Today is our full Killarney National Park day.

We begin with some of the famous scenery we skipped when we joined the Ring of Kerry at Kenmare.

Our morning takes us past Torc Waterfall, Ladies View, and Moll’s Gap, completing one of the most beautiful sections of the Ring.

Then we head to Ross Castle.

But instead of getting back into the van, we get into a boat. We’ll cross the beautiful Lakes of Killarney, traveling deep into the national park to Lord Brandon’s Cottage. From there, we’ll climb aboard traditional jaunting cars for the approximately 12-kilometer journey through the spectacular Gap of Dunloe, a narrow mountain pass between some of Kerry’s highest peaks.

Lakes, stone bridges, mountains, sheep, narrow roads, and scenery that looks like somebody designed it specifically for an Ireland postcard.

We’ll eventually emerge at Kate Kearney’s Cottage, where transportation takes us back to Ross Castle and our van.

After some time to shower and rest, we head out for dinner.

Then at night, we’ll watch Celtic Steps, a high-energy performance of traditional Irish music and dancing.

Mountains by day, Irish music and dancing by night. This one should be a pretty great day!

TOTAL DRIVING TIME: Approximately 1h30m in our van, broken into drives of about 15m, 15m, 10m, 30–35m, and short local drives later in the day.

OVERNIGHT: Killarney Court Hotel

MEALS: Breakfast