Hello,

My question I asked on an other forum was :

I wonder if it is possible to drive by car from Beaufort to Sneem, crossing the Gap of Dunloe. Or is the Gap of Dunloe forbidden for cars ?

I've had some answers:

1) I'm not sure whether it is actually forbidden to drive through the Gap, but first of all it is not advisable because the roads are very bad and narrow, and secondly it is the sort of place which is best explored on foot or with a bicycle.

The people who hire out bicycles or pony traps at the entrance to the Gap are none too pleased to see cars driving through the Gap (for obvious reasons), but I have to say that when I walked through Dunloe I also found the cars rather annoying.

There are lots of other beautiful roads in Ireland that can be explored by car, but the Gap of Dunloe is a place that is best enjoyed without them. Just my 2 cent :-).

2) I agree with Birgit : the road is not really good for your car except that you have a 4x4.

At the north-side you have to pass the farmers who own the carriges and there you should pass through at maybe 05.00a.m., so they will not catch you...

at the other side you have a long and winding single-track-road starting at the pass, where you have a crossing (turn right for Killarney and turn left for Sneem and Waterville)

There you turn left and right again after about 200 meters.

That road is about 10km , very narrow with a few passing-places. There will even be a hostel on your way.

I found a small parking close to the Gap and made the rest of it with my small motor-scooter.

the farmers use 4x4 cars for the gap, so you should be able to do it as well. For ordinary cars, you better forget about it !

3) Well when we were there recently, when I enquired about it at Ladies View, one of the locals actually told me about driving through the Gap of Dunloe! So we did! It is a very narrow road with some rather steep inclines, but I would actually say that a smaller vehicle is better because when you have to pass another vehichle coming the other way, the smaller your car is the easier it is to pass!!!

We were advised that you need to drive in the direction from Ladies View (Kenmare) towards Beaufort (Killarney), but we still had quite a few cars pass us coming the other way!

It can be done, but you could also go on the main road past Ladies View and Muckross, which is also a stunningly scenic drive!

4) (an answer from me) Ok, it's clear. I will forgot about the car (this is what I had expected). We will do the Gap of Dunloe by foot or by horse, starting from Beaufort (or a car park, much closer to the Gap).

Because I won't do the whole Ring of Kerry, I had hoped to drive from Beaufort to Sneem (where we will sleep in B&B Bank House) by driving through Gap of Dunloe.

What about the R568 (from N71 Peakee Mountain) to Sneem ? Is this a fantastic road ? Afterwards, I can drive on the N70 from Sneem to Kenmare, and then to the Ring of Bearra, what is the place I want do discover in a couple of days.

5) No reason not to do the Gap in a car. Have done it and was fine. Locals won't like it but thats because they see you as a meal ticket. The pony and traps are either a) a wonderful slice of old Ireland or b) the biggest ripoff in Kerry. Will leave it to you to decide which one ;-)

=====> Now I'm doubting again. I have had a look at the Gap of Dunloe by Google Earth, and there it seems that the roads are, although narrow, drivable (it's something like the Connor Pass, ... or isn't it ?).

Because I will be there monday, april 18th, I don't think it will be very crowdy there, it's no touristic high season.

Conor Pass, I have done that with a Fiat Punto, now I would like to do the Gap of Dunloe by Hyundai Santa Fe, which is a little bigger car (maybe too big for the Gap ?)

Have someone driven this Gap last months ? And what would you suggest ?