Rick Steves Calls This Wildly Popular Destination In Ireland A 'Traffic Jam Of Tour Buses'

The popular Irish destination of Killarney promises "an immersive Irish experience," but not everyone agrees that a trip to the small Irish town is authentic. In 2024, guidebook author, TV host, and world traveler Rick Steves listed his top tourist traps in Europe on his website Rick Steves' Europe, and included Killarney alongside famous attractions like torture museums, inauthentic restaurants, and the Blarney Stone (which Rick Steves calls the worst place to visit in all of Ireland). Steves wrote: "The town is a sprawling line of green Holiday Inns and outlet malls littered with pushy shoppers looking for plastic shamrocks," a stark contrast to his advice to invest in experiences and small, lightweight keepsakes over traditional souvenir shopping.

Steves' comments sparked outrage in Ireland, with some writers leaping to the community's defense — but was he right? It's definitely true that Killarney has a long history as a tourist destination. In fact, in the 1700s, landowner and viscount Thomas Browne was already trying to maximize the region's potential as a destination, and while the buses that Rick Steves would someday condemn wouldn't be around for a long time, by the end of the 1800s there were tours taking people in and out of Killarney for profit. In the 1980s, the local shops were flooded by cheap souvenirs and the streets crowded with tourists. While there have been intentional attempts to improve the community for the people who actually live there, the town is still quite touristy. But might Killarney still be worth adding to your itinerary?

Ireland may be one of Rick Steves' favorite destinations in Europe, but he suggests skipping this overtouristed town completely and opting for more authentic places to experience the country's culture firsthand. Is there anything worth seeing in Killarney? While there will certainly be a lot of tourists, it might be worth a visit to the Gothic Saint Mary's Cathedral to admire its remarkable architecture and lovely stained glass windows. Ross Castle [pictured] is about six centuries old and its stone walls still cut an imposing figure against the landscape. The 1800s manor Muckross House is the most popular tourist attraction in Killarney so you won't be having a particularly private experience, but it's still interesting to explore the rooms and gardens and imagine what life was like here over a century ago.

If the town doesn't excite you, the land around it should. Killarney National Park is a spectacular place to experience everything this region of Ireland has to offer, with hiking trails through thick carpets of moss and woodland mountains, with the sound of babbling brooks, birdsong, and the wind in the leaves all around you. Torc Waterfall is particularly beautiful, so make sure to check out its many cascades flowing down the rocks.