Cliffs of Moher and the Ring of Kerry: the Wild Atlantic Way by car

The Cliffs of Moher, in County Clare, stretch 8 km and rise to 214 m above the ocean. The visitor centre, half-buried in the hill, runs a paid car park (ticket to book online, with a time slot, to avoid queues). From the platforms around O'Brien's Tower, the view takes in the Aran Islands on a clear day. The coastal path, extending the site towards Doolin or Hag's Head, offers the most spectacular viewpoints.

Crowds are the main enemy: the site receives over a million visitors a year, with a peak between 11am and 3pm as the coaches arrive. Book an early-morning or late-afternoon slot, both for peace and for the light — a sunset over the cliffs, once the buses have gone, is a wholly different experience.

The Cliffs of Moher are magnificent but dangerous: the wind can be violent, the edge unstable, and part of the path skirts the void without a continuous barrier. Every year, serious accidents happen there. An analysis published in a travel-medicine journal, covering international traveller deaths at the Cliffs of Moher between 1993 and 2017, highlighted the role of risk-taking for photography, with a notable share of visitors approaching the edge to pose (study via Google Scholar: scholar.google.com/scholar?q=international+traveller+deaths+Cliffs+of+Moher+Ireland).

The instruction is clear: stay behind the barriers and on the marked paths, never climb over the protective walls for "the" shot, and hold children firmly. Unpredictable crosswind is a major fall factor. No image is worth the risk, and the best shot is taken anyway from the laid-out viewpoints.

The Ring of Kerry is a 179 km loop around the Iveragh Peninsula, starting from Killarney. The golden driving rule: coaches drive it anticlockwise (via Killorglin then the coast). By car, following the same direction avoids meeting the buses in the narrow bends; some prefer clockwise to drive on the sea side, provided they start early and are comfortable on winding roads.

Don't miss the detours that make the difference: the Skellig Ring, narrower and wilder (with the view of the Skellig Islands, including Skellig Michael), Rossbeigh beach, and the Molls Gap pass towards Killarney National Park. For those who find the Ring of Kerry too busy, the neighbouring Ring of Beara, less frequented, offers a more intimate take on the same Atlantic landscapes.