Killarney National Park, Ireland + a travel photo tip

Ireland had never been on my radar.  But it was high on my daughter's list, so when she graduated from college (and had worked so hard we felt like she deserved a vacation!), I went to Ireland.  I swear, I have never been the same since.  It's now on my list of dreamy places where my heart feels at home.  I'd go back in a minute!

I had several favorite places in Ireland, but today I'm going to share just one:  Killarney National Park.   

MY FAVORITE PLACES IN KILLARNEY NATIONAL PARK

The town of Killarney in County Kerry, about a 3 1/2 hour drive southwest of Dublin, is a stop on the Ring of Kerry scenic drive.  

The town of Killarney itself has a lovely cathedral, St. Mary's.  The stone is so beautiful, and I loved the wooden beams in the ceiling! 

For me, the biggest draw was the rest of the national park area.  The ruins of Muckross Abbey were so fun to explore.  The yew tree in the cloister (bottom left) is just stunning.  And the water dripping off the buildings over the centuries has made a few stalactites (bottom right)!

 

Muckross House is nearby, and although the mansion itself was neat to see, for me the big draw was the extensive gardens.  The rhododendrons growing in the gardens of Muckross House were jaw-dropping.  There were so many, and they were so tall!  This is my 6'3" husband standing in front of one(?)!  We saw a few that must have been at least 30 or 40 feet tall.  

My daughter took this little video of her walking into a grove of rhodies.  It was incredible!

Torc Waterfall reminded me so much of the Pacific Northwest, so I automatically loved it since that's where my heart lives, but it was also fun to see holly trees growing wild here in Ireland, too!

My other favorite part of Killarney National Park was the Gap of Dunloe.  It's a narrow mountain pass with lakes, a river, and the most charming stone bridge.  The pictures don't do it justice!

+ A TRAVEL PHOTO TIP

If you're like me, you take a lot of photos while traveling.  Since phones are easily lost or stolen, I suggest regularly (daily, or just setting it to auto-upload) backing up everything in the cloud.  

I don't mean iCloud, either, since they don't actually guarantee that they are a backup.  (Yes, iCloud actually says in their terms of service--even when you are paying to use their services--they are not a backup, and they suggest you backup your photos and videos elsewhere.  Google Photos actually fits into the same category of not actually guaranteeing anything.)  

I personally use this unique cloud service for security and guarantees.  It has a (free) phone app and also a setting to auto-upload from your phone to the cloud so that everything is backed up without you having to even think about it--especially nice when you're on vacation.

This gives me so much peace of mind when I travel!  If something happens to my phone, at least nothing happens to my photos and videos.

I highly recommend all of Ireland, but if you find yourself there, be sure to wend your way to Killarney National Park!

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