I had a couple of days off so where better to head than Kerry! I hadn’t been down there in well over 10 years but I definitely didn’t expect to enjoy it as much as I did. We chose the village of Portmagee as our base and tried to fit in as many things as we could in 3 days.

Where did we stay?

We rented an AirBnB just outside the village of Portmagee. It is possibly one of the nicest places I’ve stayed in. It was new, clean, great views, lots of room. You could probably sleep about 8-10 in the house. Best thing is that there is a massive store of fire wood and turf outside so you can put the fire on every day. Only down side is that you have to drive to the village but that’s only a small thing.

Here is the link; http://www.portmageeseasidecottages.com/

Itinerary

First day it was raining and we were happy to just go for a drive. We took a trip to Valentia lighthouse. Worth it if it’s raining but if the weather has been better, I probably would have skipped it.

We then decided to go visit the Tetrapod footprints. This is a solid no from me. Don’t ever go to see them. I’m glad they were free because I would have looked for a refund otherwise. There is a car park at the top and you walk down taking in the information board on the way. Then you proceed to the area they are located. Clodagh had to point them out because I couldn’t find the footprints anywhere! They aren’t that obvious so I was really disappointed. Another thing I would have skipped if the weather had been better.

We spent the rest of the day taking in the scenery and napping, an essential activity of holiday!

Clodagh heading down to the footprints.

Day 2 started with the sun shining and we had a packed itinerary so headed off early. First on our list were the Kerry Cliffs, a discovery point along the Wild Atlantic Way. Their sign simply says “Kerry’s most spectacular cliffs” and an arrow. They didn’t disappoint. I enjoyed them more than the Cliffs of Moher as they were way less commercial. There is a small entry fee and then you make your way up.

Every direction gave the most amazing views. You can see Skellig Michael in the background.

From there we followed the Wild Atlantic Way for a bit before doing the Skelligs Ring. We stopped at loads of random spots including this beach and holy well

In the afternoon we went on a boat trip with Kerry Aqua Terra adventures. That brought us around Valentia and we stopped for a while on Beginish island, a former Viking settlement. We had free time to explore the island before return via seal watching.

Beginish island.

That evening we made our last stop to Geokaun, where you can get 360 views of Valentia. You can hike or drive up and it turned out that it was cheaper for us to bring the car up than hike up individually. It’s not worth the hike so just bring the car. There is a nice loop walk at the second viewing point and the views are stunning so it is well worth the visit.

Some of the views from Geokaun.

Day three was our planned hike. We chose Cnoc an dTobar which is a pilgrim path. You follow the white crosses all the way to the top. It supposedly takes 3 hours but we stopped at literally every cross for a sos beag so it took us 5 hours in total.

Most of the hike is actually pretty boring and had it not been for the crosses, I’m not sure I would have finished it. It was worth it in the end for the spectacular scenery.

Following the crosses to the top.
You only get the best view at cross 11 so you have to go to the top!!!!

Cnoc na dTobar isn’t as challenging as a Croagh Patrick but I still wouldn’t advise anyone to go up in runners. Bring proper gear as it is muddy in places and you’ll need water and snacks as well.

We also went on a little drive through Ballaghbeama pass. A nice drive through the Kerry mountains rewarded us with amazing scenery.

No trip to Kerry is complete without sheep!

Three days was enough to do the area we were in but I will definitely return to do the Dingle area and explore Kerry some more. The place wasn’t overly crowded so it was a really enjoyable experience.