Killarney is 302 kilometres from Dublin Airport — call it three and three-quarter hours with a stop. The route runs M7 to Limerick and then south-west through Abbeyfeale and Castleisland, or M8 towards Cork and west through Millstreet, depending on the day.
It is the busiest tourist town in Ireland outside Dublin, and for good reason. The national park starts at the edge of the street grid. Muckross House, Torc Waterfall, the Gap of Dunloe and Ladies View are all inside half an hour.
The Ring of Kerry, privately
The Ring is a 179-kilometre loop and the standard advice is to drive it anti-clockwise so you are not meeting tour coaches head-on in Coomakista. With a private driver you can go clockwise, start at eight, and have Sneem to yourself. We run the Ring as a full-day private tour from Killarney, with as many stops as the day allows — Kenmare, Staigue Fort, Derrynane, Waterville, Cahersiveen, Killorglin.
Skellig Michael is worth a separate note: landing tours run from Portmagee between May and September, sell out months ahead, and are cancelled outright in poor sea conditions. If you have a booking, tell us the date and we will plan around it.
What the fare covers
€660 for up to 3 passengers, €720 for up to 7. Tolls, parking, flight monitoring, meet-and-greet and a comfort stop are all included. Ring of Kerry and Dingle day tours are quoted separately.
