Skellig Ring named as one of top regions for travellers in Lonely Planet 2017 yearbook

The Skellig Ring — consisting of Skellig Michael, the 6th century precipitous monastic island off the coast of Kerry, its sister island the Little Skellig, and the coastal villages on the mainland — has been named among the top regions in the world for travellers in the influential Lonely Planet 2017 yearbook.

The accolade puts south Kerry on a footing alongside the Azores, an ancient site in Peru, and southern Australia, and is likely to increase calls on the Office for Public Works to extend the visitor season on the Unesco world heritage site of Skellig Michael to meet demand.

The Skellig Ring is described as “perhaps Ireland’s most charismatically wild and emerald stretch of coastline” in Lonely Planet’s Best in Travel 2017.