Slea Head Drive vs. Ring of Kerry: Which Is Better?

Ireland’s famous County Kerry is blessed with a wealth of striking coastal views, historic ruins, charming small towns, and so much more.

There are many great ways to explore this beautiful part of Ireland, but one of the best is to drive an established loop route along one of County Kerry’s well-known peninsulas. These driving routes include Slea Head Drive and the Ring of Kerry.

Spoiler alert: both of these drives are well worth the time and effort that they take.

But what if you only have time to complete one of these drives?

In this post, I’ll tell you what to expect from Slea Head Drive and the Ring of Kerry, explain when one of the drives might be better than the other, and make a recommendation about which one I prefer.

What Is Slea Head Drive?

Slea Head Drive is a driving loop around the Dingle Peninsula in the Southwest of Ireland.

At about 45 kilometers (or 28 miles) long, Slea Head Drive takes about an hour to drive without stops. However, by and large, the stops are what make Slea Head Drive worthwhile.

With stops, you should give yourself at least 3 hours to complete Slea Head Drive. Depending on the number of stops you make, you might spend up to 6 or so hours on the drive. I completed Slea Head Drive with my dad and brother, and we took 3.5 hours to do Slea Head Drive — but we skipped any stops with entrance fees and did not stop for any food or drink along the way.

Along the way on Slea Head Drive, you’ll see gorgeous coastal views, Star Wars filming locations, historic structures, and much more.

TIP: This map contains my recommended driving route for Slea Head Drive, including many of the potential stops along the way. To save it to your own Google Maps account, click the star next to the map’s name. You can then find and use the map from your Google Maps app by going to “Saved,” then “Maps.”

Highlights of Slea Head Drive

Here are some of the most notable stops on Slea Head Drive.

Ventry Beach

An early stop on Slea Head Drive is Ventry Beach — a chill stretch of beach just a few miles from Dingle. Ventry Beach is best known for its sheltered setting, which makes it great for water activities like paddleboarding and kayaking.

Dunmore Head

Dunmore Head — a promontory that marks the westernmost point of mainland Ireland — is my favorite part of Slea Head Drive.

It’s stunning, with an accessible yet notable hill that provides gorgeous, 360-degree views of nearby islands (including Great Blasket Island), villages, and coastlines.

Dunmore Head is also a Star Wars filming location, having served as the location where Luke’s X-wing crashed.

Give yourself at least an hour to walk up the hill and around the craggy parts of Dunmore Head. If you like, you can also walk down to the beach area (though I think the views are better from above).

Dunquin Pier

Just a skip and a jump away from Dunmore Head, Dunquin (or Dhún Chaoin) Pier is the launching point for ferries to Great Blasket Island.

For most people, though, Dunquin Pier is best known for its overhead view of two sharp — almost pyramidal — craggy cliffs perfectly positioned in the bay. To get this view, walk along the dirt path on the edge of the cliff, rather than taking the paved path down toward the water.

Be warned that the walk down to the water, though paved, is quite steep.

Clogher Strand

Clogher Strand is a small, windy beach that served as a filming location for two movies: Far and Away and Ryan’s Daughter. The turquoise water is surrounded by rolling green hillsides; it’s well worth at least a quick stop to take in the views.

What Is the Ring of Kerry?

The Ring of Kerry is a driving loop around the Iveragh Peninsula — the largest peninsula in the Southwest of Ireland.

This loop is about 190 kilometers (or 118 miles long), and takes about 3.5 to 4 hours to drive. However, with stops, you should give yourself at least 7 hours for the Ring of Kerry.

Additionally, there’s an optional extra portion of the Ring of Kerry, known as the Skellig Loop, which skirts left soon after Waterville and covers the end of the peninsula. The Skellig Loop adds about 30 kilometers and 45 minutes (not including time for stops) to the Ring of Kerry.

The Ring of Kerry passes through Killarney National Park — which features a waterfall, beautiful sweeping viewpoints, a castle, an abbey, and more — several beaches with ruined castles and abbeys, remarkable cliffs, and more.

Whether to drive the Ring of Kerry clockwise or counterclockwise is a perpetual debate amongst travelers in the know. Most tour buses drive counterclockwise, so driving clockwise means you won’t get stuck behind buses — but also means you might have to face them head-on.

That said, in general, the roads on the Ring of Kerry are not as narrow as some of the roads on Slea Head Drive, so it is less important to drive in a particular direction on the Ring of Kerry.

We drove the Ring of Kerry clockwise and had a lovely experience.

TIP: This map contains my recommended driving route for the Ring of Kerry, including many of the potential stops along the way. To save it to your own Google Maps account, click the star next to the map’s name. You can then find and use the map from your Google Maps app by going to “Saved,” then “Maps.”

Highlights of the Ring of Kerry

Here are some of the most notable stops on the Ring of Kerry.

Killarney National Park

If you begin the Ring of Kerry in Killarney and drive clockwise, as I recommend, your first stops will all be in Killarney National Park.

The park has a wide variety of worthwhile stops, including Ross Castle (a 15th-century structure perched on the edge of a lake), Muckross Abbey (containing an incredible, centuries-old yew tree in the center of its cloister), Torc Waterfall (a picturesque and easily accessed waterfall), and the Ladies View scenic viewpoint.

Ballinskelligs

You’ll pass through the Ballinskelligs coastal area if you add the optional Skellig Loop to your Ring of Kerry itinerary.

There’s a lovely beach, but Ballinskelligs is best known for its small castle ruins, and its more impressive abbey ruins.

Kerry Cliffs

Confession: we skipped the Kerry Cliffs when we drove the Ring of Kerry. Unfortunately, we were short on time, and knew we would be spending plenty of time at the more impressive Cliffs of Moher in a few days, so opted to keep driving past the Kerry Cliffs.

However, if you have the time, do stop at the Kerry Cliffs! I’ve read that they are wonderful.

Either way, you won’t miss the beautiful, nearby Coomanaspig Pass, which has a wonderful, sweeping view of the coast and distant islands.

Rossbeigh Strand

Rossbeigh Strand is my favorite beach stop on the Ring of Kerry. It’s a long stretch of sand that juts out into the water, and it’s most notable for its large and plentiful sand dunes.

While my dad and brother golfed nearby, I actually spent several hours here, walking all the way out to the end of the strand and climbing on and around the dunes.

Slea Head Drive vs. Ring of Kerry: Which Is Better?

So, if you’re limited in time and can’t drive both Slea Head Drive AND the Ring of Kerry, which one should you choose?

Here are my recommendations.

If you don’t have a full day…

Choose Slea Head Drive. It’s quite a bit shorter than the Ring of Kerry, so you can complete it (without rushing!) in much less time.

Conversely…

If you want to fill a full day…

Choose the Ring of Kerry. It’s long, with tons of potential stops, so it would be easy to fill a day on the Ring of Kerry alone, if that’s what you’re going for.

If you want beautiful views above all else…

Choose Slea Head Drive.

The Ring of Kerry also has some gorgeous views, certainly, but in my view, the coastal views on Slea Head Drive (especially around Dunmore Head) can’t be beat.

If you want old ruins above all else…

Choose the Ring of Kerry.

Slea Head Drive also has some old structures, though you’ll have to pay to see them, and nothing there compares to Ross Castle, Muckross Abbey, and the Ballinskelligs structures on the Ring of Kerry.

If you prioritize seeing as much variety as possible…

Choose the Ring of Kerry. You’ll get a wider variety of things to see: ancient abbeys and castles, sweeping viewpoints, a waterfall, coastal cliffs, beaches, small towns, and more.

If you just want someone to tell you which to choose…

Choose Slea Head Drive. I think it offers better bang for your buck.

Plus, in my opinion, Dunmore Head (and its surrounding area) is the best stop either of these drives has to offer.

Final Thoughts

Both Slea Head Drive and the Ring of Kerry can be excellent experiences and are well worth your time on a trip to Ireland.

If you have a full day to fill, or a particular interest in Irish ruins, the Ring of Kerry might be the right choice for you.

Otherwise, I recommend opting for the gorgeous and relatively short Slea Head Drive!

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