After a quick breakfast at our hotel in Doolin, James and I hit the road for a long drive to Killarney. We had originally planned a stop midway at Bunratty Castle and Folk Park, but decided to skip it in favor of a boat tour in Killarney National Park. We had a nearly three-hour drive and a time certain check in for the tour so I was a little nervous about making it on time. We had booked the boat tour online while in Doolin and the site said there was a mandatory check in 30 minutes before departure.
Short on time and frustrated with a GPS that wasn’t navigating very well in the park, James and I found parking in a lot that looked to be close to Ross Castle, with our designated check in area nearby. We rushed toward the boat, with James on the look out for a restroom after our long drive. By the time we checked in, it was 15 minutes late but the boat skipper was nonplussed. As it turns out, there were less than 10 other people signed up for the boat tour (with a boat capacity of 60) so I am sure he was happy for any passengers he could get.
The tour took us around Lough Leane and offered pretty views of the Killarney mountains.The pace of the boat was slow and our tour guide offered a little history of the sites we saw. It was relaxing after our long drive from Doolin.
After our boat tour, we headed back to our car and passed by many jaunting cars (horse-drawn carts). We had both agreed that we weren’t really interested in that jaunting car experience so we opted to drive on to the next attraction in Killarney National Park, the Muckross House and Garden, and traditional farms. Our GPS failed us again as it gave us directions to a spot that turned out to be parking lot miles from our destination. Instead, it was a spot to park cars and take a jaunting car ride to Muckross House and Garden. These jaunting cars were not as polished as the ones near Ross Castle – and the driver was a little rougher around the edges. But we agreed to a tour if the driver could get us back to our car in 45 minutes.
The ride turned out to be pleasant, despite us feeling a little bad for the horse that had to pull us up the hills in the park. The tour took us by Muckross Abbey, Muckross House and Gardens, and stopped at a spot where we could take a short hike to Torc waterfall. The waterfall alone was worth the trip.
When we got back to our car, we headed up Moll’s Gap toward Kenmare. This road was by far the most nerve-wracking stretch we drove on in Ireland. The road was not wide enough for two cars and we happened to be driving in late afternoon when oversized tour buses were heading in the opposite direction. James hugged the brush as much as he could to keep buses from coming at us head on, but when we reached the top of the pass we got an amazing view. We stopped for a late lunch at the Avoca shop and enjoyed some of the best food of the trip, followed by souvenir shopping for scarves.
From there, we went straight to our hotel in Kenmare. After checking in, we opted to stay in for the evening to catch up on some rest and to hit the road early for our drive around the Ring of Kerry.
Andersons+Ireland 