Hi Michele, We will have only one day to explore Beara peninsula…
Now, I realize that we cannot see all the Beara in one day – so what are the ‘must-see’ places?What is a good itinerary that will allow us to explore it, get a good feel of it without rushing?We do not have time for the cable car to Dursey Island – so that is out.
Aaroadwatch shows for the entire loop Kenmare – R571 (North Side) - Dursey Head – R572 (South Side) - Kenmare about 100 miles and 4 hrs drive.With multiple stops, that might be 8 hrs for us, but we’ll be there in August, so daylight should not be a problem.
But by taking that itinerary, we would miss the Healy Pass. I think the only way to incorporate Healy Pass is to decide if the North or South side of the Beara ring is more interesting/spectacular.What do you think?
Healy Pass is certainly worthwhile. You could do a figure 8 but that would mean going through the pass twice. Of course you would get two different viewpoints and see the whole peninsula.
Another alternative would go from Kenmare to Lauragh, through Healy Pass to Ardrigole, follow the coast road clockwise back to Kenmare. That one means traversing the same route from Lauragh to Kenmare again and missing out on the road between Adrigole and Glengarriff.
Some places to consider seeing are Derreen Gardens near Lauragh and Gleninchiquin Park & Waterfall.
Hi Michele, Thanks for the suggestions - would we have time for the figure 8 drive? I know, it depends on how much, how long we stop...I guess we'll have to decide there.
The Gleninchiquin Park & Waterfall was on our list of things to do there, but I did not know anything about the Derreen Gardens - one more thing to look into Thanks
If you get an early start I don't see why you couldn't do a figure 8 drive. See what the day is like when you are there. If you decide to do that I suggest seeing Gleninchiquin Park and Derreen Gardens first, since they have closing times. The scenery and Healy Pass never closes.
Michele, I was just wondering if you know of good website for the Beara Peninsula. I am trying to find one that has a good driving mad and also shows what to see.