A summer getaway for the long weekend with my boyfriend was just the ticket that was needed. Given the glorious weather Ireland has been experiencing for Summer 2026, the ring around the Kingdom of Kerry seemed like the perfect destination.

We drove across the country from Dublin, traveling through nine different counties, to reach Killarney – our home away from home for a 4-days-3-nights trip in August 2026.

To give you even more representation of The Ring of Kerry, I’ve also included photos from my previous trips in June 2025 and May 2022.

ACCOMMODATION

P picked a great hotel in Hotel Killarney, that was comfy and quiet, included breakfast, whilst offering options for dinner and bar drinks. Our Superior Twin Room was spacious, with two comfortable beds (one for sleeping, one for my outfits!), ample wardrobe space and plenty of cosy vibes, the bathroom was a good size too with a walk-in shower and space around the sink area for our toiletries and wash bags. The hotel does have car parking around the front, however, the bigger car park at the back was better for us, with direct access too.

The breakfast offering was okay, it could do with a refresh. Served between 7.30am-10.30am, on our first morning we had a little lie in before going to The Strawberry Tree restaurant dining area for breakfast. Although it was closer to 10.00am, the ‘hot’ food buffet had lost much of its heat, some food was harder than it should be, and options became far and few across the ‘continental’ selection too. Additionally, with my lactose intolerance and fruit allergies, I felt I was a bit limited. Tea & toast was also all self-service – however, given the (standard hotel) price, this felt like a disservice to hotel guests. We opted to dine out for the remainder of our trip.

Hotel Killarney does offer guests access to their Leisure Centre, which includes an 18m swimming pool, jacuzzi, steam room, sauna and fully equipped gym, which on this occasion we didn’t avail of – expect busy family season during summer months and school holidays.

DO & SEE

The Ring of Kerry is famous for its 179-kilometre-long beautiful landscape drive, with views across the sea, loughs & lakes, the Gap of Dunloe, the many mountain ranges including Carrauntoohil & Cnoc na Toinne, Killarney National Park and all its wonders, Derrynane and the home of Daniel O’Connell, and spotting the iconic Skellig Michael. And we sure did and saw a lot of it – I’m very lucky P is an excellent driver!

There are many routes to choose from when setting out on your drive, and ours included departing Killarney through the National Park with beautiful views to Lough Leane, Muckross Lake and Upper Lake Killarney. Previously I’ve cycled through the park where we visited Muckross House and Torc Waterfall.

We continued the Ring of Kerry through Molls Gap, Blackwater and towards Sneem, a colourful & cute village that’s handy for a rest stop, then passing through Derrynane where I spent a week last summer, learned more about Daniel O’Connell and discovered where to go bunny-spotting(!).

We then went north towards Waterville, another beautiful town in which we stretched our legs. Not only will you have a statue of iconic actor & artist Charlie Chaplin, stunning views across the Atlantic towards, but the town’s historical significance in the transatlantic communications: Waterville served as the principal European hub for the Mackay-Bennett Commercial Cable Company. I also picked up a gorgeous painting by local artist Leo Quinlan from the Lq Art Gallery, and we treated ourselves to some caffeine pick-me-ups at Fox In the Box – I love their cheeky prod at the coffee culture! Last year I also stopped into the lovely gift shop, High Tides, that has a brilliant variety of Irish crafts & brands as well as witty humour plaques, mugs, and clothing – I even nabbed my pink Lighthouse rainjacket from there.

Making our way back towards Killarney, we continued north around the Ring of Kerry, stopping off at Golden’s of Kells for a light lunch bite, and drove onwards where the stunning views continued: Dingle Bay, An Cnapán Mór, Cnoc na Bánóige, Cnoc Mhaoilionáin, Menard Castle, and Inch Beach to name a few.

Another must-visit town is An Daingean (Dingle), easily one of the most famous towns in The Kingdom, and for good reason: it’s fab! It’s just an hour’s drive from Killarney, and, naturally with Kerry, there are beautiful sights along the way. The sun was shining brightly on our day out, and made for truly picturesque snaps around the town and by the harbour, which has a great amount of info-plaques at both the East Tower and West viewpoints to learn more about all that surrounds An Daingean. And don’t forget to say “hi” to Fungie’s statue!

Within the town, there are plenty of great shops and boutiques from fashion and jewellery to crafts and homewares – in which I could have spent hours in! But without listing every wonderful business, may I recommend popping into La Bohème, Kathleen McAuliffe, Sweet Pea, Outwest Clothing, Dingle Bookshop, Brian de Staic Jewellers and KellieMarie Jewellery Design, where you may find yourself wanting one or many pieces too. Dingle Crystal and Hedi O’Neill Dingle Pottery are also very special stores if you’re looking for something extra special. The town also hosted a funfair during the summer, bringing more activities to what’s on offer, or you could add Dingle Distillery Tours, Dingle Oceanworld Aquarium, and/or Dingle Dolphin Boat Tours to your itinerary – all of which I’ve done before over the past few decades!

To up the energy levels we stopped into My Boy Blue for simply delicious toasties before our wander around, and opted for a sweet treat from Kool Scoops of Dingle, whose traditional Irish-made ice creams are top class – I thoroughly enjoyed a scoop of both Mint Chocolate Chip and Baileys, which made for a delicious combination and especially when enjoyed in the Irish sun! Restaurants that I’d recommend for dinner includes The Humble Fishmonger, Out of the Blue and The Half Door, although we didn’t stop in on this occasion.

After a wonderful time, we left An Daingean and headed to Inch Beach, arguably one of the best beaches in the area. Luckily the tide was on its way in, the lifeguards were still on duty, and it wasn’t too crowded to enjoy a good swim & splash about. Yes, the water is cold at first, but once you stay in I swear it warms up!

FOOD

Killarney has a brilliant food and nightlife culture. Having been a few times, I love discovering new places that I hadn’t experienced before, and this trip was all about newness (to me!). Naturally, I did my Cookie FM research before we headed down for where’s the best dinner spots, and good gosh did we fine dine with good wine! Killarney has many restaurants to choose from and below I’ve given a more detailed review of our dinners.

In addition to these though, we enjoyed a delicious brunch in J.M. Reidy’s from their ‘All Day Menu’. I opted for the Castletownbere Crabmeat & Kenmare Bay Oak Smoked Salmon Open Sandwich (a mouthful to say!), which was diviiine! It was a high-layered open sambo, atop delicious house-baked Guinness & walnut bread with a good slather of unctious lemon & herb cream cheese, and a fresh zingy salad. We also had another tasty brunch at Manna Café & Bistro, a very homely spot where their Chicken Goujon & Bacon Wrap was my choice, which was jam-packed and flavoursome.

If you’re looking for caffeine pick-me-ups, we tried & tasted both LUNA and KP3 Coffeehouse, which were very good. I had an iced coconut milk chai latte, and an iced ‘hot’ chocolate with coconut milk respectively – and I still can’t decide which was better! Both coffee shops also offer tasty home-baked treats and breakfast/brunch choices as well as savoury options with sit-down areas indoors and outdoors.

TOP 3 RESTAURANTS IN KILLARNEY

1. The Tan Yard

The best restaurant we dined at was The Tan Yard, which impressed me from the moment I walked up the steps til I began writing this post. And I’m still thinking about it! It was pure class in an Irish way and a fine dining way! Set within the impressive Killarney Plaza Hotel, the dining rooms of The Tan Yard are beautifully set around the trees of the National Park, with interiors inspired by the historical tan yards of Killarney. Last year, my brother and sister-in-law dined here, and so when they recommended it and I saw there was availability on our last night it was just meant to be.

Food-wise, this was one of the best experiences I’ve had on the South-west Coast, and will be one I’ll remember for a long, long time. To start we were treated to homemade White Sourdough and Guinness & Walnut breads with the most addictive sea salt butter, and then came our starters: Prawn Cocktail with Dublin Bay Prawns, Hazelnut, Egg & Lime and the Baked Kilmore Quay Scallops with Annascaul Black Pudding Croquette – absolutely delicious. You know when you’re eating a dish that you don’t want to finish because then there’s none left? That was my prawn cocktail! It was so fresh, the Marie Rose sauce was perfectly seasoned and complimentary, while his scallops were beautifully plump with a delectable chicken butter sauce. Bliss!

The menu had many tempting options, and I’m delighted I tried & tasted the Roasted Cod with Grilled Tenderstem, Champagne & Goatsbridge Roe Beurre Blanc, because it was out of this world. The fish was cooked to absolute perfection, with succulent meat, and a tasty crisp skin, and I could have drank the sauce with a spoon! The combination with the al dente tenderstems (also my favourite veg!), and the side salad I’d ordered, were one of the freshest fish dishes I’ve had. P really enjoyed his Sirloin Steak, Fries and Peppercorn Sauce dinner too. He said the sauce was the best he’s had – kudos chefs!

Now, the crème de la crème was the sweet course: the Salted Caramel Mousse Bar – it was the best dessert I’ve ever eaten. A tall, layered treat, that combined a soft sponge base and velvety smooth mousse, encased by milk chocolate, topped with white chocolate chantilly, surrounded by salted caramel drizzle and crushed & toasted peanuts. Indulgent without being too sweet. Every single bite had us wanting more. Our dinner was complimented with a beautiful bottle of Canforrales Bodegas Campo Reales Tempranillo Rosado 2024, everything was impeccable.

And then there was the excellent service from all staff including our main waiter, Mikolaj. It was such a special and welcoming restaurant, I felt like a queen during that experience from start to finish. Walk-ins are welcome and the restaurant has plenty of seating, though booking a table is always a good idea. I adored this entire dinner, and truly cannot wait til I am back again.

2. The Mad Monk

Before it was on my list, P had mentioned The Mad Monk by Quinlan’s on Plunkett Street, and so for our first night’s dinner we wine & dined here and my gosh what a treat it was! Firstly, it’s obviously the best named street possible (biased and guilty!), but also it serves up truly delicious seafood. I love the interior here, which has a very open and welcoming feel, as well as comfortable seating and a lovely mural on the wall where we were seated. The staff was really friendly too, and though we had a late Friday evening seating, the atmosphere was still lively.

With plenty to choose from to kickstart our meal, the Pan Seared Scallops and Wild Atlantic Squid starters did not disappoint! The scallops were succulent, beautifully cooked and accompanied with a smooth cauliflower purée, crisp apple slices and a black pudding crumb; all of which complimented the scallops so very well. As for the squid, which were deep fried in their signature batter (calamari) and served with the Quinlan’s famous homemade sweet chilli jam, this was the best calamari I’ve ever had! Every bite was both crunchy and al dente, the flavour of the batter was just so good, and even the salad & jam were delicious alone. But when combined altogether, it was heaven on a plate!

All was going very well, and then my main of Pan Fried Fillet of Salmon with Potato Rosti, Confit Fennel, Saffron & Mussel Velouté arrived. It was stunning! Not only did it smell amazing, was smartly presented, but my gosh did it all taste amazing. The fish was so delicately cooked and full of flavour, complimented by the fennel, saffron and mussel tastes.

And as much as the salmon was the star of my main, the rösti was exquisite! It might be the best way I’ve ever eaten spuds too: super crispy exterior yet soft interior and scrumptious with every bite! I still don’t know how they did it and I’m still dreaming of it back here in Dublin. P had one of the daily specials, Baked Wild Halibut with BBQ Langoustine, Nduja Potato and Lobster Bisque. Though very tasty, the halibut was slightly overcooked and a bit dry, but otherwise all was very good! Our bottle of Vizconde de Barrantes Albariño 2024 worked a treat for such a delicious meal, and I already can’t wait to revisit.

3. Quinlan’s Seafood Bar

One thing I learned about Killarney and Kerry is the Quinlan family sure are pretty well-known! And when it comes to Quinlan’s Seafood Bar, they are top notch. As per their sister restaurant The Mad Monk above, their original eatery offers an incredibly delicious yet simple menu, and absolutely delivers on flavour. We had no booking as they are walk-ins only and therefore waited a little bit in a queue of fellow eager beaver diners, but it sure was worth the wait.

Upon perusing the menu, there was only one dish I had to try: Lightly Battered Deep Water Prawns (Scampi) & Chips. And boy, was I right to do so! The batter really was light, and the prawns really were fresh, succulent and seriouslu tasty with a yummy aïoli, and the chips really were perfect. Like chipper chips without the guilt! But let me come back to the scampi, because these were pure class from start to finish. The size of these deep-water prawns were impressive. Sometimes you receive small-sized prawns, or too thick batter, or minced up prawns in batter; these were not any of those. At Quinlan’s Seafood, there’s no skimping on the scampi – try saying that thrice! P chose the Traditional Beer Battered Fresh Fish with Haddock & Chips, which was super tasty too, really fresh and absolutely massive.

For a Saturday night, the small staff were up against it with a fully busy restaurant, attending to diners, customers ordering takeaway, liaising with their chefs, clearing & cleaning tables for quick turnaround…and yet, we had such lovely servers. Alongside this and a delightful bottle of rosé wine, this was such an enjoyable meal in the heart of Killarney.

BARS & PUBS

As mentioned, Killarney is a good spot with great nightlife, and the number one cocktails recommendation is The Pig’s Lane. Off the main street areas, down some steps and into a speakeasy, this cocktail bar has an ecelectic selection to choose from which are strong yet hella tasty! Just how I like my cocktails! We were lucky enough that live music was on when we arrived, and that we nabbed a table & bench without a hitch; there is plenty of space with table & chairs and bar seating available.

Pubs are aplenty in Killarney too, and most have great atmosphere, decent Guinness, a good selection of Irish gins and whiskey, and often live music too. We hit up The Laurels, O’Connors, and Courtney’s Bar whilst out for our long weekend, (previously I’ve visted The Grand, J.M. Reidy’s, Buckley’s, Murphy’s and Scotts Bar), all of which had craic and good buzz!

Nirina xx