COMBO: Ring of Kerry + Dingle Peninsula & Slea Head Coach Tour

Rates

Adult (13+ years old): €80
Student (Must bring a valid student ID): €75
Seniors: €72
Child: €38

Duration

6 Hours (on both days) approx time only.

About

This tour combo combines our two most popular tours at one great price! See the Ring of Kerry on Day 1 and then continue the fun on the Dingle Peninsula & Slea Head Tour on Day 2! Please note: these are two consecutive day tours, you will go home in between!

An essential part of any visit to Ireland, the tour circles the magnificent MacGillycuddy’s Reeks mountain range (Irish: Na Cruacha Dubha, meaning “the black stacks”). Extending to just over 19 km (12 miles), it includes the highest peaks in Ireland and the only peaks on the island that are over 1,000 metres (3,300 ft). The highest of these is Corrán Tuathail or Carrauntoohil (1,038 m), followed by Binn Chaorach (1,010 m) and Cathair na Féinne (1,001 m). The range also includes many other peaks of over 2,000 feet. The mountains are comprised of glacial-carved sandstone and are on the Iveragh Peninsula near the Lakes of Killarney. The name of the range dates from the 18th century and is derived from the family or clan name Mac Giolla Mochuda (anglicised to MacGillycuddy) who are a sept or division of the O’Sullivan’s. The word reekis a Hiberno-English version of the English word rick, meaning a stack. The Deros tour runs through the many passes and valleys of the reeks along the shores of Dingle and Kenmare Bays.

After a stop at the famous Bog Village, during high season (ends October 3rd for 2012) and weather permitting we include a stop at Kells Sheep Dog Trial which is one of the real highlights of the Ring – unfortunately this visit depends on weather and availability and is not included on every tour. Prior to October 4th when the Sheep Dog Trial ends for the season, please check in the Office before departure if the stop is available on the day you travel. There is an unspoilt nature to Ireland’s most beautiful region and the Ring of Kerry provides many unforgettable scenes to commit to memory as it passes through the many picturesque villages such as Glenbeigh, Waterville and Sneem, and returns via Ladies View, the famous Lakes of Killarney and through the Oakwoods of Killarney’s magnificent National Park.

All Ring of Kerry coach tours leave the Deros office on Main Street in Killarney at 10.30 every day during the season and return at approximatel 16.00 Please check our Rates Page for Reservations and Pricing. Advance booking is strongly recommended during the summer months.

The Dingle Peninsula has the most rugged coastline in Ireland and is scattered with ancient huts and historic buildings such as the Kilmalkeadar Church which is a stop on the tour. A great deal of traditional Irish heritage is maintained in this Irish-speaking (Gaelic) region (a Gaeltacht), including traditional music art and crafts. Considered by many to have some of Europe’s most spectacular scenery, the peninsula also supports both a rare and unique assortment of flora and fauna. Slea Head is the most westerly point in Europe and standing there, looking towards America, instils a feeling of excitement and empathy with the millions of emigrants who took this route. There are splendid views around Slea Head, especially of the Blasket Islands and the scattered rocks which are all part of an exploded volcanic area. In the storms of September 1588, four ships of the Spanish Armada were driven through the Basket Sound. Two reached shelter by way of great seamanship but a third sped through the Sound with its sails in tatters and crashed onto the two other ships. Nonetheless, the other two eventually returned to Spain. The population of the Great Blasket island, evacuated in the 1950′s, produced a number of books in Irish, among them a bestseller, translated as Twenty Years A Growing by Maurice O’ Sullivan, and a masterpiece, The Islandman by Thomas O‘ Crohan. Additionally, the autobiography of the storyteller and resident of the Great Blasket Island Peig Sayers was published in 1936. Peig is among the most famous expressions of a late Gaelic Revival genre of personal histories by and about inhabitants of the Blasket Islands and other remote Irish locations. Robert J. Flaherty’s film documentary Man of Aran addresses similar subjects. Peig depicts the declining years of a traditional, Irish-speaking way of life characterised by poverty, devout Catholicism, and folk memory of the Famine and the Penal Laws. During the twentieth century some 60 books, mostly in Irish, were written in the immediate area. The tour also takes in the countryside where David Lean filmed Ryan’s Daughter and the landscape backdrops for the Irish scenes of the Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman filmed Far and Away. Please note: This Tour operates from March to October, however, should you wish to book it at any time of the year, please contact the office and we will do our best to facilitate you.