The coach is already there when you arrive. Of course it is. It's 11am in July, you've driven two hours from Cork, and a 53-seater from a German tour operator has claimed the entire lay-by at Moll's Gap like it's reserved parking.

You don't have to accept this. The Ring of Kerry is 179 kilometres of genuinely jaw-dropping road. Coastal cliffs, mountain passes, the kind of light that makes you understand why painters moved here. It deserves better than a bumper-to-bumper crawl behind a bus doing 40 in a 80 zone. Here's how to actually enjoy it.

Go Anticlockwise. Seriously.

Every tour bus on the Ring of Kerry goes clockwise. Every single one. This is not an accident. Tour operators settled on clockwise years ago and it stuck. The result is a permanent convoy of coaches from Killarney, out through Killorglin, down the coast to Waterville and around to Kenmare.

Go the other way. Start in Kenmare, head west through Sneem and Caherdaniel, work your way up the coast and finish back into Killarney via the N71. You'll be driving into oncoming coaches rather than following them, which sounds worse but is dramatically better. You see their front end for a second. They're gone. You don't spend three hours staring at a Paddywagon Tours livery.

The anticlockwise route also means you hit the best viewpoints from the other side. Loher Fort, the stretch above Caherdaniel, the long descent into Waterville. Different angles. Less crowded pull-ins. Worth it.

Leave Before 9am or After 4pm

The tour bus window is roughly 10am to 4pm. That's when they load up in Killarney, complete the loop, and return. Outside those hours, the road is a different place.

Before 9am in summer you'll have the mountain sections nearly to yourself. The light is better anyway. Low and golden, coming off the water at Ballinskelligs Bay in a way that no afternoon shot will match. Bring a flask. Stop whenever you want. Nobody is behind you.

After 4pm the coaches are heading back. The main stops empty out. Cahersiveen gets quiet. The car park at Derrynane Beach, which at 2pm in August looks like a Penneys sale, is suddenly manageable. If you're doing the full ring, a late afternoon start means you're on the inland leg near Killarney as it gets dark, which is the least scenic bit anyway. Good trade.

The Stops the Buses Skip

Tour buses stop where buses can stop. They need space to turn, a toilet block, a gift shop within 30 seconds of the door. That immediately rules out the best bits.

Loher Stone Fort. Outside Waterville, up a lane, sign easy to miss. A beautifully preserved dry-stone fort with views across the bay. Free entry, small car park, virtually no footfall from tour groups. Go here.

Coomakesta Pass. The road climbs above Caherdaniel and the view at the top stops conversations. There's a rough pull-in. It's not bus-friendly. You'll have it to yourself on a weekday morning.

Portmagee. The village on the mainland side of the bridge to Valentia Island. One of the best pubs in Kerry, Fisherman's Bar, and the departure point for Skellig Michael boats. Tour buses do not linger in Portmagee. It's a gem for exactly that reason.

Valentia Island itself. Cross the bridge from Portmagee or take the ferry from Renard Point near Cahersiveen. Geokaun Mountain has a car park near the top and a view that takes in half of South Kerry. Coaches don't go there. You should.

The Road Itself: What to Know

The N70 is the main Ring of Kerry route and it's decent national road for most of its length. The mountain sections are a different story. Narrow, steep in places, with passing spots that require genuine patience if you meet something wide coming the other way.

If you're in a larger vehicle, a campervan, or anything over about 6 feet wide, pay attention. Some of the side roads off the main ring are not forgiving. The main N70 is manageable but don't push it on the bends.

Fuel up before you leave Killarney or Kenmare. Stations exist on the route but you don't want to be hunting for one on the Cahersiveen side with the light fading. Check your phone mounting setup before you go too. Signal drops on parts of the route and you don't want your sat-nav sliding off the dash at Moll's Gap.

The Honest Bit About Shoulder Season

July and August are the problem months. June is better. Late May, early October: better still. The road is the same road. The scenery doesn't go anywhere. But the coaches thin out dramatically once the main summer window closes.

October on the Ring of Kerry on a clear day is one of the finer things available to you in this country. The hills go amber and rust. The Atlantic is steel-grey and dramatic. You can park anywhere. If the wider road trip is on your list, late September into October is the call.

A weekday always beats a weekend, regardless of month. Saturday in August is peak chaos. Tuesday in September is a different experience entirely.

One More Thing

The Ring of Kerry is spectacular because of the road. The actual drive. Not the lay-by with thirty people taking the same photo. If you do this right, anticlockwise, early or late, hitting the spots the buses ignore, you'll understand why people have been raving about this loop for decades.

The coach was already there when you arrived. Next time, you'll be gone before it even leaves Killarney.