Overview
Reenard Point is the mainland terminal for the car ferry to Knightstown on Valentia Island, sitting on the coast about five miles west of Cahersiveen off the N70. The road here is part of both the Wild Atlantic Way and the Ring of Kerry, so plenty of drivers pause at the point for the view down the channel, with the Skelligs on the horizon on a clear day.
The one thing to get right before you plan around the ferry: it is seasonal. If you are here between April and October, the crossing is the quick, scenic way onto the island. Outside those months there is no boat, and you reach Valentia by the Maurice O’Neill Memorial Bridge at Portmagee instead – a longer drive round, but open all year.
The ferry to Valentia Island
When it runs, the ferry is a shuttle rather than a scheduled service: it goes roughly every ten minutes, seven days a week, and the crossing takes about five minutes. First sailings are early morning (later, around 9am, on Sundays), and the last boat is in the evening – late as 10pm from Reenard in July and August, earlier in spring and autumn. Times shift by month, so check before you travel.
It carries up to 15 vehicles across the channel along with foot passengers and cyclists. Fares at the time of writing are €11 single (€15 return) for a car and its passengers, and €2 single (€3 return) for foot passengers or cyclists; prices change, so confirm on the day. Private charter boat trips along the Skellig coast also leave from the point in season.
The old railway
Reenard Point was once the end of the line, literally. Valentia Harbour railway station opened here on 12 September 1893 as the westernmost station in the British Isles, at the end of a 62 km line up to Farranfore. It closed on 1 February 1960, and a monument at the point now marks it; the old trackbed is still visible in stretches. Across the water, Valentia had already made its name in 1865 as the landing point of the first transatlantic telegraph cable.
The local sporting record is worth a line too: Reenard GAA has long fed players to the Kerry senior football team. Ned O’Neill of Reenard Point was the first South Kerryman to win an All-Ireland medal, in 1903, and the club took its first South Kerry senior championship in 1948.
A greenway in progress
The old railway line is being turned into the South Kerry (Fertha) Greenway, a walking and cycling route along the former trackbed between Cahersiveen and Reenard. Funding has been allocated and a section is under way, but there is no confirmed opening date yet – worth checking locally if you are hoping to walk or cycle it.
Eating at the point
O’Neill’s The Point Seafood Bar sits right by the terminal, serving locally landed seafood with the harbour and the passing ferries in view. It runs on a walk-in basis – no reservations – with dinner roughly 5.30pm to 9.30pm and closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, though hours change, so ring ahead on 066 9472165 if you are making a trip of it.
Nearby
- Rossbeigh Beach, a long crescent of sand for a coastal walk, lies a drive south.
- On Valentia itself, the tetrapod trackway preserves 385-million-year-old footprints in the bedrock, and Geokaun and the lighthouse are the island’s standout stops.
Practical information
- Parking: free parking beside the terminal; it fills fast on summer days, so arrive early.
- Ferry: April to October only, roughly every ten minutes; timetables are posted at the terminal and online. Out of season, use the Portmagee bridge.
- Public transport: the nearest bus stop is in Cahersiveen, with connections to Killarney and Tralee; a taxi covers the short hop out to the point.
- Planning Valentia: allow at least half a day if you are crossing, to take in Geokaun, the lighthouse and the coastal trails.