Kenmare and the Ring of Kerry - Ireland 2014 - page 312

here to see. You also run the risk of meeting the big-bus convoy head on (see “Driving the
Ring of Kerry,” below).
If you're considering a boat trip out to the desperately remote and evocative island of
Skellig Michael, you'll need to add another day to allow for an overnight in the Portmagee
area...and hope for good weather.
By Public Transportation: You have three options for seeing the Ring of Kerry
without a car, none of which is as enjoyable as driving the loop yourself: minibus tour
from Kenmare (see here ) ; big-bus tour from Killarney (TI tel. [phone]); or public
bus from Killarney (see here ) .
Driving the Ring of Kerry (Made Less Scary)
On a one-day visit to the Ring, I'd leave Kenmare by 8:30 and head clockwise (against
the prevailing tour-bus traffic). Allow time for stops at Staigue Ring Fort (45 minutes) and
Derrynane House (1 hour), and get to Waterville before noon. To entirely miss the chain
of tour buses, which slithers (like a python swallowing a pig) counterclockwise around
the Ring, get to Waterville by 11:00; shortly after that, leave the main drag for the Skellig
Ring (with a road that's too narrow for big buses). Plan to have lunch out on the Skellig
Ring, either as a picnic on the lovely beach at St. Finian's Bay, or in Portmagee. By the
time you rejoin the main route, the python has slunk by. On the last half of the route, there
are two more hour-long stops: the Skellig Experience Centre (near Portmagee) and two