Is the Ring of Kerry worth the drive

It depends when you are travelling; if its July-August, it will be very busy. The Dingle penn is a great choice and IMO negates the need for Kerry which I fouind to be too busy. The most exciting part is white-line crossing oncoming cars and buses.

I am not sure I agree with the other posters here. I am irish, and I agree that Dingle is really nice. But Dingle has more than enough tourists as well during the summer. I last done the Ring of Kerry in September last year and found it fine.

Done Beara on the May Bank holiday (lovely weather) and being honest it is lots of rock and bog. Its ideal for walkers but not sure you could spend a huge time driving around it. There are a few nice towns and some lovely walks. Try get out to Dursey if the cable car is running, or Bere Island as well for a bit.

I think the Ring of Kerry is nice, has lots of tourists, but places like Kenmare or Killarney are really popular for a reason

Enjoy your trip

I am going to be doing it in the second week of May next year. Which part of the Kerry is the part the tourist buses don't go to?

of course, make sure you stop in Kenmare
lovely spot for lunch and for window or people spotting
enjoy.

Cars are supposed to drive it clockwise and buses anti clockwise. The thinking being if you drive anti clockwise you'll spend you day behind buses with no opportunity to overtake.