The absolute best way to dip your toes into Killarney National Park in Ireland is to do it by bike!
We drove to the national park from Glendalough and got there at the perfect time in the afternoon for a lovely ride. Killarney Bike rental has amazing rates online and is the only bike rental we found that has a childrens price which we appreciated. They also provided us with helmets and a bike lock to use while we were out. Parking at the bike rental lot was free and we appreciated that as well as their amazing route mapped out for us to enjoy. The path is well paved and there is plenty of space for passing other bikers, pedestrians and even the horse drawn carriages called jaunting cars.
If you didnt have kids with you, there is a more difficult path that you could take after the turn off to Torc waterfall that would take you on a spectacular mountain bike style route through more of the park. As we were with kids, we opted for just a few hours doing the loop.
Our first stop was the Torc Waterfall. You leave your bikes at the entry point that goes under the road and walk up a quick route to the falls. They are beautiful and we were lucky to come at the start of summer with beautiful purple flowers blooming all along our route.
You can follwow the stairs passed the falls but they dont lead to much besides the main Killarney trail and an upper parking lot.
Then we turned back towards the Muckross Manor and stopped along the way to take a quick dip in the lake. Even though it was a bit chilly, and we were the only ones getting in the water, the boys loved the refreshing dip in the incredibly cool waters.
After our swim, we rode over to the Muckross House and decided not to enter. It is 38 pounds for a family to enter and we decided to pass on that. Our travel is extended by being very decisive about where we spend and the kids were enjoying the bikes so much that we decided to carry on.
Soon after mounting back up, we arrived at the Muckross Abbey. Built around 1445 the property is more accurately a friary as it is a franciscan foundation. We spent about 30 minutes here wandering, taking pictures, and feeling inspired by what remains of the building, which is quite a lot! We loved this stop and its ties to Bram Stoker's Dracula.
We dropped the bikes back off and headed to our stay for the night along the ring of Kerry.
Killarney is a fairly large city with several options of where to eat, where to shop and where to stay for a night or two while you enjoy. There are jaunting cars all over town and boat tours out on the lakes. Make sure this stop makes it on your Ireland Itinerary before or after you drive the ring of Kerry!
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Where we rented: [ Ссылка ]
Where to eat: [ Ссылка ]
Where to stay: [ Ссылка ]
Watch for our next video where we drive to the Cliffs of Kerry!
