Today, we went to explore Valentia Island. It was a 1 day trip. This is one fantastic less touristic island! It is very beautiful out here! Drive around the island in a day! Excellent views & panoramas throughout the entire island! The big tourist buses can’t drive on these narrow & smaller roads with many bends in the roads!!! This means less tourists & that is what you want on your holiday! 
First, we went to see The Valentia Lighthouse at Cromwell Point! It is located here, at the edge of the Northern part of the island!
This is one lovely active still working lighthouse. It has free parking & each ticket costed us 5 Euro. You are greeted by welcoming staff. The building & lighthouse are both well-kept & there is a nice cosy tea-room & there are free toilets.
A man who works there tells you stories on how it all works & there is a free mini museum in the house attached. Amazing views over the ocean! Waw! The only negative is, there are small steep roads towards & from the lighthouse: nerve wrecking & very dangerous! You are around the lighthouse in 30 minutes all!
You must see the lighthouse & bring your binoculars & take many photos!!
Afterwards, we drove through the island & stopped at a car park, that wasn’t free but only 2 euro! It was located right at the Atlantic Ocean, with wide views! Take a long or shorter hike aka the Bray Head Loop Walk & walk with good walking shoes & don’t forget enough water, your camera & your binoculars for amazing wide views! Waw!
It was a 5 km long steep walk! You ascent for 239 meters! We walked for about 2 hours in total!
Then, we drove back to the mainland via the Portmagee Bridge. We dined at the Portmagee harbour @ The Moorings & Bridge Bar. We enjoyed some lovely fresh seafood & we sat on the front terrace in the evening overlooking the harbour near sunset! They have nice staff & it is a cool big pub too!
We drove home & the next day, we went biking! It was a day trip through Killarney National Park! We drove 26 km that day. This was our loop:
It was the first national park in Ireland, created when Muckross estate was donated to the Irish free state in 1932. The park has since been substantially expanded and encompasses over 102.89 km2 (25,425 acres) of diverse ecology, including the Lakes of Killarney, oak and yew woodlands of international importance and mountain peaks. It has the only red deer herd on mainland Ireland and the most extensive covering of native forest remaining in Ireland.
The park is of high ecological value because of the quality, diversity, and extensiveness of many of its habitats and the wide variety of species that they accommodate, some of which are rare. The park was designated a UNESCO biosphere reserve in 1981. The park forms part of a special area of conservation! Some highlights of our day trip:
The next day, we drove all the way from Beaufort, County Kerry to Dublin, to your next & last B&B. We stopped in the middle of Ireland to visit the Rock Of Cashel.
This is a very cool & well-kept ancient cathedral with added chapel. It is worth a visit but it starts from being very pricey at the paid car park & the entrance is very pricy too. You can walk around & take many photos! It is very well-preserved & you have amazing views from the landscape around it. You can also see many Irish crosses in the surrounded graveyard.
Then, we drove further to our B&B, called Oaklodge. It is located in Ballsbridge. It is a lovely amazing B&B. The owners are very kind, warm & charming. The room is big, with twin beds apart, with a big closet, dressing table, desk & an en suite shower room. The breakfasts are delicious & you can choose different one’s too. Dublin city centre is a 25-30 minute walk but you can get good buses in & from the city. It is a 45 minute ride to the airport. Some photos:
We were only staying in Dublin for 2 nights. It was a cultural shock we had after being in the full countryside for so many days & seeing so few people! We were not impressed in Dublin city at all. We did visit a museum, AN POST MUSEUM AT THE GPO (GENERAL POST OFFICE). GPO Witness History is a brand new permanent visitor attraction in the iconic GPO building on O’Connell Street, Dublin. One of the newest Dublin Museums and top attractions to explore, this visitor centre is an Irish Tourism Industry Award winner for the best cultural experience over 100,000 people.
This highly immersive and engaging exhibition puts you right inside the GPO during Easter Week in 1916. History will come to life as you experience events from both sides of the conflict and through the eyes of bystanders caught in the crossfire through electronic touch screens, video, audio-visual booths, sound and authentic artefacts – many previously unseen.
You’ll be immersed in the action as you compose newspaper reports, check the original copy of the Proclamation and send Morse code to declare the Irish Republic by radio. It is so worth a visit & we also hired headphones. You need to see this best in the beginning of your trip to Ireland, so you know even more of its history & why many people still speak Gaelic instead of English!
The next day, we booked a ticket to visit Trinity College, the University of Dublin. A must see with a guided tour from a student who studies there. So worth it! Our student guide was very informative & funny! You get a side ticket to see the book of Kells & the old library! We went the next day, early in the morning, to avoid the long waiting lines!
The real book of Kells was great to see, sorry no photos here & the old library was very beautiful to see, so big & they range the books from large on the top to small books below! It is more impressive then the library of Oxford university! Some photos:
And the rest:
This was the last part of our Road Trip through Ireland! I hope you all enjoyed it!
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