Kenmare Itineraries
Half a day or a full weekend. Here are the best ways to spend your time in Kenmare, planned step by step.
Whether you have a few hours or a full weekend to explore, these itineraries give you a local’s route through Kenmare. Each one links directly to the restaurants and activities along the way.
Half a Day in Kenmare: the X, the Stone Circle and a Good Dinner
If you have an afternoon and evening in Kenmare, spend it the way the town is built for: a wander around the planned streets, a short walk out to the ancient stone circle, a stretch of woodland by the bay, and then the real reason people come, a proper dinner at one of the town's kitchens. Compact, walkable and food-first.
- 114:30·1 hour
Walk the X and the market square
Start with the shape of the town. Walk the triangle of Main Street, Henry Street and Shelbourne Street around the market square, the planned Georgian layout that gives Kenmare its character, taking in the colourful shopfronts, the food shops and the craft of Kenmare lace at the Heritage Centre.
View Kenmare Lace and Design Centre - 215:30·45 minutes
Out to the Kenmare Stone Circle
Walk five minutes from the square to the Kenmare Stone Circle, a complete Bronze-Age ring of fifteen stones around a central dolmen. Drop a couple of euro in the honesty box and take your time; it is quiet, old and a genuine piece of the deep past in the middle of the town.
View Kenmare Stone Circle - 316:30·1 hour
A stroll through Reenagross Park
Wander down to Reenagross Woodland Park on the edge of the town for an easy loop through the wood and out along the shore of the tidal bay. It is the best low-effort walk in Kenmare and a good way to earn your dinner, with views over the water to the mountains.
View Reenagross Woodland Park - 419:00·2 hours
Dinner at one of the town's kitchens
Now the main event. Book ahead and settle in for dinner at Packie's, the much-loved bistro on Henry Street, or The Lime Tree in its old cut-stone schoolhouse on Shelbourne Street. This is what Kenmare does best, so give it the evening.
View Packie's
A Full Day in Kenmare: the Bay, the Beara and the Table
A full day that takes in the three sides of Kenmare: the tidal bay from the water, the quieter of the two great Kerry drives over the Beara, and a good dinner back in the town at the end of it. It leans on the weather, so keep the cruise flexible, but done right it is the complete Kenmare.
- 110:00·2 hours
Seafari cruise on the bay
Start on the water with a Seafari eco and seal-watching cruise from the pier, out along the tidal sea inlet to the seal colonies. It is family-run, relaxed and a couple of hours long, and it sets the scale of the bay before you drive around it. Book ahead and check the sailing on the day.
View Seafari Eco and Seal-Watching Cruise - 212:30·1 hour
Lunch and picnic supplies in town
Back in the town, grab a relaxed lunch and pick up picnic supplies for the drive. Tom Crean Base Camp on Main Street does easy food and its own craft ales, or stock up at the bakery and food shops for something to eat on the road.
View Tom Crean Base Camp - 314:00·3 hours
Drive a half-loop of the Ring of Beara
Take the quieter Ring of Beara out of Kenmare and over the dramatic Healy Pass, the road that most Ring of Kerry traffic never finds. Even a half-loop gives you the moorland, the small villages and the big views. Remember the peninsula straddles Kerry and Cork, and the narrow roads are slow, so allow plenty of time.
View The Ring of Beara Scenic Drive - 419:30·2 hours
Dinner back in Kenmare
Finish with dinner in the town. Mulcahy's on Main Street has been cooking ambitiously since 1995, or make it a special-occasion night at The Falls out at Sheen Falls Lodge. Whatever you choose, book ahead; the good tables go early in season.
View Mulcahy's
Ready to plan your visit?
Check tide times and the weather forecast before you head out.