Kerry Way or Wicklow Way? Choosing Your Irish Long Walk

Walk the Wicklow Way first if you are new to multi-day hiking: 129 km, 5–7 days, an hour from Dublin Airport. Walk the Kerry Way if you want Ireland's grandest scenery and have 9 days: 214 km of Atlantic coast, mountain passes and far more remoteness — at the cost of wetter weather and trickier logistics.

These are Ireland's two flagship waymarked trails, and they answer different questions. One is a mountain corridor you can reach by city bus; the other is a full expedition around a peninsula. We have walked the comparison through seven categories below — distance, terrain, scenery, weather, access, accommodation and cost — so you can stop deliberating and start booking.

Kerry Way vs Wicklow Way: the numbers side by side

Which trail has the better scenery?

The Kerry Way, and it isn't close — if your benchmark is variety and scale. In nine days you pass Killarney's lakes and ancient oakwoods, cross two mountain passes beneath Carrauntoohil (1,038 m), and then spend four days tracing the Atlantic with views to the Skellig Islands. The Wicklow Way's beauty is quieter and more concentrated: the 25 km heart of the route between Lough Tay and Glenmalure is as good as Irish upland walking gets, with the 121 m Powerscourt Waterfall and the 6th-century monastic ruins at Glendalough as set pieces. But its southern third — perhaps 40 km of forestry roads and quiet farmland — is filler by comparison. Kerry has no filler.

Which is harder?

The Kerry Way, on every axis. It is 85 km longer, has three stages over 25 km (the Wicklow Way has one, and only if you skip the Iron Bridge split), and its ground is rougher — open blanket bog and rocky droving paths against Wicklow's mostly forgiving forest tracks and boardwalk. Weather seals it: the Iveragh Peninsula takes about 230 rain days a year, roughly 40 more than the Wicklow uplands, and Kerry's exposed sections face the full Atlantic. A reasonable rule: every Wicklow day is a 5–7 hour effort; every Kerry day is 6–9. Test that against your own pace with the hiking time calculator — the answer usually settles which trail fits your holiday.

Which is easier to organise?

Wicklow, decisively. The trailhead at Marlay Park is a 45-minute bus from central Dublin, stage-end villages have regular Transport for Ireland connections, and bailing out mid-trail is always possible within a couple of hours. The Kerry Way needs a 3.5-hour train or bus to Killarney before you start, and once you're past Glenbeigh the bus options thin to a single coastal service. Accommodation tells the same story: Wicklow's gaps (Glenmalure and Tinahely each have under a dozen beds) are annoying; Kerry's gaps (Black Valley, Glencar) are itinerary-defining, and in July–August 2026 both trails will need bookings months ahead. Both routes are maintained to the same national waymarking standard, documented by Sport Ireland Trails.

Weather and seasons: which trail forgives your dates?

The Wicklow Way, comfortably. Sitting in Ireland's drier east, its uplands take roughly 900–1,200 mm of rain a year against the 1,430 mm recorded at Valentia Observatory beside the Kerry Way's western stages — and more importantly, Wicklow's season is longer at both ends. The Wicklow Way walks well from late March to late October and survives winter attempts; the Kerry Way's practical window is April to mid-October, pinched by B&B closures in its smallest villages and by river crossings that swell badly in winter spate. Within the season the trails also fail differently. A bad-weather day on Wicklow means a grim crossing of the Djouce shoulder, then forest shelter; a bad-weather day on Kerry's coastal stages means six hours of horizontal Atlantic rain with no tree cover and no bail-out bus. If your holiday dates are fixed in April or October, that asymmetry should weigh heavily — we'd put it bluntly: shoulder-season certainty belongs to Wicklow, peak-season grandeur belongs to Kerry. The best month for both is the same, though: late May to mid-June, when eastern Ireland is at its statistically driest and Kerry gets its least-wet, longest-lit weeks of the year.

What should you carry on each?

The kit overlaps almost entirely — B&B walking with serious rain gear. For Wicklow's 5–7 days a 35-litre pack like the Fjällräven Abisko Hike 35 is the right size. Kerry's extra distance and wetter forecast justify a touch more volume and weather resistance: the Osprey Atmos AG 50 if you value carry comfort, or the Dyneema HMG 2400 Windrider if you'd rather your pack itself be waterproof than trust a cover in a Kerry gale.

So which one should you walk?

• First long-distance walk → Wicklow Way. Shorter, gentler logistics, easy bail-outs.
• One big Irish trip, 10+ days available → Kerry Way. It is the more memorable trail.
• Limited time (under a week) → Wicklow Way, or just Kerry's best four coastal stages from Glenbeigh to Sneem.
• Shoulder season or dodgy forecast → Wicklow Way; it drains faster and sits in Ireland's drier east.
• Both, eventually → Wicklow first as the rehearsal, Kerry as the show. That's the order we'd pick.

If this comparison format helps, we apply the same head-to-head treatment to Britain's beginner classics in Great Glen Way vs Hadrian's Wall Path, and our multi-day planning guide walks you through booking either Irish trail step by step.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the Wicklow Way a good first multi-day hike?

Yes — it is arguably Ireland's best first long trail. At 129 km over 5–7 days with about 3,200 m of ascent, forgiving forest tracks and a trailhead 45 minutes from Dublin city centre, it offers real mountain scenery with low logistical risk and easy exits at almost every stage end.

Can you combine the Kerry Way and Wicklow Way in one trip?

Yes, with about 16–17 days. Walk the Wicklow Way in 6 days, take the 3.5-hour train from Dublin to Killarney, then walk the Kerry Way in 9 days. The combination covers 343 km and both of Ireland's flagship trails in a single trip, ideally in June or September.

Which trail is quieter, the Kerry Way or the Wicklow Way?

Mid-week outside July and August, both are quiet, but the Kerry Way's remote inland stages (Black Valley to Glenbeigh) are the loneliest walking on either trail. The Wicklow Way's first two stages carry steady day-walker traffic from Dublin, especially at Powerscourt Waterfall and Glendalough on weekends.

Do the Kerry Way or Wicklow Way require permits?

No. As of 2026 neither trail has permits, fees or quotas. The only practical constraint is accommodation capacity: small villages on both routes sell out in summer, so July and August walkers should book beds two to three months in advance.

Which is better for wild camping?

Neither is ideal — most land is private farmland or commonage. The Wicklow Way is the better option because Wicklow Mountains National Park tolerates discreet wild camping away from roads in parts of the uplands, and there are three basic huts (Adirondack shelters) along the route built for walkers.