{"id":425229,"date":"2026-04-30T13:36:10","date_gmt":"2026-04-30T13:36:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/425229\/"},"modified":"2026-04-30T13:36:10","modified_gmt":"2026-04-30T13:36:10","slug":"five-drives-in-kerry-deemed-irelands-most-scenic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/425229\/","title":{"rendered":"Five drives in Kerry deemed Ireland\u2019s most scenic"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"The Ring of Kerry road<\/p>\n

Five popular routes in Kerry have been included on a shortlist of Ireland\u2019s most scenic drives.<\/p>\n

Research conducted by 123.ie Insurance analysed the latest available data from TripAdvisor, alongside key metrics such as drive ratings, the number of Instagram-tagged posts, average sunshine hours, route length, elevation and drive time.<\/p>\n

Each route was then given a final score out of 600 to determine where Ireland\u2019s most scenic drives are located.<\/p>\n

Kerry dominates the rankings, claiming five spots in the top 10.<\/p>\n

The Ring of Kerry ranks in first place (508.1), Dingle Peninsula second (449.4), the Ring of Beara, which straddles the Kerry-Cork border border, was third (414.8), Slea Head Drive was sixth (357.1) and the Skellig Ring Scenic Drive 10th (306.8).<\/p>\n

Taking the top spot and pulling clear of the pack with an impressive overall score of 508.1, the Ring of Kerry stands as the undisputed king of Irish road trips.<\/p>\n

\"\"Slea Head Drive<\/p>\n

Stretching 179km around the Iveragh Peninsula, this iconic loop boasts a 4.5 rating on TripAdvisor, an astonishing 267,000 tagged Instagram posts, and an average of 1,676 sunshine hours per year in Kerry, the kind of figures that speak for themselves.<\/p>\n

Ranking second is the Dingle Peninsula. With the highest TripAdvisor rating of all five drives, a near-perfect 4.8, Dingle rewards those willing to explore its 93km loop with stunning coastal scenery, world-class seafood and an elevation climb of up to 456 metres over the Conor Pass, the highest mountain pass in Ireland.<\/p>\n

\"\"The Skellig Ring<\/p>\n

This is the peninsula that inspired the film Ryan\u2019s Daughter and, more recently, drew the cast and crew of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, with scenes filmed along its coastline.<\/p>\n

Ranking third is the Ring of Beara, a 148km circuit that showcases some of the most raw and unspoiled scenery in the country. Matching Dingle Peninsula with a 4.8 rating on TripAdvisor, Beara is far quieter on Instagram, with just over 11,000 tagged posts, which only adds to its charm.<\/p>\n

The route traces the coastline of the Beara Peninsula along the Cork-Kerry border, climbing to 334 metres at its highest point and offering spectacular views across Bantry Bay and the Kenmare River.<\/p>\n

Other drives to feature were the Comeragh Drive in Waterford and the Military Road, which cuts through the heart of Wicklow.<\/p>\n

\"\"KillarneyToday.com: Read by thousands of people every day.\u00a0To advertise your business to a huge audience, email news@killarneytoday.com or call 087-2229761<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Ring of Kerry road Five popular routes in Kerry have been included on a shortlist of Ireland\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":425230,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[61,60,43],"class_list":["post-425229","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ireland","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/425229","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=425229"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/425229\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/425230"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=425229"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=425229"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=425229"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}