see" you know the old saying "beauty is in the eye of the beholder" my opinion is that it depends on what you like -- I think the Ring of Kerry is great in a different way than Dingle which I also love - I guess the differnce to me is that The Ring is more urban if you will - has more towns etc,,, while Dingle is more country - even if you flip a coin you can't go wrong - as an aside the little 12 mile sky drive outside of Clifden was every bit as beautiful as either the the other two.
anyway have fun
lizard

Just back from Ireland, and Dingle. I have not been to the ROK but I can say that Dingle is absolutely wonderful. Magical. I would have stayed there and not gone on with my traveling companions---if they hadn't had the car keys!

I've been planning a trip to Ireland in late June 2005 with my husband and two teens (15 and 18). It's our first trip, and because we have the kids, we don't plan to try and see all the top spots. We prefer to rent a house for one week and take day trips from there. Then we plan to go to Dublin the last 3 nights to visit our other daughter, who will be doing a summer semester at Trinity. So we fly in to Shannon, and out of Dublin.

So far, all I have booked is the flight (frequent flier miles). I am trying to decide where to spend the week in the house. Originally, we planned on Kenmare, because it sounds like a great town and I like the idea of renting a place walking distance to the town so we can walk in for dinner, etc. It sounds like a good base for exploring.

But since it will be the last week of June, I'm worried Kerry might be overrun with tourists and buses. We do not like touristy spots (don't like Disneyworld) or crowds. Don't plan to kiss the blarney stone. My kids like to travel at a very leisurely pace, and that's fine with hubby and me as well, at least when they're with us.

So would Dingle be better, and if so, how does the town compare to Kenmare? Enough to keep us occupied for a week?
My cork/kerry "homes to rent" book lists a place called Dingle Harbour Lodge with detached cottages overlooking harbour and marina. Says its walk to town. Anyone familiar with that?

Ideally, would like to be in a scenic location but walk to town. Hope to come back to Ireland without the kids and see more next time.

Thanks.

Bucky, I would nail down specifically what ?a walk into town? is in terms of distance. I find that frequently people from abroad consider something ?walking distance? that for us in USA would be considered a short drive! Remember that during the course of a week you will be doing a lot of that walking in the rain.

We arrived in Shannon this past June on the 21st, about the same time you will be going. What I got the most use out of was my silk underwear (longjohns and turtleneck) and cashmere turtleneck sweater that I threw into my carryon at the last minute, and of course our raincoats and umbrellas! We were there for two weeks. I don?t think the temp. ever got above 58 degrees F. and it rained every day, most of the time on and off throughout the day. We did luck out with some sunshine in Dingle when we did the Sleahead Drive so that was spectacular. We were told that there had been a drought for the three weeks before we arrived. It is a beautiful country and when the sun shines it is really glorious.

We spent two nights in Dingle. I really wonder how you would keep two teenagers busy there for a week. We took our 3 kids to Europe twice when they were teenagers, so I speak from some experience. You will really need to plan daytrips for
each day and I?m not sure that is an easy thing to do from Dingle. Driving the narrow roads is a tricky business, and the rain can really slow you down to a crawl.
Anyway, rain or shine it will be a great experience.

I was thinking of walk to town as something within about a 20 minute walk. My kids walk about 1.5 miles to high school every day with no problem, and I walk just under 4 miles every day.

I can see the weather would make a big difference. I was thinking we would spend a lot of time outdoors; my kids can be very happy hanging around a beach, climbing on rocks. Because we're from the midwest, the ocean is very appealing to us (I'm not talking about sunbathing or swimming). I also thought we could drive to Killarney park and Kenmare as a day trip, but maybe that would be too far. Another daytrip to the Blaskett islands.

But we also want to see some castles and ancient stone forts.

Maybe Kenmare would be a better base as I originally thought? Or maybe we'd be better off staying near Galway?

Every family is different so it's hard to compare. And of course, within a family there is always a need to compromise, especially with teens.

We would actually have 6 days on the Dingle peninsula since the two saturdays would be spent driving to and fro.

I think you would love Dingle for a week. It's a charming town and so scenic around. Be sure go out to the island if you can (inclement weather sometimes limits trips across). We enjoyed very much a archeology tour of ancient Celtic sights in a minivan from Dingle. Right out in the middle of no where (you would never see it your self) are the burial grounds and other relics. Another great place is the museum at the end of the Dingle pennisula all about Gaelic life, customs and language. Dingle has great food and music. Other areas are not as far as you think for a day trip an hour or so drive is all. Enjoy planning your trip!

adamsparks - well this is why they make strawberry and chocolate ice cream - different strokes for differt folks - laurie ann says you would love dingle for a week - I think a week in Dingle is a waste of 4/5 days you could be seeing other parts of Ireland - get up in the morning have breakfast then do sela head and you are back in dingle for lunch - and this is not rushing through slea head - I stopped at the oratory/bee hives and numerous photo stops (took 300 pictures in 21 days) - this still gives you a day and a half left - you could do connor pass coming or going so it wouldn't take up any of your "dingle time" even if you stayed another day that would give you 3 1/2 days for the rest of dingle which I think is way more than ample -
however its your trip and you do whatever suits you - remember everyone giving you advice though helpful - it is still their (our) personal preference -
bottom line is whever you go in Ireland you have to work at it not to have a good time
have a great trip
Lizard

Bucky, I have to agree with Lizard, Dingle is pretty limited. Kenmare would make a better base, and it is smaller and less "touristy" than its neighbor Killarney. From there, you can drive the ROK and Beara Penninsula, as well as Mizen Head. Great ocean there!

As far as walking into towns, in most of these areas, roads are very narrow and winding with no shoulder, never mind sidewalks. You will have a great deal of daylight in June, which will help if you do find a place near enough to walk. We just came back from Ireland where we stayed in 5 different B&Bs, only one of which was a good walk to town. (This one was in Bunratty, which isn't really a town.)

Just one more opinion to confuse you!

I agree that Kenmare would make a better choice for a week. There is much better access to many more places, and getting to Dingle from ther is not a terrible challenge, especially with the long days at that time of year.

The weather in Ireland is completely unpredictable so I would keep that in mind when you are considering long walks. As lone as you are prepared, you'll be fine. Last year's wet June followed an amazingly dry May which I got to experience in Wales. We went 16 days without using the windshield wipers.

Bill

thanks everyone...lots to think about. I was wondering if maybe we should aim for West Cork. Frommer's says it is not as "tourist heavy as Kerry, yet every bit as alluring". Maybe stay somewhere near Kinsale or Clonakilty.

Also, we're starting at Shannon, but leaving from Dublin. Want to see some ancient ruins and a castle or two. Any suggestions on that? I suppose it depends on if we pick Kenmare or Kinsale.

We are going to stay somewhere not too long a drive from Shannon our first night, then planned to head to the self catering place on saturday till the following saturday, then Dublin for the last 3 nights. Since that means staying in 3 places anyway, I suppose we could spend more than one night at our first stop and then less than a week in the southwest. The only problem is I think all the rental homes have a one week minimum in summer.

Beara Peninsula is also beautiful. Here's a few pics from my September trip. Hope this link works!

http://www.worldisround.com/articles/82150/index.html

Kinsale has very bit as much tourism as Kenmare and maybe more. There are probably some nice places to stay around Clonakilty and you could easily fill up a week there though you might have a few more easily reachable options from Kenmare. If you are looking to get away from it all, Clonakilty might be the ticket.

Bill

Pam, thanks for the pictures!! My 7 rolls of film are being developed, I hope they come out as well as yours! (We visited many of the same places and pubs, I think!)

The next time I go back to Ireland, and I hope it is soon, I plan to split my two or three weeks up between Doolin and Dingle. The rest of the country is wonderful, but those two areas I think are just the essence of Ireland.

Shhhh, you shouldn't mention beara to the tourists or else the buses will change direction. That is what happened to ROK and now Dingle. Ireland will be nothing but highways and expensive tourist traps before you know it and we'll be left with only the middle for us poor travelers.hehe