We have the great fortune of being a private group for our
May 2018 tour of Ireland. This gives us
some real flexibility, so I would like to post this month on some options we
might consider for Day 5. Some of you
may have read or heard about our 2009 Ireland tour and how we (as a private
group) were able to reroute our tour bus for a day to see Charles Fort and the
Titanic exhibit at Cobh Heritage Centre. For me
that was an especially memorable day of our tour, with breathtaking scenery and
a fascinating tour. From talking to a
few of our participants individually, it would appear we have an opening in our
May 2018 itinerary to make a similar change that would allow us to see more of
what our participants are most interested in.
Our current Day 5
itinerary is a bus tour of The Ring of Kerry.
This is a scenic drive around the Iveragh Peninsula with plenty of nice
views and a visit to the Bog Village (a replica early 18th century
village of small thatched houses). While
this day trip is very popular among itineraries for tours of Ireland, it also
has a few minor drawbacks for our group.
First, about a third of the group has been to Ireland before and already
toured The Ring of Kerry. Now, if we
keep the itinerary as is those participants would still have the option of
staying in Killarney that day or joining a local tour for one of the
surrounding areas.
However, we do
have the option as a private group of modifying our itinerary for that day to
see sights that appeal more to the whole group as the second drawback of the
present itinerary is that a few participants have discussed with me preferring
time in Irish towns (including just more time in Killarney) to a full day of
driving around the countryside. My proposal
would be to reroute our tour bus on Day 5 to see a more balanced itinerary of
scenic countryside and still stop in an Irish town or two, along with stops at other
points of interest.
Killarney is a great starting point for many day tours, so there are a lot of choices to consider, and the group would have to agree on the new route before we’d change our Day 5 itinerary. I’ve outlined three unique full day tour options below.
Dingle
Peninsula
Driving
from Killarney to Dingle, we would stop briefly at scenic Inch Beach. The town of Dingle is known for its
traditional Irish music. The plan would
be to spend a few hours, including lunch time, in Dingle enjoying the great
coastal views, music, pubs and shopping in this quintessential Irish town. We would then continue on to Slea Head Viewingpoint
for some breathtaking views. From there
we would return to Killarney via Conor Pass, one of the highest Irish mountain
passes you can travel through.
Upper Beara Peninsula and Drombeg Stone
Circle
 |
| Torc Waterfall |
 |
| Drombeg Stone Circle |
Killarney National Park and Upper Beara
Penninsula
This
options focuses heavily on Killarney National Park but also takes us to Kenmare
and a closer stone circle. We would
again see Torc Waterfall, but first we’d make stops at Ross Castle and Muckross
House, Gardens and Traditional Farm. Proceeding
through Molls Gap we would stop for lunch, shopping, pubs, etc in lovely
Kenmare. We would then visit nearby
Uragh Stone Circle, a Bronze Age stone circle with five megaliths, the highest
being ten feet tall. We would return to
Kenmare and then back to Killarney while seeing more of the Irish countryside.
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