The Skellig Ring and Valentia Island

The part of the Ring of Kerry the coaches leave out. From Waterville the Skellig Ring runs out to Ballinskelligs, down to St Finian's Bay and over Coomanaspig to Portmagee, where a bridge takes you across to Valentia Island.

The drive

From Waterville the road heads west to Ballinskelligs, where the ruin of a McCarthy tower house stands on a narrow headland above the beach. Then it climbs over the hill and drops, steep and twisting, to St Finian's Bay, a small beach with the two Skelligs out to sea.

The climb out of the bay takes you to Coomanaspig, one of the highest points in Ireland you can drive to, with Valentia Island and Portmagee below. Portmagee is a small harbour village, and the boats to Skellig Michael leave from it in summer.

From Portmagee a bridge crosses to Valentia, an island of small fields and stone walls, where the first telegraph cable to America came ashore in 1858. The road runs across it to Knightstown, the island's village.

Worth knowing

• The roads are narrow, steep and twisting, and the drop to St Finian's Bay is properly steep. It's no place for a caravan.
• St Finian's Bay is for looking at, and for surfers. Its currents are too strong for swimming.
• Landing trips to Skellig Michael run only in summer, in calm weather, and need booking well ahead.
• From spring to early autumn a small car ferry crosses from Knightstown to Reenard Point, near Cahersiveen. The rest of the year, it's back over the bridge.