Begin your trip in Killarney. Although a haven for tourists in the summer, this small city provides all the amenities for preparing and returning travelers, including trail food, maps and a helpful tourist center.
Leave Killarney on the N72 road, taking a right at the fork in order to see the Ring at an anti-clockwise direction. This route is the one most taken by coaches and buses, so it is safest to be with traffic on the narrow mountain roads.
Continue on N72 as you pass by the MacGillycuddy's Reeks mountain range, which includes Carrauntoohil (the highest peak in Ireland), on your left. Treat yourself to a pint or a lunch at the Gap of Dunloe, a pass between mountains, where Kate Kearney's Cottage serves food and drinks for travelers.
Pass by Killorglin, the first town on the trip, as you continue on N72, and exit the town on N70 heading to Glenbeigh. Stop by at the Kerry Bog Village Museum on the right before the village for an idea of early 18th Century Irish living. Further down on N70 you'll encounter Kells, a small fishing village with a picturesque view of Dingle Bay and the Atlantic.
Drive through Caherciveen, the main market town on the Ring of Kerry. Exiting this town you have two options: continue south down the Ring or take the R565 west out to scenic Valentia Island and the remote towns of Portmagee and Ballinskelligs for a scenic, less-touristy detour.
Continue on N70 towards Waterville, the halfway point on the Ring distinguished by its peculiar dedication to Charlie Chaplin in the town square. Following N70 takes you to Caherdaniel, but more significantly the Coomakista pass across the Kenmare river: one of the most scenic parts of County Kerry.
Visit the beautiful Derrynane Beachon the way to Staigue Fort, a large stone fort four kilometers off the N70 thought to be 2,000 years old. The next town off N70 is the town of Sneem, made popular as a vacation spot and holiday destination by its natural beauty.
Pass the picturesque villages of Parknasilla and Templenoe on the way to Kenmare, one of the more famous towns on the Ring of Kerry and named in a number of guidebooks as "The Jewel of County Kerry." Sporting gourmet restaurants and friendly Irish pubs, Kenmare offers a fine climax to the drive through Iveragh as you finish the last leg of the trip.
Take the N71 north out of town through the final crest of mountains: pass through Molls Gap as you admire MacGillycuddy's Reeks from the other side, as well as the glaciated Black Valley in its shadow. Further up the road you'll get to the "Lady's View," named after Queen Victoria's trips to the Killarney Lakes and National Park.
Complete the journey as you return to Killarney, and reward yourself with a pint of Harp.
