Ireland, Munster
The base for the Ring of Kerry, the Beara Peninsula and the Wild Atlantic Way's finest stretches.
First instinct from Cork: head west towards Kerry.
Scored roads in range
12
Nearest great road
56 mi
Best rated nearby
9.3 / 10
Shortest full loop
3 hr 9 min
Checked by the Drivers Atlas desk
Scored and written by the Drivers Atlas editorial desk, drawing on driven routes across the UK and Europe, mapping data and member road reports. Every road in the library carries a driving and scenery score set by the same method. How we score roads.
Last reviewed 18 June 2026
60 to 150 km from the centre
Far enough to feel like a proper trip, close enough to be home for dinner.
Roughly 7 hr 2 min of driving if you string the lot together and come back the way you came.
56 mi away · Beara Peninsula
Tight hairpins over the Caha Mountains linking Cork and Kerry above two bays.
12 km · 7.5 mi · Atlas rating 9.3 / 10
76 mi away · Dingle Peninsula
Ireland's highest pass, a shelf road with lakes hanging above the Atlantic.
12 km · 7.5 mi · Atlas rating 9.3 / 10
69 mi away · County Kerry
The classic Irish coastal loop, best at dawn before the tour buses wake.
110 km · 68.4 mi · Atlas rating 9.1 / 10
85 mi away · Dingle Peninsula
Cliff edge tarmac facing the Blasket Islands and the open Atlantic.
30 km · 18.6 mi · Atlas rating 8.9 / 10
150 to 400 km from the centre
Leave early, take the long way back and make a day of it.
Roughly 14 hr 8 min of driving if you string the lot together and come back the way you came.
196 mi away · Brecon Beacons, Wales
A ribbon of hairpins climbing a bare Welsh moorland made famous by Top Gear.
19 km · 11.8 mi · Atlas rating 9.4 / 10
203 mi away · Snowdonia, Wales
A dramatic pass beneath Snowdon's crags linking two of Wales's most storied villages.
16 km · 9.9 mi · Atlas rating 9.3 / 10
123 mi away · County Wicklow
Empty moorland tarmac over the Sally Gap, minutes from Dublin but utterly wild.
45 km · 28 mi · Atlas rating 9.1 / 10
242 mi away · Antrim Coast, Northern Ireland
One of the world's great coast roads, hugging cliffs beneath nine dramatic glens.
48 km · 29.8 mi · Atlas rating 9.1 / 10
249 mi away · Antrim Coast, Northern Ireland
A hair raising cliff edge single track with views across to the Mull of Kintyre.
13 km · 8.1 mi · Atlas rating 9.1 / 10
130 mi away · Connemara
A narrow loop climbing over headland above the drowned islands of Connemara.
16 km · 9.9 mi · Atlas rating 8.9 / 10
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