By Kingfisher Visitor Guides
Travel and transport links between County Kerry and the UK are superb. Travel within the county is also made easy by a decent public transport network.
By air
If you are flying into Kerry then Kerry Airport is the most convenient airport. It is located approximately a 20-minute drive from Killarney just off the main Killarney to Tralee road. Kerry Airport currently offers scheduled direct flights to Dublin, London-Stansted, London-Luton, Berlin, and Frankfurt-Hahn with seasonal flights to Alicante and Faro. As well as the scheduled services it also handles several charter flights to Lourdes, Fatima and Medjugorje.
Located approximately 95 kilometres from Killarney, Cork Airport offers a much wider selection of flights into South West Ireland. Allow about 90 minutes of driving time between Cork and Killarney, or take a bus from the airport into the city centre bus and train stations for a public transport connection to Kerry.
Travel to County Kerry via Cork Airport
Located around 134 kilometres from Killarney in Shannon Co. Clare, Shannon Airport has traditionally been seen mainly as a transatlantic airport but has diversified in recent years and offers a number of European destinations too. Allow an hour and a half driving time
By sea
There are multiple daily services between Ireland and the UK, operating between Rosslare (around three and a half hour’s drive from Killarney) and the southern Welsh ports of Fishguard and Pembroke. These services are provided by Irish Ferries and Stena Line. Both ferry companies also provide frequent UK services between Dublin/Dun Laoghaire (around five hour’s drive from Killarney) and Holyhead in North Wales.
Services also run between Dublin and Liverpool and in the North of Ireland between Larne and Stranraer in Scotland. Stena Line also operates regular routes to France and is a gateway to many European locations. You can arrive to Cork by sea from Roscoff via Brittany Ferries, with a drive time of two and a half hours onwards to Kerry.
By rail
Irish Rail operates services to Killarney, Farranfore and Tralee. Trains from Dublin and Cork run every two hours seven days a week and connect to the greater rail network. The journey time to Kerry is around four hours from Dublin and two and a half hours from Cork. Timetables and online booking can be found on irishrail.com.
Enjoy the fabulous views as you travel to County Kerry by train
By road
For many, having a car is essential while touring County Kerry. If independent travel is your go-to, then consider hiring a car for the duration of your stay. There are five main routes into the county from neighbouring Limerick and Cork. The N22 will bring you from Cork city to Killarney and the N72 from Mallow to Killarney.
If you are travelling from West Cork, then you’ll take the picturesque N71 to Killarney via Kenmare. You can go from Limerick via Castleisland on the N21 or take the N69 and go via Listowel. Kerry is extremely well signposted, with excellent road surfaces, that make driving here a hugely enjoyable experience.
By bus
Ireland’s national bus service, Bus Eireann, links many parts of Kerry with the rest of the country on a scheduled multi-time per day basis. A relatively new service connection to Dublin, Dublin Coach, operates regular daily routes from and to Killarney and Dublin via Limerick.
Read more about County Kerry
