Old Weir Lodge

Conquer Carrantuohill

by mrdarius

The first thing that caught my eye when I looked at a map of Ireland was the highest point in the country (of course) - Mt. Carrantuohill.

This was our first planned activity in Killarney. It's about a half hour ride from city center by cab. Make sure you tell a bunch of people you are going and that you bring hiking supplies (water, food, warm clothes for the summit). Going up and coming back down should take a total of about 4 hours without dilly-dallying.

In our haste to climb Carrantuohill (part of the Magillicuddy's Reeks), we later learned that we actually climbed a mountain next to it. It might've been something like Cruagh Moher, but I'm not sure. This could've been a good thing, as our host at the bed and breakfast said that experienced climbers (which we most certainly are not) have gotten injured and lost recently while up on Carrantuohill.

One more tip on Carrantuohill: try to go on a day when it hasn't been raining for a couple days (hard to do in Ireland). It was kinda tough even to get to the base when we went since it was raining pretty hard and we had to cross mud flats. Then again, I've read that Carrantuohill actually has trails to the summit, whereas whatever we climbed did not.

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Jaunting cart ride

by dunneman

This is an enjoyable activity, but *make sure you get the drover to agree on a price before the start of the ride*. I'm not meaning to impugn the honesty of all the drovers, but it only takes one or two unpleasant transactions to damage the reputation of all of them.

Boating on the Lake

by SabrinaSummerville

There are two types of boating trips on the lakes - the glass covered boat that traverses the big lower lake and then the one we chose - the open wooden boat with a small motor on the back. In my opinion, this is the most fun.

We first of all took a jaunting car to the old stone boathouse, though we could well have walked the couple of mile through the grounds of Muckross Park. There's a blackboard hanging from the boathouse that tells you what time the boat is due. As we stood and waited we enjoyed the peace of the lake and the trees and chatted to other waiting would be sailors.

By the time the boat arrived the rain had started and most of the other people had drifted away. We clambered on board and donned life jackets as we positioned ourselves on the wooden planks that were seats.

As we crossed the lake the winds whipped at our hair, pulling at our jackets, and the rain beat our faces. At times we came confused between which was rain and which the spray from the lakes. At one stage the lake got especially choppy as we rose up into the air and then down with a bang! Exhilerating.

At the other side of the lake we tied up for half an hour or so at Dinis tea rooms (see seperate review) for hot Irish coffees.

The return trip seemed far quicker than the other and I admit that we were a little sad when it was all over.

At €10 per adult and €5 for children it was good value for money and lots of fun.

Killarney - a pleasant stay

by SquadCaptain

"Killarney National Park"

My wife an I stayed a few days in Killarney and used it as a base to take day trips since it is central to the southwest of the country.

We were there off season and it was quite nice but I have been told that during the tourist season it can get pretty crowded.

Like everywhere else in Ireland, the people were great and the food almost as good.