Overview
For €5 you get the closest look at Skellig Michael you can manage without a boat. The Kerry Cliffs rise over 1,000ft (305m) above the Atlantic just outside Portmagee, on the Skellig Ring, and they’re the nearest mainland viewpoint to the UNESCO-listed Skellig Michael, Little Skellig and Puffin Island. On a clear day the view runs about 30 miles along the coast and out to sea.
This isn’t a wild, free clifftop. It’s a privately run site with a ticket booth, a car park, a café and animals in a paddock, and it’s the better for families because of it. Purists after solitude should know that going in; everyone else gets a genuinely spectacular view with a coffee and a toilet at hand.
The viewpoints
The walk from the car park to the viewpoints takes about ten minutes on a wide gravel path, and the full Kerry Cliffs trail runs to 2.1km if you take in the lot. There are three viewpoints. Head left after leaving the car park for the best angle on the Skelligs; that platform has barriers and seating and the most direct, unobstructed line to the islands.
A second, more northerly viewpoint is a longer walk and turns your attention from the islands to the sea itself, where the Atlantic hits the cliff base. It’s at its most dramatic near high tide, when the waves throw spray up the rock face.
Geology
The rock here is Old Red Sandstone, laid down in a tropical desert environment during the Devonian period around 400 million years ago, then cut back by wave action into sea caves and wave-cut platforms near the waterline. Iron oxide in the stone gives it a red-to-purple cast that shifts with the light and is at its warmest in the low sun of early morning and late afternoon. It’s a different rock entirely from the Carboniferous limestone of Ireland’s other big cliff sites.
Camping and the animals
The site is set up for a quick stop or an overnight stay. A glass-fronted café and a fast-food kiosk do coffee, tea, sandwiches and light meals, with a converted bus for indoor seating when the weather turns. Designated pitches take tents, campervans and cars, with water points for campervans and toilets open around the clock, which makes this a handy base for the Skellig Ring without booking a room. A small group of alpacas, donkeys and horses lives on the grounds, and they’re a reliable hit with children.
Wildlife
The cliffs and the water below hold colonies of puffins, gannets, fulmars, storm petrels and Manx shearwaters, with early spring the peak for puffins. Dolphins turn up off the northern viewpoint when the sea is calm, and whales breach in the deeper channels further out on occasion. Bring binoculars; the seabird colonies and the marine life both repay a proper look.
Practical information
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Opening hours | Mon-Sun 09:30-18:30 (last entry 18:00). Hours depend on the weather and may be reduced in winter, so check the official site before travelling. |
| Admission | €5 per adult, which includes parking. Tickets are bought at a booth in the car park; cash and card are both accepted. |
| Getting there | From Killarney: N72 to Killorglin, R563 to Cahersiveen, then R565 to Portmagee (about 1 hour 15 minutes). From Cahersiveen: R565 directly (about 20 minutes). Look for the brown ‘Kerry Cliffs Viewing Point’ signs just beyond Portmagee. |
| Accessibility | The path from the car park to the main platform is wide and gravel-surfaced, fine for strollers and most mobility levels. The final ascent to the highest point is steep; wheelchair users can reach the platform but may need help on the incline. |
| Facilities | 24-hour toilets, café, fast-food kiosk, picnic tables, campervan water points and the animal paddock. |
A few things worth knowing: allow an hour at least, or two to three if you’re photographing or birdwatching. In the June-to-August peak, arrive before 10am or after 4pm to dodge the crowds and the parking crush. The best light comes in the two hours before sunset, when the low sun lifts the red in the sandstone and lights the Skelligs.
Nearby
- Portmagee – the colourful harbour village a short drive off, good for fresh seafood and trad sessions.
- Valentia Island – reached by a short ferry or the road bridge; home to the Skellig Experience Centre and the Tetrapod Trackway, with its 385-million-year-old fossilised footprints.
- Coomanaspig Pass – two minutes away, one of the highest points in Ireland you can drive to, with sweeping views over the Iveragh Peninsula.
- Ballinskelligs – further along the Skellig Ring, with a sandy beach, a medieval abbey and castle ruins.
- Cahergall & Leacanabuaile – two well-preserved early-medieval stone ringforts near Cahersiveen.
Check the website the morning you set out. The cliffs close in bad weather, and there’s little worse than driving the Skellig Ring to a locked booth.