Day 3: Killarney/Ring of Kerry

 May 8, 2025

After a restless night it was time to get up and prepare for the day. Thankfully we’re staying at the same hotel tonight so we didn’t need to fuss with our luggage today yay! Breakfast was again another Irish breakfast: eggs, bacon, mushrooms, baked beans and potatoes. But I saw thry have a cool mini pancake conveyor belt thst I am determined to try tomorrow.

Once everyone had lunch we piled onto the bus to go to the Ring of Kerry. Google didn’t give me too much insight on what to expect but I did know it was about to be a beautiful journey.

Our first stop was at a little rest area which also had a little town to learn about Irish heritage. It was 7 euro to just get in, so that was a hard pass. Instead we went to the pub next door to use the restroom and try our first Irish coffee of the trip! We had the option of either Baileys or Irish Whisky as the base of our drink. I love Baileys so I went for that, then they added the coffee and a soft foam cream on top. WOAH that was amazing and I definitely should’ve gotten another LOL.

But my desire to continue drinking was subsided as I found the gift shop nearby. Managed to get many of my souvenirs from here! So yeah Irish coffee and shopping is far more important than learning about the first Irish settlers or whatever history lesson they wanted to show us for 7 Euro.

Shortly after we were back on the bus and headed off to lunch. This spot had undergone a recent renovation and this was only their 5th week open. At this location we were able to have a nice lunch and (you guessed it) more shopping! For lunch I chose the shepherds pie with salad. A tad salty for me, but I loved the cheesy potatoes on top!

Once lunch was over we made several small stops along the way. We stopped in Waterville which had the most beautiful rocky beach I’ve ever seen! I managed to find a small flat stone to take with me as a souvenir. But man that nice ocean breeze along with the smell of the salty air really made me miss home. Granted, Virginia Beach could NEVER compare, but I could’ve easily spent all day there,

After more stops to admire the water, we finally made it back to our hotel. And of course on the ride back, it was just announced we officially have white smoke! Hooray for a new pope!

Once back to the hotel we had 10 minutes to drop off all our stuff and get ready to go to town center for the night. Our bus driver was kind enough to drive us all down there, but we had to get our own way back to the hotel. 

When we arrived at town center we were amazed at the amount of shopping we could get done here. I spotted the T.K. Maxx which, as you may guess, is the UK equivalent to T.J. Maxx. Speaking of UK equivalent, we also went to Penneys, which is their local Primemark. After more walking and shopping it was time to eat. We met up at a local pub named Laurels which was a suggestion from our driver. FINALLY this was my chance to get fish and chips with a pint of Guinness. Maann that crispy beer batter coating was ligh as air! Had no problem finishing up my plate.

Dessert followed shortly after at a local ice cream shop I heard about on tiktok. They’re known for using locally sourced ingredients, including only using cream from a specific breed of cow. They also sourced their sea salt from Dingle, which we saw on our drive today. I got a scoop of Irish Brown Bread and a scoop of chocolate whisky. Irish brown bread may sound odd but it reminded me of gingerbread almost. And they were NOT shy about the amount of whiskey in the second ice cream. Man that was such a great suggestion from thr internets!

Well time to sign off and get packing before we leave for the next hotel tomorrow. Especially since I uh somehow ended up wirh A LOT more things than I came with LOL.

Check out today’s photos here! Day 3 Photos