Tag: Ireland

Out of all the must-see sights in Ireland recommended by blogs, guidebooks, and friends/family who have been to Ireland, the Cliffs of Moher ranked high on everyone’s list, and now Chris and I know why! After staying in Killarney for two nights, we hit the road early and made our way up the west coast toward Galway with a plan to spend the afternoon at the cliffs.

But first, we stopped in the sweetest village, Adare, on the way. Famous for its thatched-roof cottages built in the 1820s, friendly little Adare charmed my socks right off. Chris and I wandered the village, ate a leisurely lunch, and enjoyed a take-away bakery dessert while sitting in a beautiful park nearby. Our road trip might sound like a crazy whirlwind with a lot of mileage, but we had plenty of serene moments where we soaked in our surroundings. This was one of them.

After our lovely time in Adare, we continued onto the Cliffs of Moher. I admit I didn’t know what to expect other than a long stretch of rocky walls along the ocean that I had seen in pictures. Photos simply do not do the dramatic coastline justice; it has to be experienced first-hand along with the crazy winds! I also didn’t realize you can walk the length of the cliffs on the Burren Way, and because we had such a beautiful day that’s exactly what we did.

For most of the trail along the cliffs towards Doolin there are two paths – one is right along the ridge, and one is down low alongside a short wall (see photo below). We chose the perilous option for the views, although on a rainy, slippery day I might have opted for the protection of the wall! A sign warns visitors that this part of the cliffs are on private farmland and while you are allowed to walk there, the farmers are not liable for your fate. (Gulp.)

It was so windy! This isn’t a good look for me.

The one thing I did plan very specifically was the timing of our visit. I aimed to photograph the cliffs in the afternoon when the sun (if not behind clouds) would be shining into the side of the cliffs. The lighting was incredibly gorgeous while we were there (around 4-5pm). We absolutely lucked out with the weather and enjoyed sunshine for nearly two hours; it only started sprinkling just as we were leaving.

I had also hoped to see The Burren on the same day as the Cliffs of Moher if the schedule allowed, and we did drive through the national park, but we were indeed short on time and didn’t get to see any of the attractions found deeper into the park. So The Burren goes onto the list for a future trip when we can give it a proper amount of time. The reasons to go back to Ireland are adding up!

As part of our Ring of Kerry day, I originally wanted to take a boat trip out to Skellig Michael, a small island home to sixth-century monastery ruins. We quickly realized that the five-hour trip to Skellig Michael would take the better part of the morning and afternoon and we would have to either rush through the rest of the Ring of Kerry or skip a lot of it since we only planned one day for the ring. So, Skellig Michael ended up on my list for next time.

We did, however, have time to add the Skellig Ring into our schedule. If you’re driving the whole Ring of Kerry, I highly highly recommend including this 20-mile loop for even more diversity in jaw-dropingly gorgeous Irish landscape. The turn is just after Waterville if you’re following the clockwise direction.

I admit to being extra motivated to drive the Skellig Ring if only to visit Skelligs Chocolate. I had heard of Skelligs from my trip research, but didn’t know much about the factory other than they have good chocolate (that’s all I needed to know). So imagine my surprise and delight when I walked into the shop to find out that they offered free tasting sessions! We stood at the counter in front of the production line while a woman sliced up sample after sample of chocolate bars and truffles. Step aside beer and whiskey; this is a tasting I can get into.

Would you believe it though, I didn’t take a single picture of the chocolate? My apologies for that – I was pretty occupied with consuming all of the samples. We purchased a mixture of the truffles that we tasted, and even more importantly, I tried my first scone ever at the cafe. Delicious!

My most favorite non-food-related spot on the Skellig Ring was easily the Kerry Cliffs. The spectacular cliffs are the closest vantage point on land to see the Skellig Islands. We lucked out with a clear day and could easily spot Little Skellig and Skellig Michael out to the west. There is a small fee to enter the park, but we felt like the price of 4 euros each was worth it for such stunning views. It’s a nice walk to a lengthy viewing point where you can watch birds circling above the waves crashing against the rocks. Simply breathtaking.

Also along the Skellig Ring? The fishing village of Portmagee and a super picturesque little isle nearby called Valentia Island. I only learned about Valentia Island after we got back home and I think we would have enjoyed stopping there, so I will add that to my growing list of things to see on our next Ireland trip. I’m excited to have so many reasons to go back!

But we did check off a few more must-see items in Ireland, like the Cliffs of Moher, and that post is up next.

Since I was pretty much in charge of the whole Ireland itinerary (Chris had more input for the Scotland plans), I arrived in County Kerry without knowing if we would drive the Ring of Kerry or take one of the roads less traveled and see the Beara peninsula or the Dingle peninsula. With Killarney being a good starting point for any of the options, I figured we’d make a game-time decision. After talking with our B&B host, he highly recommended the Ring of Kerry as the classic must-see route, so we took his advice and added a twist – we tacked on the Skellig Ring (which I’ll cover in another post). I actually didn’t do much planning around this part of our trip since I didn’t know what we would end up choosing and I didn’t want to get my hopes up in case the weather wasn’t cooperative, but we were incredibly lucky with a gorgeous partly sunny/mostly cloudy day and no rain!

We had received some additional advice from a couple we met in Dublin who insisted that we absolutely should not drive the Ring of Kerry because we’ll miss the sights, but we decided to go with our guts and pass on their suggestion to take a tour bus in favor of DIY flexibility.

In hindsight, we are so glad we drove the route ourselves, but I realize it might not be for everyone. If you are scared of heights, feel uncomfortable with cars squeezing by you on very narrow roads, or if you simply prefer to sit back and watch the scenery from the window, then I would recommend the tour bus route. I’m sure it has other benefits, too, like meeting new people and sticking to a specific schedule.

I need the flexibility to get out of the car at photos ops though, and Chris has the left-hand-side driving down pat, so we loved taking our comfy rental car around the ring for Day 2 of our road trip. We left before 9am on a Monday morning and followed the common advice to drive clockwise in order to avoid trailing the tour buses. At our first stop, Torc Waterfall, we had the trail and the waterfall all to ourselves with not a single other soul in sight. We listened to the stream and the various forest sounds of Killarney National Park in peace, and we didn’t have to feel guilty for setting up a big tripod for a few long exposures of the waterfall. It was the perfect start to our Ring of Kerry adventure.

I attribute the peaceful solitude to our early morning start. We ended up having most of the popular spots to ourselves. Certain classic Ring of Kerry stops like Ladies View were perfect for quiet, reflective moments. A midge did bite me on the forehead while I was taking this photo, but otherwise…very peaceful.

The adorable town of Kenmare is a great spot to stop for breakfast (or lunch if you got a later start), or even just to do some shopping and walking around. We ate an Irish breakfast at a little cafe, and I also finally ended up buying a European hairdryer to use on this trip and future trips since the tiny hotel dryers usually don’t quite cut it.

Back on the ring, we found plenty of random nooks and crannies along the road to stop and explore. I’m pretty sure the tour buses don’t stop at every little gorgeous spot – most of the time there was only room for about two or three cars to park. If you drive the ring, I recommend pulling over almost any time you see a spot to park the car!

Derrynane Beach, another suggestion from our fantastic host at the B&B, turned out to be one of my favorite stops on the Ring of Kerry. To find it, we followed directions to Derrynane House, parked in the parking lot, and followed signs to the expansive sandy beach. Temperatures and currents made the beach unswimmable while we visited, but the scenery alone was worth the detour.

I don’t think we could have gone wrong with any of the west coast peninsula options, but I’m glad we went with the classic Ring of Kerry. Because I didn’t do any pre-planning, I was a little worried and I wasn’t sure if it would be obvious what exactly we were supposed to see along the ring. But rest assured, you can show up for this road trip without a specific plan and still see the main sites that are well-marked with signs, plus an amazing sample of mountains, beaches, lakes, ruins, and the greenest landscapes imaginable. Our self-guided tour of the Ring of Kerry ended up taking the full day, and it was one of my favorite days of the trip!

Next up: the Skellig Ring, a small detour off of the Ring of Kerry that deserves a post all on its own.

After spending two car-free days in Dublin, Chris and I were rested, well-adjusted to the time zone, and ready to hit the road! I went against all of the advice I read about staying put in one or two areas of Ireland and instead planned a route that would take us from Dublin to all along the west coast and then up to Belfast. We braced ourselves for some early mornings and late evenings, rented a too-big-for-narrow-roads Renault Fluence (next time I know to ask for a small car!), and headed in the direction of County Kerry to start our crazy coastal tour.

Our first day of driving included a little under four hours to get from Dublin to Killarney. With so much scenery and plenty of photo-op stops, the time in the car flew by quickly. We stopped at the cute little town of Cashel to have lunch and to see the Rock of Cashel. I instantly got to snapping photos of the cheerful colors and thriving flora. Maybe my black thumb and I should move to Ireland – it seems like plants do really well there!

We arrived at the castle around the same time as hundreds of other people (lunchtime on a Sunday in late August), so we decided not to tour the inside. Instead, we took a walk down a gravel path behind the castle where we found peace and quiet, breathed fresh air, and soaked in some incredibly gorgeous views all to ourselves. We had a clear line of sight to Hore Abbey, a ruined Cistercian monastery, and we enjoyed the company of some farm animals nearby. I’ll take a serene travel moment over a crowded tour almost every time.

The weather held up for our entire time in Cashel, turned to light sprinkles for our drive to County Kerry, and stopped raining just in time for our arrival in Killarney. We settled into our B&B for the next two nights (more on the Irish bed and breakfast scene in a future post) and walked into town. I read in several places that Killarney feels a bit touristy, but we thought it was a lot of fun. Yes, there are a ton of shops aimed at tourists and most of the people we saw milling about looked like vacationers, but the area is cute and we loved trying the different pubs.

We specifically set out to find the “craic” (Gaelic for fun/entertainment) in the way of traditional music, and we found exactly what we were looking for at O’Connors. Chris and I squeezed into the pub along with a mixture of other visitors and locals, and we stalked a seat towards the front so we could easily see the band. Listening to upbeat folksy tunes and trying new local beers (my new favorite is Crean’s!) was the perfect end to our first day on the road.

Stay tuned for the next chapter of our coastal tour: the classic Ring of Kerry drive and our adventures exploring the Skellig Ring.