Driving rings around County Kerry in .NET

Creation ECC200 in .NET Driving rings around County Kerry

To partake in Irish culture at its best, check out County Kerry Irish traditions flourish here, from music and storytelling to good pub craic (a Gaelic word that, roughly translated, means a great vibe ) In addition, you can find several of the country s few remaining Gaelic-speaking pockets here The 177km (110-mile) Ring of Kerry, a scenic route circling the Iveragh Peninsula, is Ireland s most famous and most tour bus engulfed drive Because this area is heavy with tour buses, most visitors take the Ring counterclockwise from Killarney, which makes the heavy traffic easier to manage The only thing less fun than driving on the left side of a twisty, narrow two-lane road along a cliff and sharing it with a constant stream of giant buses much too wide for their lane is doing the same thing with all those buses coming directly at you You can visit the Ring in a long day, but give the whole area two or three days in order to take some trips off the beaten path on the Iveragh Peninsula and to spend time on the less-visited Dingle Peninsula

Frequent daily train and bus service arrives from Ireland s big cities into Killarney, the region s main town and tourist center Killarney also houses the region s main tourist office (% 064-31-633; wwwkillarneyonline com) in the Town Hall off Main Street

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Blennerville DINGLE Camp N23 Ballyferriter PENINSULA Castlemaine Annascaul Farranfore R561 Dunquin Ventry Inch Airport Dingle R559 Kerry Bog Killorglin N22

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Portmagee Lough R566 Ke r r y SKELLIG Currane g of ISLANDS Staigue Sneem Rin R571 Ballinskelligs Ballin- Waterville Fort Parknasilla skelligs Bay iver Caherdaniel are R

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Driving the Ring in County Kerry, a stretch of route N70 with plenty of signage, is by far the most popular activity in this region The winding route provides thrilling, dramatic views of the sea and the high inland mountains, and passes through a succession of charming villages, each with its own unique points of interest Highlights include the Kerry Bog Village Museum at Glenbeigh (thatched cottages re-created for tourists), Cahirciveen (the main town), Staigue Fort (a well-preserved, Iron Age, drystone fortress), the town of Sneem (cottages in festive colors), and the charming, picturesque town of Kenmare, where you ll enjoy fine hotels, restaurants, shopping, and pubs About halfway around the Ring, you can detour onto Valentia Island, connected to the mainland by a bridge and home to the Skellig Experience Centre (% 066-947-6306), where exhibits introduce you to

the endangered natural habitats and medieval monastery of the dramatic Skellig Islands off the coast The center offers weather-dependent cruises around the islands Though the Ring of Kerry is justifiably popular, the less frequented circular drive around the Dingle Peninsula, one inlet to the north of the Inveragh, is even more scenic Dingle s tourist office (% 066-915-1188) is on the Quay in Dingle Town, the main town Dingle is also home to Fungie, the resident dolphin of Dingle Bay To arrange a swim with Fungie (he s not in captivity, so there s no guarantee that he ll show up), call % 066-915-1967 Another gem in Kerry is Killarney National Park (% 064-35-960), a beautiful area full of lakes, waterfalls, castles, woodlands, bogs, and the manor house, gardens, and romantically ruined abbey of Muckross

You may feel as though you re staying in a friend s house at Blackstones House (% 066-976-0164; wwwglencar-blackstonescom), a cozy farmhouse B&B located off the Ring of Kerry in the mountains, next to a rushing river Packies, Henry Street, Kenmare (% 053-41-508), a hip, cheerful restaurant, serves up delectable dishes that range from traditional Irish to modern, internationally influenced fare