Getting there
Location
Kerry is in the south-west corner of Ireland and the Iveragh peninsula is the large, second one sticking out into the Atlantic.
Waterville village is right at the tip sitting on a tiny strip of land between Lough Currane and the sea. Glenmore is inland from Waterville. Seven miles into Glenmore is Tooreen - the red dot in the map opposite. |
Trains, planes and automobiles
Airports
Cork Airport
Cork airport is the largest airport close by. It is served by Aer Lingus (www.aerlingus.com) with flights from London Heathrow, Birmingham, Manchester, Bristol, Edinburgh, Paris, Munich, Amsterdam and Barcelona.
Ryan Air also flies in from Gatwick and there are direct flights from Newcastle, Wroclaw, Plymouth and Milan with other airlines. (www.corkairport.com).
All the major car hire firms have office there but Hertz has a partnership with AerLingus so it’s worth checking their prices via the AerLingus site (rather than directly through Hertz). Door to door, Cork airport is just over a three-hour drive.
Kerry Airport
Kerry airport is smaller and closer - about 2 hours drive.
It has direct flights to Dublin, Luton, Stanstead, Frankfurt and Manchester. These are primarily run by Ryan Air (www.ryanair.com) and the schedules change regularly. Car hire is available at Kerry Airport (www.kerryairport.com).
Shannon
Shannon airport is further away but the main entry point for American flights (www.shannonairport.com).
Car Hire
All the airports have the usual large companies (Avis, Hertz etc) and some budget rentals besides.
It can be tempting to opt for a bigger rugged car (if you can afford it) but actually, smaller cars cope better with the small roads both to Tooreens and to other local attractions - many of which are along narrow one-track roads.
It can be tempting to opt for a bigger rugged car (if you can afford it) but actually, smaller cars cope better with the small roads both to Tooreens and to other local attractions - many of which are along narrow one-track roads.
Vehicle Guide
As a group of five one year, we upped our budget to go for a lager car (a Quasqui) but found it very bad value. The middle seat at the back was not suitable for an adult - and earned it the nickname The Squashi from my traveling companions. The following year we rented a Zafira and found it excellent. It comfortably took five adults - though I should say that we only had hand luggage. If there are two drivers in a large group, it would almost be better (and actually cheaper) to rent two small/medium cars than one large one as the hire firms really charge a premium for large cars and people carriers.
For smaller groups of three or four, the C class is perfectly adequate - a group of four of us got a Golf recently and found it great.
Couples or threes should be fine with a Ford Fiesta size (again, two of us tried one recently and were very happy) but I would avoid the very smallest class, like the KA which didn't have much power.
Petrol and diesel
If possible, rent from a firm which allows you to bring back the tank full - there's a station right next to the rental return offices and it's MUCH cheaper to fill the car yourself than pay the premium for the car hire firm to do it. Increasingly, we've noticed car rental staff say things like, "it'll be easiest if you bring back the car empty and we'll refill it" which is disingenuous.
Insurance
Again, we've recently noticed hire staff say, "you'll want the full insurance". The basic insurance which comes with the rental does not cover all eventualities, but you pay a premium to get the excess from the hire firm - sometimes almost as much again as the rental. Better to sort your own insurance in advance. We've used Insurance 4 car hire who cover the excess on a day basis and found them excellent when we had to make a claim: www.insurance4carhire.com
As a group of five one year, we upped our budget to go for a lager car (a Quasqui) but found it very bad value. The middle seat at the back was not suitable for an adult - and earned it the nickname The Squashi from my traveling companions. The following year we rented a Zafira and found it excellent. It comfortably took five adults - though I should say that we only had hand luggage. If there are two drivers in a large group, it would almost be better (and actually cheaper) to rent two small/medium cars than one large one as the hire firms really charge a premium for large cars and people carriers.
For smaller groups of three or four, the C class is perfectly adequate - a group of four of us got a Golf recently and found it great.
Couples or threes should be fine with a Ford Fiesta size (again, two of us tried one recently and were very happy) but I would avoid the very smallest class, like the KA which didn't have much power.
Petrol and diesel
If possible, rent from a firm which allows you to bring back the tank full - there's a station right next to the rental return offices and it's MUCH cheaper to fill the car yourself than pay the premium for the car hire firm to do it. Increasingly, we've noticed car rental staff say things like, "it'll be easiest if you bring back the car empty and we'll refill it" which is disingenuous.
Insurance
Again, we've recently noticed hire staff say, "you'll want the full insurance". The basic insurance which comes with the rental does not cover all eventualities, but you pay a premium to get the excess from the hire firm - sometimes almost as much again as the rental. Better to sort your own insurance in advance. We've used Insurance 4 car hire who cover the excess on a day basis and found them excellent when we had to make a claim: www.insurance4carhire.com
Ferries
Fastnet used to run a ferry between Cork and Swansea in Wales. It was an overnight sailing (so advisable to book a cabin) arriving early in the morning. It was not luxurious, but a great way to travel if you wanted to bring your own car. Unfortunately the service is not currently running so the only way to drive is with Stenaline. You'll need to stay overnight somewhere along the way as it is too far to drive in one go.
Fastnet used to run a ferry between Cork and Swansea in Wales. It was an overnight sailing (so advisable to book a cabin) arriving early in the morning. It was not luxurious, but a great way to travel if you wanted to bring your own car. Unfortunately the service is not currently running so the only way to drive is with Stenaline. You'll need to stay overnight somewhere along the way as it is too far to drive in one go.