The Ring of Kerry is one of those drives people plan entire holidays around - and for good reason. A 179-kilometre loop around the Iveragh Peninsula, it takes in some of the most spectacular coastal scenery in Europe, with mountains dropping to the sea, tiny fishing villages along rocky shores, and views that change dramatically around every bend. This day trip from Cork lets you experience the full circuit with an expert guide handling the driving so you can focus on the scenery.
The route heads west from Killarney and follows the coastline through a string of villages that have barely changed in decades. Cahersiveen is a proper Kerry market town with colourful shopfronts and a relaxed atmosphere. Waterville, further along the coast, is famous for its beach, its golf course, and a bronze statue of Charlie Chaplin, who holidayed here with his family for years and loved the place so much the town adopted him as their own.
The mountain passes are where the Ring really shows off. Moll’s Gap cuts through the Macgillycuddy’s Reeks with steep drops on either side, while Ladies View offers a panoramic sweep over the three Killarney Lakes that earned its name when Queen Victoria’s ladies-in-waiting declared it the finest view in Ireland during a royal visit. It’s hard to argue with the scale of the landscape from up there.
Starting from Cork rather than Dublin or Killarney gives you a different angle on the trip, and the approach through County Kerry is scenic in itself. It’s a long day at 12 hours, but the variety of stops and scenery keeps it moving.
What’s Included
Return coach transport from Cork city centre
Professional guide with live commentary throughout
Multiple scenic stops around the Ring of Kerry
Stops in Killarney, Cahersiveen, and Waterville
What’s Not Included
Meals and drinks
Entry to any attractions along the route
Tips for the guide
Good to Know
This is a 12-hour day, so bring water, snacks, and a packed lunch or plan to buy food at the village stops
The Ring of Kerry road is narrow in places and coaches travel anticlockwise by convention to avoid oncoming traffic
Kerry weather is unpredictable, so come prepared with waterproofs and layers even in summer
Window seats fill up quickly on the coach, so arrive at the pickup point a few minutes early
The viewpoints at Moll’s Gap and Ladies View can be windy - secure hats and loose items
Local Tips
Killarney is a 30-minute break, so it’s worth knowing what’s worth your time in that window. The town is walkable and the national park entrance is ten minutes from the town centre - Ireland’s first national park, with ten thousand hectares of lakes, oak woods and the only native red deer herd left on the island. If you’re staying overnight before or after the tour, the walk from Ross Castle to Innisfallen Island by hired rowboat is a half-day well spent.
At Waterville, the 30-minute stop is tight but enough to walk the seafront promenade and see the Charlie Chaplin statue. The village sits on a narrow isthmus between Lough Currane and Ballinskelligs Bay, and you can see both from the main street. The Butler Arms Hotel at the end of the seafront is where Chaplin himself stayed every summer from 1959; the Lobster Bar on the main street is the obvious pint stop if you have time.
The Skellig rocks - the extraordinary early Christian monastery stacks visible off the Iveragh coast - are best seen from the Coomakista viewpoint between Cahersiveen and Waterville. On a clear day they sit on the horizon like two dark teeth. Skellig boats actually leave from Portmagee, 20 minutes north of Waterville, so this tour doesn’t include a landing trip - but the view from the clifftop is free.
Sneem is the village between Waterville and Kenmare on the Ring of Kerry circuit - the Irish name means knot, which tells you exactly what the village does to its river. Two squares split by the Sneem River, with Steve Crusher Casey in bronze on South Square (world heavyweight wrestling champion 1938-1947, never lost the title in the ring). The Blue Bull pub on South Square is the local stop if the coach pauses here.
Kenmare sits where the Ring of Kerry meets the N71 from Killarney - a planned town from 1670 laid out in three streets by Sir William Petty, five minutes from Moll’s Gap on the mountain road home. If the tour swings through, Mulcahy’s on Henry Street has held its reputation since 1995, and the Bronze Age stone circle - fifteen boulders five minutes from the town square - takes ten minutes and is free.
Ladies View is the stop where you get the classic three-lakes photo. In summer the viewing area fills fast, so position yourself early as the coach pulls in. The view earned its name when Queen Victoria’s ladies-in-waiting visited in 1861 and declared it the finest in Ireland - the Killarney Lakes spread out below the MacGillycuddy’s Reeks in a way that makes the claim hard to argue with.
Nearby on IrelandMe
Killarney - Gateway to Ireland’s first national park, with the 15th-century Ross Castle, the island monastery of Innisfallen, and the Gap of Dunloe walking route through five glacial lakes
Waterville - Charlie Chaplin’s annual hideout from 1959, on a strip of land between Lough Currane and the Atlantic; the Butler Arms hotel kept his suite unchanged
Sneem - the knot-village between Waterville and Kenmare on the Ring circuit; two squares, one river bridge, Crusher Casey in bronze on South Square, and the Blue Bull pub alongside him
Kenmare - the planned 1670 town at the foot of Moll’s Gap where the Ring of Kerry meets the Killarney road; Mulcahy’s for dinner and a Bronze Age stone circle five minutes from the square