Breathtaking Gap of Dunloe: Killarney's Iconic Wilderness

My sister and I did this tour on our trip to Killarney and it was one of our favorite experiences the entire trip. Our boat captain Cathal was very knowledgable about the surrounding national park, and it was obvious how much he loved his job. Towards the end of our ride, we even saw a cluster of white-tailed eagles that had been brought back from extinction. I recommend doing the jaunting cars over walking - you have more time at the end to enjoy a snack at the cafe or a drink at the pub. The members of our group who opted to walk really had to hustle to make it back in time for the bus to pick us up. We got lucky with great weather, but would have enjoyed it even if the sun hadn't come out.

Deros Tours made it easy to visit the Gap of Dunloe from Killarney, providing bus dropoff at Kate Kearney’s Cottage, boat fares across the lake from Lord Brandon’s Cottage, and bus transport back from Ross Castle. You have the option to either hike the gap or hire a jaunting car for 35 euros a person. Kids love the ponies, but a hike seemed like it would have been more peaceful. Soup and sandwich lunch is available for purchase at Lord Brandon’s Cottage. The surprise highlight was the hour boat ride—our guide was a friendly young man who shared lots of history and tidbits about the park. Absolutely gorgeous scenery and a memorable day!

OMG can summarize everything! I came solo and prepared to hiking around just for 2 days, there is no better arrangement than this tour to spend one full day. (especially when it’s sunny as you may aware how precious it is) the boat experience is so well worth it, you will regret if you leave Killarney without this experience, the lake view is so versatile, so calm, so charming. Then the hike of the gap of dunloe is absolutely recommended if you be able to manage walk& climb a bit, and it’s all paved road. Horse cart is totally optional if not intent to walk, but then you need to wait a while for walker to arrive, and leave together. Before leaving, have a pint in Kate cottage bar is a personal must, nothing can beat a chilled pint after intense hiking! Then the bus will come to pick everyone up back to town. The whole flow of the activity is great and reasonable. Extremely recommend to solo traveler without car, as there is no public transportation to the gap of Dunloe, this is the best option you can have + exceptional Killarney national lake view. Summarize: just attend, don’t be a fool. P.S the Deros agent runs by family, heard they are lack of staff to keep the business running , do ask them if interested!!

The organization at the starting point was very good. Horse and carriage ride was very nice. During the ride my two adult children were asked to walk a distance, they were ok with that and they enjoyed it. I was told to stay on, I asked why and was told I was the “queen” for the day. Lol We took the boat ride that was awesome! Once we got off the boat it was confusing and we weren’t sure where to go, but we all finally figured it out. Overall, it was an amazing experience!

The experience of walking The Gap of Dunloe was quite lovely. The boat ride was an adventure getting to Lord Brandon’s Cottage. A wonderful memorable experience. My only issue with the experience was the bus driver was rather rude and seemed to have issues with most people on the excursion.

Great craic day! The bus ride to the gap was ok driver not too friendly did not talk to us or inform us what was going on. The jaunty ride was excellent, the boat ride was good too.

We took three tours with Deros and they were all amazing. The Gap of Dunloe was so beautiful! I was walking with my 76 year-old-mom and we were a little worried that we wouldn't have enough time, but we strolled leisurely and had plenty of time. We were picked up in central Killarney, driven to Kate Kearney's and immediately started our walk. It's an easy, rolling, gorgeous walk. The walk ends at Lord Brandon's Cottage where they have a little cafe and tables, but honestly that was a massive letdown (CASH ONLY) - it had a very limited menu and super rude staff. We just ate our own snacks before getting on the boat back. The boat ride was so so great! We had a wonderful guide (Dermot) who gave us so much history of the lakes and the park. We docked at Ross Castel and boarded the bus back into town. A perfect day!

This was probably my favorite tour I have done in Ireland. Walking the gap was incredible, but the boat was back was such a nice touch. Our tour guy on the boat was fantastic!! I would highly recommend to anyone this tour

Booking this let us get the full experience of the gap of dunloe without any of the worry of planning. If you’re on the fence, buy your tickets now! You can hike the gap or take a horse carriage, then end the trip with a boat ride back. We hiked and it was amazing. It is well paved, but it does have a decent elevation gain so be prepared. The boat driver back was SO GREAT! He taught us so much about the surrounding area, the lakes and the local wildlife.

Loved it! Had a very enjoyable day taking in the beauty of the area. The carriage ride was fun. Our driver was very friendly and knowledgeable about the area since he had lived on the mountain his entire life. The boat trip was also nice, and the boat driver was great as well.