Where to stay in SW Ireland, Killarney or Kenmare?
 

My husband and I will be spending 4 nights in South-west Ireland in June. We will be renting a car and plan to see the Ring of Kerry, Dingle penninsula, Muckross House & Gardens, Ross Castle, Cork, etc. We would like advice on which town to stay in...Killarney or Kenmare.

We will also be spending 6 nights in Dublin, 2 in Kilkenny and 4 in Galway.

Thanks for any help you can provide.

You would see more using more bases, you would also cover far less miles.

To answer your Question. Killarney is the best touring base with most on the doorstep.

http://www.shelburnelodge.com/

Loved our stay in Kenmare at Shelburne Lodge....our favorite B&B in 2 trips to Ireland. Kenmare was a perfect town. Killarney much more touristy with lots of buses & traffic.

https://www.greenmounthouse.ie/

2nd favorite B&B. Dingle Penninsula our favorite drive.

Enjoyed Newlands Country House in Kilkenny
http://www.newlandscountryhouse.com/

About 5-10 min. Drive out of town. Horses, sheep all around. Very nice place.

Thank you for your replies TPAYT and Tony2Phones. Based on your recommendations, I am thinking of booking a place near Dingle for 2 nights and near Kenmare or Killarney for 2. Unfortunately Greenmount House is booked for our dates...not surprising since it looks lovely. Will look for something else near Dingle.

Thanks again. I'm enjoying all the information in the various trip reports for Ireland on the Forum so thanks also to all the contributors for taking the time to write.

As Tony said above, Killarney as a base puts most everything right at your doorstep. Kenmare is a little quieter and fewer buses. Perhaps doing 2 nights each in Kenmare and Dingle might work. I can recommend:

http://www.castlewooddingle.com/
Stunning guesthouse in Dingle.

We loved our recent stay in Kenmare at:
https://www.seashorekenmare.com/

We have been to Ireland several times and have tried a variety of hotels, guesthouses and B & Bs. The above two really stand out.

One other note - I'm not trying to poke holes in your overall plan but why 6 nights in Dublin? I would take some of those nights and add to the SW...just thought.

I agree with Bette about your being (two nights) too long in Dublin. Also don't deal with rental cars during your time there. Similarly with Galway, I wouldn't stay in town with a car for four days, but nearby enough and use a bus from the outskirts.

I personally don''t like the relative bustle, noise and commercialism of Killarney for more than shopping, day's itinerary and a meal. If you were without a car, it could be handy but that's not the case. You can't, in my estimation, do better than Dingle's Pax House for quality and value ratio.

Galway is actually a City, more like a big ish town but a great base to get out and about to the surrounding areas not in city but getting out from the city. You are better off having a car for Galway.