Killarney Hop-On Hop-Off Bus to Killarney National Park

Killarney town, the starting stop

Killarney is a lively market town in County Kerry that has welcomed visitors to its lakes and mountains since the 18th century. Its compact centre of colourful shopfronts, the Gothic spire of St Mary's Cathedral and the gardens of Killarney House sit right at the edge of the national park, which is why the town is the natural base for exploring it.

The bus leaves from the stop on the R877 at Monearmore in Killarney town, with the first departure at 09:30. If you are wondering how to get to Killarney National Park without a car, this is the simplest answer: you board here with your one-day ticket, settle in for the commentary and plan your stops for the day. Arrive a few minutes early in summer, when the first buses are popular.

Ross Castle on Lough Leane

Ross Castle is a 15th-century tower house built by a local Gaelic ruling family on a rocky point of Lough Leane, the largest of the Lakes of Killarney. It was one of the last strongholds in Munster to surrender to the English parliamentary army in 1652, when the attackers brought boats overland to the lake, fulfilling an old prophecy. Restored by the Irish state, the castle opens for guided visits in the main season.

Hop off here to walk along the lakeshore, photograph the castle against the mountains or join a boat cruise from the pier beside its walls. Entry fees are not included in the bus ticket, so pay on the day if you want to see inside. Plan about an hour for the castle and the shore, or longer if you add a cruise.

Muckross Traditional Farms and the Muckross estate

Muckross Traditional Farms is an open-air museum that recreates rural life in Kerry in the decades before electricity reached the countryside. You can walk between farmhouses of different sizes, a labourer's cottage, a carpenter's workshop, a blacksmith's forge and a country schoolhouse, with farm animals in the fields and staff in period dress baking bread over open fires. It is one of the most family-friendly stops in the park and usually opens from spring to autumn.

The farms lie on the Muckross estate, beside 19th-century Muckross House with its gardens running down to Muckross Lake. Allow at least an hour and a half for the farms, and more if you also want to visit the house and gardens. Entrance fees are paid on site, and both are an easy walk from the bus stop.

Torc Waterfall

Torc Waterfall is a cascade about 20 m high where the Owengarriff River tumbles over rocks through a mossy gorge on its way to Muckross Lake. It lies in thick woodland at the foot of Torc Mountain, a short walk of about five minutes from the road, and is free to visit. After rain the falls are at their most powerful, filling the woods with sound and spray.

Many visitors ask whether Torc Waterfall is worth visiting: it is one of the most photographed sights in Killarney, easy to reach and beautiful in every season. From the falls, steps climb to a viewpoint over the Middle Lake, a good short hike if you have energy. Allow 30 to 45 minutes here before catching the next bus back towards town or on to other stops in the park.