The Gap of Dunloe is a magnificent defile running four miles between the McGillycuddy Reeks and the Purple mountain group. At the entrance to the gap is a famous cottage, named after a woman called Kate Kearney who died in childbirth at the age of 102!
Posted By : Moira S
This was the best excursion of the entire Ireland vacation. Unbounded beauty, physical challenge or take an amazing horse drawn carriage ride through the gap. If you can’t walk the 7 miles you can get a horse carriage ride for an extra 50.00 euros. That should be mentioned as they only took cash. The day ended with a fun boat ride back to Killarney.
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Posted On : 2024-06-19 14:15:19 
Posted By : EwelinaKrak
While the Gap of Dunloe is an absolute gem, this whole trip was very chaotic and I would not recommend it.
The bus drops you off at the Gap around 11 am (why so late?) giving you only 3 hours to get to the boat on the other side of the gap - we almost had to run all the way, making no stops to admire the view, in order to be there on time. Since we're in our 30-thies we did succeed but none of our older fellow participants managed that and the boat left without them.
The guide from the boat was nice though, told us plenty of interesting facts and the boat ride itself was great.
However, no bus from Wild Kerry Tours awaited us at our final stop at Ross Castle even though they specifically told us in the morning we have to go straight to the bus park after we leave the boat.
Therefore my recommendation to you is: get to the gap by taxi, walk it by your own pace, book a return trip with the boat company but not with Wild Kerry Tours, they totally failed to deliver.
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Posted On : 2023-06-03 18:15:34
Posted By : Curious782822
We arrived at O'connors and were told that the bus was full and that the we would get a lift which was fine, went to Ross Castle and it was lovely and then had such an incredible experience on our boat ride, the weather was amazing which added to it and we were full of smiles. Great walk through the Gap of Dunloe, it's not a had walk to do and it was very enjoyable. We were told we would be collected at 4pm, we asked the driver if possible to pick us up at 3.45pm as there's nothing on their website to say what time you will return unless your collection is from their 2pm location so we had booked our car into a car park until 4pm. We explained this to the guy and he said no problem at all I will see you then, showed up at 4.10pm for collection and a possible fine for myself and no apology at all, took us on a bus with another couple and then said as he pulled towards some bus station it would be quicker to swap over to his car to get around the town, quicker for him maybe to get home not for us, on top of that nothing about covid and face masks, he wasn't wearing one and no hand sanister in sight.
I feel I've rambled on the negative about this but it did anger me and I just want to warn people that the experience is amazing, Gap of Dunloe is gorgeous, the boat ride was something else, please if you get a chance do it, however I felt uncomfortable around the owner of the business and his either complete lack of awareness or judgement and his way too laid back behaviour.
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Posted On : 2020-09-18 17:05:03
Posted By : wittmank
The walk through the Gap was absolutely stunning and the boat ride through the lakes was the icing on the cake. The tour provided transport (shuttle to Kate Kearney's Cottage and boats from Lord Brandon's Cottage to Ross Castle). You are responsible for getting from Kate Kearney's to Brandon's Cottage either by foot, jaunting car, or horseback (the latter two at your expense). The walk is on a paved road so there is no technical terrain though it is ~7 miles in length.
Walkers: the boats leave Brandon's Cottage at 2pm so take less photos than I did if you are interested in getting lunch there before your boat journey. Thank goodness for my scone from Kate Kearney's cottage!
If you have a rental car, check with the tour operator to see if you can be picked up at the Ross castle parking lot before the tour. We were able to do this and were in our way to our next adventure as soon as the boats landed.
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Posted On : 2019-10-09 23:58:01
Posted By : Thomas K
Guide was fantastic, very entertaining, we saw him later as a cab driver too. Scenery, trip and guide couldn't have been better. I would highly recommend taking this trip.
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Posted On : 2019-10-09 12:17:41
Posted By : bridgettestravels
My partner and I came on the boat tour, across the lake with our bikes. It was such a great experience, and our guide was funny and full of useful and interesting information, it was such a beautiful peaceful day out, surrounded by green mountains, winding streams and the wind in the trees. Make sure to bring a waterproof jackets as it could get quite windy and the occasional water splashing up. Use the restrooms at the boat docking area beforehand as our ride was about 2 hours before we got to the cafe on the other side, which had lots of food and drinks to offer.
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Posted On : 2019-10-07 04:05:42
Posted By : Paul T
We had a great time on this tour. Every staff member we met was friendly and helpful. The captain on our boat ride offered an interesting mix of stories and local knowledge and more stories.
The walk thru The Gap was well worth the effort. Despite the weather...we loved it...even with the rain.
If you have the time and are in the Killarny area...take this tour.
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Posted On : 2019-09-26 16:56:34
Posted By : Mart53A
Last July2019 we took a jaunting car ride through the Gap of Dunloe and a boat trip down the lakes to our starting point at Killarney.
What an amazing experience and what fun! Jerry, who took us by horse and cart had us in stitches throughout with his Irish wit and humour. I confess that I did not take up his suggestion of drinking 10 pints of Guinness with 10 shots of Jameson’s whisky, but I sampled both! The river and lake trip was amazing, the scenery spectacular and the commentary on what we were witnessing very informative!
Anyone in the Killarney area should put this outing top of their list!
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Posted On : 2019-09-06 17:34:43
Posted By : Jacqueline S
This was one of the most beautiful places we hiked in Ireland. The walk is long but well worth the effort.
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Posted On : 2019-08-02 13:32:07
Posted By : Mark_L
The “half-day” does not do this tour justice. The tour bus to the starting point and the trip through the gap take enough to qualify as a half-day, especially if you hike the 7 mile gap (2.5-3 hours depending on how hard you push). Then you start an amazing boat trip through the river areas to the lower lake, landing at Castle Ross. Definitely worth the time! We left our hotel at 9:45 and got back at 4:00.
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Posted On : 2019-07-17 12:51:28 
