KENMARE: What's YOUR idea of a perfect 4-night September stay in Kenmare?

Melissa5 · Guru

KENMARE: What's YOUR idea of a perfect 4-night September stay in Kenmare?

Michele Erdvig · Host

Melissa,

There is more than 4 days of sightseeing you can do from Kenmare.

1. Beara Peninsula & Healy Pass, Derreen Gardens, Gleninchiquin Park
2. Kenmare town, heritage center & lace museum, Druid's Circle, Reenagross Park
3. Ring of Kerry (including Valentia Island & Fogher Cliffs)
4. Ilnacullin Gardens on Garinish Island (Glengarriff) & Bantry House & Gardens
5. Gougane Barra
6. Killarney: Muckross House, Gardens, Abbey & Farms; Ross Castle, Killarney National Park, Moll's Gap
7. Gap of Dunloe

Michele

Melissa5 · Guru

biggrin Michele: Wow! It sounds like we will be VERY busy during our 4-night stay in Kenmare! My burning question is: can I time-travel from the middle of the Druid's circle? aww Thanks for the list of things to see from Kenmare, and I'll enjoy looking them all up and discussing them with my husband. So much to look forward to.

wojazz3 · Guru

Thanks for stealing all the good ones Michele

I'll add one or two. If the weather is good (especially if the seas are calm), Skellig Michael is as humbling an experience as you can get. It's an amazing place and another good option for some time travel. Leave from Portmagee as opposed to Caherdaniel. There are other departure points, but I think Portmagee is the shortest trip.

Barley Lake if you like tiny scary roads just past the rock tunnels on N71 is peaceful and beautiful and then follow the road through the forest park into Glengarriff. The views from the lake are lovely...

Bill

Melissa5 · Guru

wojazz3: Thanks for coming up with more Irish gems. (-: My hip has improved a lot...if I'm ready for a lot of steps by September I'll consider Skellig Michael. How long does it take a slow climber to get to the top? How slow am I? When it comes to hills or stairs, I usually come in last...yes I come in behind the spry little old ladies...and I'm only in my 50's! And what happens if you need a toilet on Skellig Michael? 0-: I LOVE time travel, and I dont' have the opportunity very often. (-; I have to say, despite all my misgivings as stated, I think it would be a very memorable experience to visit Skellig Michael, and it has been tempting me for a long time. Just think of the poetic notes I might be inspired to write if I ever made it to the top...Very tempting.

Barley Lake and Glengariff sound great. Tiny scary roads are great for trip reports. (-:

tony2phones · Guru

There are a couple of other considerations, how about Sheeps and Missen Heads.

http://www.mizenhead.ie/

http://www.thesheepshead.com/

wojazz3 · Guru

Hi Melissa:

I'm sorry I forgot about your hip issue. It is a lengthy climb, about 30 minutes at a moderate pace as i remember. I didn't find it exhausting but I live at over 5000 ft. Some folks find it hard and the steps are uneven and sometimes a bit scary. If your hip is feeling good by then, you could feasibly make the climb. There is plenty of time at the top so going slow about it is not a problem. Be careful though. I find it's one of my favorite experiences in Ireland.

I agree with Tony on Sheeps and Mizen. The walk out to Mizen is beautiful and paved and if you don't take the famous 99 steps, is a fairly gentle slope. The walk out to Sheepshead is a bit longer I believe on a dirt/mud path depending on the weather. The Sheepshead lighthouse is more photogenic that the one at Mizen but the views from both are spectacular.

I like the little village of Crookhaven on Mizen. If you are looking for a spectacular view very little walking, take the road that goes straight up the hill just west of Crookhaven. It's B----head. I can't think of the name right now. From the top it's beautiful. There is also a very narrow road that comes over the top of the hill to Crookhaven Bay from the north. The views on a clear day are unbeliveable. If you are going that way, I'll look it up on the map. Again, these are tiny roads, the kind I like to get lost on and are not for everyone.

Bill

Melissa5 · Guru

tony2phones: Thanks for the links. The photos of Sheeps head peninsula look beautiful. I'll look further into Sheep's head and Mizen head. There are so many choices, I'm glad we are staying 4 nights! smile

Melissa5 · Guru

wojazz3: Thanks for all the ideas and for the inspiration. Now you have got my husband intrigued by Skellig Michael. I wonder if those puffins will be present on Skellig Michael in September? Maybe not because I guess they nest in May? Anyway yes I am currently challenged by my hip...However I'm happy to report that it's getting a lot better! I'm hoping I will be able to do lots of steps soon... It's too soon to say. This guidebook says its 600 steps up to Skellig Michael!

If it takes you 30 minutes to get to the top of Skellig Michael...it will probably take me 2 hours...and that's when my hip was good. But I am entertaining the idea. (After all, if we don't make it on this trip...there is always the NEXT trip! biggrin )

Walking is good for me...I'm having no problems with walking on flat surfaces or on gradual slopes this week. Sitting is getting more comfortable as well. When my hip is all better I will practice on some steps and see how I do...before I get to Ireland.

We are looking forward to exploring wild Irish scenery...

We have 4 nights in Kenmare, which means we have about 3 1/2 days to explore the area. I will have to research and prioritize the possible day-trips. Sheeps' Head and Mizen sound good too, as you and tony2phones have suggested.

Michele also suggested some beautiful areas.

Thanks very much for your help.

CatManDoo · Newbie

I will also be in Kenmare for 4 nights in September with my wife, 7yo twins, and my mother and father. Would any of these recommendations change considering we're traveling with two kids? I think Killarney National Park is a must-do. And we want to spend some time just kicking around Kenmare town. Other than that, we're pretty open.

My biggest challenge right now is deciding which peninsula to spend our time touring. I realize Dingle is the furthest from Kenmare, but I've heard such wonderful things about it that it's pretty much a must-do I think. I hadn't really considered Beara until recently, but Kenmare is so close that I hate to just ignore it. It sounds beautiful, but is there enough to keep the kids interested? Would it be worth doing IN ADDITION TO Dingle? Then there's the ROK to muddy the waters. It seems like people have a love-hate relationship with it. If we skip it in favor of one of the other two peninsulas, will we be missing much? I've gotten some feedback from Tony in other forums, but additional advice would be much appreciated. Thanks everyone!

Melissa5 · Guru

Catmandoo: Your questions can get buried here in my post. Try posting your own separate question here on the forum and you'll get more answers.

I'm in the middle of planning my second trip to Ireland. On the first trip we spent 3 or 4 nights on the Dingle peninsula and wished we had an extra night! We had the same decisions you have to make. We LOVED the Dingle peninsula but now we are seeing the Beara peninsula and the Iveragh peninsula (ring of Kerry) on this second trip. smile

If I spy any twins in Kenmare I'll wonder if its your family! Enjoy your trip.

tony2phones · Guru

The Ring of Kerry and Dingle have Tour Bus's and lot's of visitors using these. Dingle has all the Rick something travel gumph to help. Beara has a couple of 12 seat tour bus's and some like myself who have seen most all of the coast to carry the Word. Sheeps Head has only the few to tell of its wonders and Mizen has even fewer. Hopefully Melissa will get good weather and give a balanced view as a new member of one of the few.

CatManDoo · Newbie

tony2phones wrote:
Dingle has all the Rick something travel gumph to help.

I don't want to hijack Melissa's thread, but this made me laugh, and I have to say that one of the reasons I'm all over the Ireland messageboards is that ol' Rick has sort of overstayed his welcome in my travel library. He has a tendency to GUSH over anything he likes and completely PAN anything he doesn't. I've proven his advice wrong enough time over the years to take what he says with a grain of salt. The internet has made him much less relevant, IMHO.

Melissa5 · Guru

Catmandoo: Me too! I was addicted to buying Rick Steves guidebooks to anyplace in Europe. But...he really let me down with his Ireland guidebook in 2006. Then...I also bought his guidebook for Switzerland, and although parts of it are valuable and true, like you said, he just skips anyplace he pleases...for example the entire important city of Geneva didn't appear in his Switzerland guidebook at all (2010?) ...and for Ireland 2011, I looked over his book, and same problem...he over-does it for some areas, creating a flood of Rick Steves guidebook carriers in those areas...and then he skips or skims quickly over another area that really deserves more coverage.

Michele Erdvig is very reliable for Ireland. biggrin

Melissa5 · Guru

tony2phones: You are funny, and you are right...Dingle does have all the Rick Steves "travel gumph" as you call it. biggrin Dingle is a great peninsula...we stayed there in 2006...but my plan is to do them all eventually...and I'd love to write a poetic trip report for each if I get inspired... On this 4-night stay in Kenmare, I hope we can fit in 2 or 3 of these peninsulas: Iveragh peninsula, Beara peninsula, and either Mizen or Sheep's head peninsula.

I almost bought the Rick Steves Ireland guidebook the other day...because he supposedly tells you how to avoid the tour buses on the Ring of Kerry/Iveragh peninsula...but then I thought, he's not the only one who knows wise secrets... I can always ask you all! Besides, Rick tends to underestimate how much time a particular area is worth. We like to take our time.

What if we have to choose between Mizen or Sheep's head? What would you suggest? Maybe I will post that question on line. We would be using Kenmare as our "base".

tony2phones · Guru

You can do Mizen and the Sheeps Head in a day so no need to chose even taking your time. The tour bus's travel from Killarney anti clockwise towards Kenmare so unless you want to meet one face to face on a narrow part then I suggest you either follow them or get a head start on their 10 am departures and lead them.

This is a good link for driving the ring

http://www.novacarhire.com/blog/article/explore-the-ring-of-kerry-route-by-car.html

Send Bryno on TA a message and ask him about the Sheep and Mizen you wont find his local knowledge in a guide book.

-- Edited by tony2phones on Friday 27th of May 2011 03:42:22 AM

Michele Erdvig · Host

Catmandoo,

First, welcome to my forum. I see you are all having a few laughs while I was flying home from my 50th trip to Ireland.

Depending on what your twins are interested in you might consider skipping Ilnacullin Gardens and Bantry House (unless they are very interested in houses and gardens - but I don't know any 7-year-olds who are). Ditto Gougane Barra.

They might be interested in Molly Gallivan's in Bonnane: http://www.mollygallivans.com/ and Kissane Sheep Farm where they can adopt a sheep: http://www.kissanesheepfarm.com/ Definitely all the Killarney sightseeing and Gap of Dunloe. If you get good weather there are fantastic beaches on the various peninsulas.

Michele