Ireland travel guide

Medieval Kilkenny is a fine little town perfect for a night or two. The focal point is of course the elegant Kilkenny Castle (built in 1195), which lies right at the river. There are a surplus of restaurants and pubs, ranging from tourist places with live music to fine dining. So even that they aren't that much to see, Kilkenny tends to charm its visitors.

In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries Limerick was considered to be the most beautiful city in Ireland. Today Limerick is still a darn fine city, which is partly due to recent years of renovation. The River Shannon cuts through and splits the city into sections. From the boardwalk along the riverbank there are great views of Kings Island, which holds a great share of Limerick's historical buildings, including Thomond Bridge, King John's Castle, and St Mary's Cathedral. Luckily, there are lots of quirky shops and uncompromised pubs, so it's a great place to wander aimlessly around.

Newgrange is a prehistoric megalithic tomb dating back to about 3200 BC, making it older than both Stonehenge and the Egyptian pyramids. It consists of a large circular mound with an inner stone passageway and chambers. The entrance and passageway is aligned with the rising sun on the winter solstice, such that the sunlight for a short moment reach the inner chamber. Newgrange is a part the UNESCO World Heritage site of Brú na Bóinne Complex, which also include the neighbouring similar sites of Knowth and Dowth. The Brú na Bóinne Complex is considered to be Europe's largest and most important concentration of prehistoric megalithic art. Of the three sites, Newgrange is the only site where you can get into the chamber. A guided tour is necessary and starts from the Brú na Bóinne visitor centre. Tickets can sell out fast, so book ahead.

This scenic ramp can be seen on post cards and in guidebooks. It leads down to a small pier from where sheep are sailed over to the neighbouring islands for grazing. Unfortunately, it's mostly tourists who use the ramp these days, but the setting is still spectacular.

Ring of Kerry is a very pretty 200 km long road trip which starts and ends in Killarney. It follows the N71, then N70 along the coast on Inveragh Peninsula, and then N72 back to Killarney. It can be done in both directions, but most people, including the big tour buses, do it counter clockwise. Usual it takes about five hours to do the full circuit, but of course it depends on the numbers of stops and side trips, for there are plenty to see, like villages, castles, ring forts, waterfalls, beaches, bays...
Though Ring of Kerry is probably the most famous road trip in Ireland, it's getting hard competition from the Slea Head Drive on Dingle Peninsula if measured by prettiness.

There are plenty of great road trips on Ireland, but two stands out: The famous Ring of Kerry and the little less famous Slea Head Drive. We will not get into which one is best, just do both. The Slea Head Drive takes the route along the rugged coast of Dingle Peninsula. It's a circular route which starts and ends in the cute, but a bit touristic, town of Dingle and can be done in both directions (the big tour buses do it counter clockwise). There are several historical sites along the drive, like beehive huts, but the best bits are the amazing views of the wild coast and green hills. The road is narrow with lots of twists and turns. The loop is just 47 km, but as you probably going to have photo stop every five minutes and shorter walks to reach view points, plan at least four hours for the full circuit.

The Irish speed limits in the countryside are simply crazy. 100 km/t is the norm on often narrow and winding roads, where two cars hardly can pass without knocking each other's side mirrors off. At particular narrow sections with blind curves the speed limit might "just" be 80 km/t, but only skilled rally drivers will able to steer clear of trees, oncoming traffic, and the occasional loose sheep at that speed. So driving in Ireland is challenging, but fun. Oh, did we mention they also drive on the left side!

Valentia Island can be visited as a side trip while driving the Ring of Kerry. From the old fishing (and pirate) village of Portmagee on the mainland, a bridge leads over to the island. From there the only main road traverse the island up to the main town of Knight's Town, which is a very quiet place in off season. There are some very nice vistas around the island, but the biggest sight on Valentia are the Tetrapod tracks (dinosaur footprints) on northern shore, which are believed to be more than 350 million years old.