You will be absolutely fine without a guide if you plan the things you want to see (Gallarus, beehive huts, etc). The roads are easy enough to drive (a few are very narrow) and if you see something you want to explore or photograph, you can easily park alongside the road in most places. On the other hand, if you get a good guide he or she could add a lot of local flavor to your trip. My advice: give the potential guide a call and ask what they offer beyond just driving you to the sights and then decide based on their explanation and personality.

Certainly, as long as you're not making stops along the way. Depending on the time of year, you may want to go straight to the ferry and then after the island drive the Slea Head. Plus, if you have time there is a fabulous Blasket Museum we went to the day before that really enhanced our visit to the island.

We drove with the busses. We left a bit ahead of them around 8:30 they did catch up because we pulled over a lot. It is nice to get behind one occasionally because the roads are narrow and they clear the way since cars have to yield to busses also you’ll be on the water side for this wonderful drive.

We stopped near Ventry at the Relics of 1845 Famine and then the Prehistoric Beehive Hut Fahan Group. Great sea views, cool buildings and grazing animals add to the experience. Head to the Great Blasket Centre. It is a beautiful building with wonderful views of the islands. There is a nice cafeteria there. Drive it on a nice day and pull over often to take it all in.

It is basically a big loop leaving from and returning to Dingle. You need to give yourself a minimum of 4-5 hours to do it justice.

We drove the Slea Head Drive out of Dingle last October. No issues. Plenty of places to pull over and park and take in the wonderful views.

The whole drive took us about 3 hours with several stops and we actually had lunch in Dingle.

I think you might be referring to The Stonehouse Restaurant. It is a special spot--and yes more of a cafe. Next door is a little visitor center. My father's childhood home is right up the hill behind this restaurant (which has not always been there) and the people there were very helpful in assisting me to be sure I found his old home. A great spot to stop along Slea Head drive for sure.

Hi, clockwise out from Dingle along the coast and then back over the mountains.(See my review) We saw a camper van that had to turn around just south of the Blasket islands because they could not get through due to the volume of oncoming trafic and the width of the road. They had to revese for hundreds of yards to get space to turn around.