Kerry Way self-guided walking holiday with Ireland Exploratory

Arrival day: Arrive in Killarney
Fly into Kerry airport, or take the train from Dublin or Cork to arrive into Killarney. Killarney is a vibrant and welcoming town, a great place to rest before the start of your trek. Look out for horse-drawn cars around the town which offer journeys to the nearby national park.
B&B in Killarney (breakfast)

Stage 1: Killarney to Black Valley
Blue 4 (grade) 24km with 530m ascent, 500m descent
The first stage is a great introduction to Ireland’s Southwest. The walk out of Killarney is straightforward: hills can be seen ahead, and this adds to the anticipation of what is to come. Most of the day is on good tracks and paths, with just a few rockier or rootier sections. The scenery varies from open moorland and mountains, to wonderful native deciduous woodland.
B&B in Black valley (or taxi to Killarney) (breakfast)

Stage 2: Black Valley to Glencar
Red 4 (grade) 21.6km with 660m ascent, 650m descent
Today’s stage is tougher than Stage 1, as it features two mountain passes where the paths are steep and rocky in places. In between times, the route follows good tracks, paths and quiet lanes. There are very few trees to impede the views today, so take time to revel in the glorious mountain scenery: the highest mountains in Ireland are visible all day.
B&B in Glencar (breakfast)

Stage 3: Glencar to Glenbeigh
Blue 2 (grade) 15.1km with 390m ascent, 440m descent
An easier stage with 2 climbs today. The second climb leads to Windy Gap: a chance to look back South to the high mountains already passed, and to look North and West to the route to come. The day ends with an enjoyable descent to Glenbeigh, with views across Dingle Bay.
B&B in Glenbeigh (breakfast)

Stage 4: Glenbeigh to Foilmore
Blue 3 (grade) 21km with 410m ascent, 420m descent
This stage is longer in its daily distance, with easy and straightforward walking. An early woodland walk is followed by open hillsides with views North across the bay to the Dingle peninsula. Later, follow roads and fields through farmland, to reach the Gaelic Football ground at Foilmore. From here take a taxi to the coastal town of Cahersiveen.
B&B in Cahersiveen (breakfast)

Stage 5: Foilmore to Waterville
Red 4 (grade) 22.6km with 940m ascent, 960m descent
This stage starts with a short taxi journey to rejoin the Kerry Way at Foilmore. This is a tough stage including two ridges to be traversed, linked via quiet country lanes: the first has many undulations along its length, and the ground can be boggy after wet weather. The second ridge is shorter and simpler, with fantastic views to the coast, and finishes looking down onto Waterville. Enjoy the challenge: the views make it all worthwhile!
B&B in Waterville (breakfast)

Stage 6: Waterville to Caherdaniel
Blue 2 (grade) 14.8km with 320m ascent, 300m descent
On this stage, start by heading South along the coast with views out West to the Skelligs. Secondly, bend towards the East to begin the return to Killarney, with views South to the Beara peninsula. Later there is a choice of routes: a shorter, higher, route for long distance views, or a longer route down at shore level, with maybe a dip in the sea. A much easier day in terms of distance and terrain, and it is definitely worth taking the time to linger along the way.
Hostel or B&B in Caherdaniel (breakfast)

Stage 7: Caherdaniel to Sneem
Blue 2 (grade) 17.2km with 440m ascent, 470m descent
Today we largely follow the old Butter Road, used in the 18th and 19th centuries for taking butter to Cork. It runs a pretty direct course, with only a few deviations: at most junctions, keep ahead. The surface is generally good, and there are good views South across the Kenmare River and North to the mountains. The stage ends in the pretty town of Sneem, a real gem of County Kerry with its colourful buildings and picturesque river.
B&B in Sneem (breakfast)

Stage 8: Sneem to Kenmare
Blue 4 (grade) 33.6km with 650m ascent, 650m descent
A long stage, which splits into two halves. The first half, as far as Blackwater Bridge, is similar to Stage 7: long straight sections on the old Butter Road. After Blackwater Bridge, there is a lovely coastal section, followed by more hilly terrain. The ascent of Gortamullin near the end of the day is not too tough, and provides great views: a fitting end to the penultimate stage of The Kerry Way.
B&B in Kenmare (breakfast)

Stage 9: Kenmare to Killarney
Blue 4 (grade) 25.3km with 760m ascent, 730m descent
This final stage completes the circle, and brings you back to Killarney via the Old Kenmare Road. Much of the walking is on lanes or good solid tracks, with just the one rougher section that was encountered on Stage 1. If you don’t fancy walking all the way back to Killarney, a fitting end point would be the Garden Restaurant at Muckross House, after which the Redbus can be taken to Killarney. Enjoy this final stage of The Kerry Way.
B&B in Killarney (breakfast)

Depart from Killarney
Enjoy your last breakfast before departing from the trip. Take the train back to Dublin or head to Kerry Airport for your flight home.

Options

Make the trip shorter
To make your trip shorter, we can recommend walking the trip in just 8 stages. Stage 1 and 9 include a section of route which is the same, so to make the trip shorter we suggest only walking this section once, at the end of your trip. Your trip will begin by taking a taxi to Galway's Bridge where you'll walk the last section of our usual stage 1, and then all of stage 2. This gives a long, hard first day (28.8km with 750m asecent and 790m descent).

Make the trip longer
We can offer a 10-stage option on the Kerry Way which will involve another taxi off-route for your accommodation. We suggest splitting the long stage between Sneem and Kenmare by finishing the day's waking at Blackwater Bridge, and then taking a taxi back to Sneem for a further night in the B&B there. This splits the 30km distance to be 13.3km on one day, and 20.3km on the other.

Rest Days
We do not include a rest day as standard on the Kerry Way, but we'd be more than happy to add one to your schedule for you. We would advise taking a rest day in the coastal town of Cahersiveen. It's a popular place to take a boat trip to visit the UNESCO heritage site of Skellig Michael.

Hike with a guide
Hike with confidence in the company of our fully qualified International Mountain Leaders (IMLs), with the navigation, accommodation and arrangements taken care of. You're welcome to walk on any date within our season and we can adjust the hike to suit your needs.

2025 Prices

Kerry Way (Self-guided) 1 May to 17 Sept 2026
	Classic	Comfy
8 stages (9 nights)	GBP 1,010 Singles 530	GBP 1,190 Singles 690
9 stages (10 nights)	GBP 1,120 Singles 590 Main Trip	GBP 1,310 Singles 780
10 stages (11 nights)	GBP 1,200 Singles 650	GBP 1,420 Singles 870
Options
Baggage transfer All stops	Please ask
Baggage transfer Direct	Please ask

Accommodation

Where we stay
Our standard schedule uses a mix of comfortable and welcoming guesthouses and B&Bs, with one hostel. Breakfast is included during these stays and we book ensuite rooms as standard, except for the hostel night where the rooms have shared bathrooms. As standard, we book accommodation directly on the Kerry Way except for one night. At the end of stage 4 we book a night in the coastal town of Cahersiveen, which is a 10-minute taxi ride off-route. The next morning your taxi will take you back to the route to continue the walk. The taxi is included in the price of the trip.

Comfy
For a touch of luxury while you trek, our ‘Comfy’ option upgrades your accommodation on 5 nights. We book hotels instead of B&Bs in Killarney, Cahersiveen, Sneem and Kenmare. We aim to book a 4* hotel for your 2 nights in Killarney, a boutique hotel in Cahersiveen and 4* hotels in Sneem and Kenmare. In Sneem our 'comfy' hotel is just outside the village. On our comfy trips we book a B&B close to Caherdaniel instead of the hostel.

Single Supplement
The single supplement covers the difference in cost between a single room and a double room on a per person basis.

Solo Travel
We do not take bookings for solo walkers on self-guided trips. If you are still interested in this trip, we do have availability on our guided trips.

Hotel de la Sage — Abbey Lodge in Killarney

Route

Stage 2: Steep rocky zigzags on the way to Derrynafeana

Our approach to the Kerry Way
The Kerry Way, starting and ending in Killarney, is Ireland's oldest signposted walking trail. We offer a 9-stage trip as standard following the well-known circular route. We follow the trail in the counter clockwise direction starting with the Black Valley stage and ending with the Kenmare stage. Walking the trip in 9 stages results in some long walking days including two days in particular that we estimate to take around 10 hours of walking across 30km. These are the stages between Glenbeigh and Cahersiveen as well as the stage between Sneem and Kenmare.

The Terrain
The Kerry Way is mostly a low-level inland route surrounded by hills. You will walk through valleys, mountain passes, moorlands and along the rocky coastline. The Kerry Way runs on good clear paths but can be quite wet underfoot. There are a few boardwalks throughout the trail to help with the wet ground in places. For some long stretches of the route, the track underfoot is on long abandoned country lanes known as “boreens” which are quite firm underfoot. Good boots and fresh thick socks will help reduce the pressure.

Latest research on the Kerry Way by Alpine Exploratory's Lucy.

Is it for me?
The Kerry Way makes a delightful trek for fit walkers who are happy to walk for on average 8 hours per day along a long-distance trail. Due to the remoteness of the trail, the daily walking generally alternates between 5 hour days and 9 hour days. Despite County Kerry being home to some of the highest mountains in Ireland, the Kerry Way does not pass over these higher peaks. Instead it passes over some of the lower passes and ridges to create a more low-level walk.

Difficulty
The challenge of the Kerry Way lies in the daily walking distances rather than the terrain and navigation. Stage 8 on our standard 9 stage trip is particularly long and can be split into two using taxis to reach accommodation if preferred. The waymarking on the trail is very clear (similar to the West Highland Way).

Kerry Way Walking Guide - for more background

How to get there

Travelling to Killarney

Killarney is the largest town on this trip and marks the start and end point of your holiday. There are many options to reach Killarney as the town boasts a train station, bus station and is just 15km away from Kerry Airport. Kerry Airport offers direct flights from Dublin, London and Manchester.

If you are unable to fly directly to Kerry Airport, we'd recommend flying into Dublin Airport, Cork Airport or Shannon Airport. From each of these airports you can take the bus or the train to reach Killarney. The train from Dublin takes around 4 hours, and the train from Cork takes 1.5 hours, and the bus from Shannon (via Limerick) takes around 3.5 hours.

Travel to and from the trip is not included in the holiday price. We take care to provide plenty of notes on how to reach your trip as well as notes on travel options during the trip. We supply these both on booking and in your information pack which we send via the postal service. We also offer personalised tips at any point.

Included

Bespoke accommodation itinerary - tailored to suit your particular requirements
Breakfast on 10 mornings on our standard itinerary
Return taxi journey between Foilmore and Cahersiveen
On our longer 10-stage schedule, we also include the return taxi cost between Sneem and Blackwater Bridge
Detailed Routecards KRW1-9 of the Exploratory system, printed on waterproof paper
Topographical maps of the route
Downloadable GPX Tracks covering the route
Expert advice and local information
A comprehensive 'Season Update' following our pre-season recce
Full support during your trip from the Alpine Exploratory team (8am until 8pm in the UK)

Not included

Travel to and from your trip
Transport to reach off-route accommodation (unless otherwise specified)
Any other local transport taken whilst on the trip
Travel insurance
Lunches, snacks, drinks and evening meals
Baggage transfers (available as an extra)

Baggage transfer

We offer our baggage transfer service for all nights as an extra. Please ask us for details if you are interested. Alternatively it is possible to leave your bag at your hotel in Killarney.

Questions about the Kerry Way?

Feel free to ask any questions about your planning. Ben, Eve, Ione, Katy, Lucy, Rob, Simon, Skylar or Steph will reply with expert advice. We spend a lot of time hiking our routes (and trails around the world) so please ask us anything.

Enquiry Form
Kerry Way Self-guided

Your name

Your email address

Optionally, where did you first hear about us? We're always curious!

Your intended arrival date on the Kerry Way? (This helps us give you an idea of availability and doesn't need to be exact)

How many people will you be?

Any questions or preferences?

I would like to stay updated with your newsletter!

If you prefer, please feel welcome to email or call us. Thanks!

Contact Alpine Exploratory
Email	[email protected]
Phone	+44 (0)131 214 1144
9am to 5pm UK time, Monday to Friday
Our national-rate numbers. Please use for a cheaper call to our Edinburgh office	From the USA: 646-757-1102 From Canada: 416-628-3473 From Australia: 02 8319 2266 From New Zealand: 04 889 4515

Open to the world
Since Alpine Exploratory started in 2005 we have loved getting to know our clients from around the world. Our best-represented countries are the USA, the UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

The Alpine Exploratory Team — The Alpine Exploratory team

Kerry WaySelf-guided walking holiday

Baggage transfer

Enquiry Form Kerry Way Self-guided

Kerry Way
Self-guided walking holiday

Enquiry Form
Kerry Way Self-guided